Wednesday, December 16, 2009

James Cameron's AVATAR...A decade after TITANIC




Avatar, also known as James Cameron's Avatar, is  an American 3-D  science fiction epic film written and directed by James Cameron, due to be released on December 16, 2009 by 20th Century Fox. The film is co-produced by Lightstorm Entertainment, and focuses on an epic conflict on Pandora, an inhabited Earth-sized satellite of Polyphemus, one of three gas giants in Alpha Centauri A's planetary system. On Pandora, human colonists and the sentient humanoid indigenous inhabitants of Pandora, the Na'vi, engage in a war over the planet's resources and the latter's continued existence.
The film will be released in 2D and 3D formats, along with an IMAX-3D  release in selected theaters. The film is being touted as a breakthrough in terms of filmmaking technology, for its development of 3D viewing and stereoscopic filmmaking with cameras that were specially designed for the film's production.

In A.D. 2154, the story’s  protagonist, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), is a former U.S Marine who was wounded and paralyzed from the waist down in combat on Earth. Jake is selected to participate in the Avatar program, which will enable him to walk. Jake travels to Pandora. This world is a lush and sentient-inhabited jungle-covered satellite of Polyphemus, one of three gas giants that orbit Alpha Centauri A, 4.3 light years from Earth.
Pandora's biosphere is filled with incredible life forms, some beautiful, many terrifying. This world is also home to the Na’vi, a sentient humanoid race, who are considered primitive, yet are more physically capable than humans. Standing three meters tall (approximately 10 feet), with tails and sparkling blue skin, the Na’vi live in harmony with their unspoiled world. As humans encroach deeper into Pandora's forests in search of valuable minerals, the Na’vi unleash their formidable warrior abilities to defend their threatened existence.
Jake has unwittingly been recruited to become part of this encroachment. Since humans are unable to breathe the air on Pandora, they have created genetically-bred human-Na’vi hybrids known as Avatars. On Pandora, through his Avatar body, Jake will be able to walk again. Sent deep into Pandora's jungles as a scout for the soldiers that will follow, Jake encounters many of Pandora's beauties and dangers. There he meets a young Na’vi female, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).
Over time, Jake integrates himself into the Na'vi clan, and begins to fall in love with Neytiri. As a result, Jake finds himself caught between the military-industrial forces of Earth and the Na’vi, forcing him to choose sides in an epic battle that will decide the fate of Pandora.



Monday, December 14, 2009

BOLA AGBAJE IS BRINGING THEATRE HOME

Lead Image
Sharon Duncan-Brewster Aml Ameen in Detaining Justice Photos courtesy of Tristram Kenton

I love telling African stories

Print print Email email Share Share
Bola Agbaje took the London theatre scene by storm with her first play, ‘Gone Too Far.' What started as an assignment so she could get feedback, went on to win the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award for outstanding achievement in 2008. But her passion is to write plays with African names and tell African stories. Her story reads like the classic tale of a writer's journey. By day, she is a Neighbourhood manager, managing over 600 residents in the East-End of London and at night, she is a writer. Bola Agbaje at 28 is taking it all in her stride and has Africa in sight, as the next place to conquer. Her first play ‘Gone Too Far,' was a hit with critics and audience alike; the Royal Court Theatre, one of London's best known theatre venues, had no choice but to revisit the play; and staged it on its main stage. ‘Gone Too Far,' explored the issues of identity, youth crime and clash of cultures with robust authenticity. Today, Agbaje is under commission with some of London's most elite theatre companies and she is delivering. Her latest offering, ‘Detaining Justice,' examines the British immigration system through the lens of the African experience and has been described as a ‘gripping drama with sharp humour and unsentimental compassion for its characters.' Plays with African names Born in London to Nigerian parents, Agbaje explains that her first play was inspired by the fact that she really wanted "A play with African names in it. I felt that in terms of having young British Africans represented on the screen or in the theatre, that was never going to happen; and there were enough of us in London in general for there to be a great representation. The main aim was to have African names for my characters in it and then it spiralled into other areas of identity and culture." ‘Gone Too Far' also dealt with the issue of accepting one's heritage and culture; especially for young Nigerians in London who straddle two worlds and often question where they truly belong. This stemmed from her own experience of going to Nigeria at the age of six, where she says she did not feel like she belonged and was often told she was British; and on her return to England with a Nigerian accent, was told she was ‘African.' In addition to this, Agbaje had to learn to live with her two older sisters who had grown up in Nigeria, when they came to live in London with the family. "The culture shock and the change - we all had to adapt to a new way of living because we all had to live in one room, four of us in one room, it was almost a war ground because they had different ideologies and ways of doing things. "Then there was my brother and I, who were very English and had an English way of doing things and the world collided at some point. It took us a few years to know each other, get along and embrace each others culture. That's why it was easy for me to explore one of my characters in Gone Too Far - Yemi - as someone who didn't embrace his Africaness, unlike Ikudayesi who did. In a sense, I was Yemi," says Agbaje. Concerned with heritage With six plays under her belt; Agbaje credits Tiata Fahodzi, one of Britain's foremost British-African theatre companies, for igniting her passion for the stage. "Tiata Fahodzi is one of the reasons I started writing. I went to watch the ‘Gods Are Not To Blame' in 2005, a production of theirs; and it was one of the best productions I had ever seen. It was the first time that I had ever really been to the theatre. So when I saw the ‘Gods Are Not To Blame,' I was really impressed with what they had done because their work is about African theatre and that was the first point of attraction." Agbaje innately leans towards telling stories about her heritage and has written a few short plays and monologues based on Yoruba mythology. Her most famous to date is ‘The Legend Of Moremi'. A big fan of Yoruba culture, she says her attraction is because, "I like the fact that there is no story that has never been told. Every story has been duplicated. What I like about them is that though they are old stories, they have themes that still resonate now and run through other storylines. I just love the fact that they have a moral tale to them, I love moral stories and that is what I love about storytelling, that they have morals." Heading Nigeria's way Her next stop is the National Theatre of Nigeria and Nollywood. While she admits she does not know everything about the state of theatre in Nigeria, she says she is learning and is aware of the fact that there is a thriving theatre. "Though, a lot of it, you have to get your own funding and there isn't government funding like [in Britain]," she adds. However, Agbaje remains unperturbed. "I would love for my play to be on at the National theatre and that is something I'm working on at the moment, so that I can get my work shown there." If you are curious as to what her first play in Nigeria will be about, your guess is as good as hers because she has no idea. "I'm really not one who plans ahead. I plan for the moment. A lot of people think that because my plays are politically based, that I'm a political writer but it's not like that. I write what interests me. So, if someone asked me, I would write about what interest me at the moment because I'm not led by political statements or making one. It's just that at present, those are the things that do interest me." A young woman with a self-assured confidence in her own ability, Agbaje asserts she has no influences in the theatre world but there are people whose work she likes and respects. "You don't want to be like anybody because you want to be your own unique self. There are people who I like their work because of the way they do things. It's not that I like it because I want to copy it or be like them but because they have their own unique style. There is no one that I would say I want to be like or copy their style. I want to be my own person," she says. Agabje is currently adapting ‘Gone To Far' for the screen in association with the British Film Council while also making short films with her friends. For a playwright, who did not to go a creative writing school to learn the craft of writing, Agbaje is winning the respect of her contemporaries and her journey to conquer the world looks like it has already started.


BOLA AGBAJE IS BRINGING HOME THEATRE

Bookmark & Share 234next.com
I love telling African stories

By Belinda OTAS


Bola Agbaje took the London theatre scene by storm with her first play, ‘Gone Too Far.' What started as an assignment so she could get feedback, went on to win the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award for outstanding achievement in 2008. But her passion is to write plays with African names and tell African stories.

Her story reads like the classic tale of a writer's journey. By day, she is a Neighbourhood manager, managing over 600 residents in the East-End of London and at night, she is a writer. Bola Agbaje at 28 is taking it all in her stride and has Africa in sight, as the next place to conquer.

Her first play ‘Gone Too Far,' was a hit with critics and audience alike; the Royal Court Theatre, one of London's best known theatre venues, had no choice but to revisit the play; and staged it on its main stage. ‘Gone Too Far,' explored the issues of identity, youth crime and clash of cultures with robust authenticity. Today, Agbaje is under commission with some of London's most elite theatre companies and she is delivering. Her latest offering, ‘Detaining Justice,' examines the British immigration system through the lens of the African experience and has been described as a ‘gripping drama with sharp humour and unsentimental compassion for its characters.'

Plays with African names

Born in London to Nigerian parents, Agbaje explains that her first play was inspired by the fact that she really wanted "A play with African names in it. I felt that in terms of having young British Africans represented on the screen or in the theatre, that was never going to happen; and there were enough of us in London in general for there to be a great representation. The main aim was to have African names for my characters in it and then it spiralled into other areas of identity and culture."

‘Gone Too Far' also dealt with the issue of accepting one's heritage and culture; especially for young Nigerians in London who straddle two worlds and often question where they truly belong. This stemmed from her own experience of going to Nigeria at the age of six, where she says she did not feel like she belonged and was often told she was British; and on her return to England with a Nigerian accent, was told she was ‘African.' In addition to this, Agbaje had to learn to live with her two older sisters who had grown up in Nigeria, when they came to live in London with the family. "The culture shock and the change - we all had to adapt to a new way of living because we all had to live in one room, four of us in one room, it was almost a war ground because they had different ideologies and ways of doing things.

"Then there was my brother and I, who were very English and had an English way of doing things and the world collided at some point. It took us a few years to know each other, get along and embrace each others culture. That's why it was easy for me to explore one of my characters in Gone Too Far - Yemi - as someone who didn't embrace his Africaness, unlike Ikudayesi who did. In a sense, I was Yemi," says Agbaje.

Concerned with heritage

With six plays under her belt; Agbaje credits Tiata Fahodzi, one of Britain's foremost British-African theatre companies, for igniting her passion for the stage. "Tiata Fahodzi is one of the reasons I started writing. I went to watch the ‘Gods Are Not To Blame' in 2005, a production of theirs; and it was one of the best productions I had ever seen. It was the first time that I had ever really been to the theatre. So when I saw the ‘Gods Are Not To Blame,' I was really impressed with what they had done because their work is about African theatre and that was the first point of attraction."

Agbaje innately leans towards telling stories about her heritage and has written a few short plays and monologues based on Yoruba mythology. Her most famous to date is ‘The Legend Of Moremi'. A big fan of Yoruba culture, she says her attraction is because, "I like the fact that there is no story that has never been told. Every story has been duplicated. What I like about them is that though they are old stories, they have themes that still resonate now and run through other storylines. I just love the fact that they have a moral tale to them, I love moral stories and that is what I love about storytelling, that they have morals."

Heading Nigeria's way

Her next stop is the National Theatre of Nigeria and Nollywood. While she admits she does not know everything about the state of theatre in Nigeria, she says she is learning and is aware of the fact that there is a thriving theatre. "Though, a lot of it, you have to get your own funding and there isn't government funding like [in Britain]," she adds. However, Agbaje remains unperturbed. "I would love for my play to be on at the National theatre and that is something I'm working on at the moment, so that I can get my work shown there."

If you are curious as to what her first play in Nigeria will be about, your guess is as good as hers because she has no idea. "I'm really not one who plans ahead. I plan for the moment. A lot of people think that because my plays are politically based, that I'm a political writer but it's not like that. I write what interests me. So, if someone asked me, I would write about what interest me at the moment because I'm not led by political statements or making one. It's just that at present, those are the things that do interest me."

A young woman with a self-assured confidence in her own ability, Agbaje asserts she has no influences in the theatre world but there are people whose work she likes and respects. "You don't want to be like anybody because you want to be your own unique self. There are people who I like their work because of the way they do things. It's not that I like it because I want to copy it or be like them but because they have their own unique style. There is no one that I would say I want to be like or copy their style. I want to be my own person," she says.

Agabje is currently adapting ‘Gone To Far' for the screen in association with the British Film Council while also making short films with her friends. For a playwright, who did not to go a creative writing school to learn the craft of writing, Agbaje is winning the respect of her contemporaries and her journey to conquer the world looks like it has already started.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

INVICTUS....CAN YOU PLAY NELSON MANDELA...MORGAN FREEMAN JUST DID



By Bill Keller



Morgan Freeman has been cast as God - twice - so he evidently has no trouble projecting moral authority. The challenge of portraying Nelson Mandela, then, was not the size of the halo, but knowing the performance would be measured against the real, familiar Mandela, and his myth. "If we can say any part of acting is hard, then playing someone who is living and everybody knows would be the hardest," Freeman said in a phone interview.

The role has defeated actors as varied as Danny Glover (the 1987 TV film "Mandela"), Sidney Poitier ("Mandela and de Klerk," 1997, also for TV) and Dennis Haysbert ("Goodbye Bafana," 2007), in vehicles that were reverential and mostly forgettable.

But as someone who studied Mandela over the course of three years while he replaced an apartheid regime with a genuine democracy, I found Freeman's performance in the film "Invictus," directed by Clint Eastwood, uncanny - less an impersonation than an incarnation.

He gets the rumble and halting rhythm of Mandela's speech, the erect posture and stiff gait. There is a striking physical resemblance, enhanced by the fact that Freeman, 72, is just a few years younger than Mandela was in the period the film covers. More important, Freeman conveys the manipulative charm, the serene confidence, the force of purpose, the hint of mischief and the lonely regret that made Mandela one of the most fascinating political figures of his time.

The story of "Invictus," drawn from John Carlin's book "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation," begins with the newly inaugurated president of post-apartheid South Africa looking for ways to enlist his fearful white minority - with its talent, wealth, resentment and capacity for insurrection - in the business of governing a democracy. His inspired stratagem is to embrace the Springboks national rugby team, the darlings of the formerly ruling Afrikaners and, for most non-white South Africans, a symbol of brutal and humiliating repression.

The new president sets the team's captain (Francois Pienaar, played by Matt Damon) the improbable goal of winning the World Cup; the tournament is to be held in South Africa in a year, and the Springboks are given little chance. Mandela sets himself the considerably more improbable goal of uniting country behind the team.

So loathed were the Springboks that those few blacks who showed up for matches rooted loudly for the other side. So the rugby campaign was one of Mandela's boldest strokes of statecraft, no less impressive for the fact that the euphoria he achieved could barely begin to extinguish three centuries of racial antagonism.

Freeman's occupational association with South Africa began with a role in the 1992 film "The Power of One," the pious tale of a white boy coming to enlightenment in apartheid South Africa. Soon thereafter Freeman made his directing debut with a more tough-minded film, "Bopha!," the story of a conflicted black South African cop, played by Glover. (Lori McCreary, who was a producer on that film and "Invictus," said she tried to lure Freeman for the lead part in "Bopha!," but was told he "doesn't do accents.")

According to Freeman, his mission to portray Mandela on the screen began with a public invitation from the subject himself. At a news conference to promote the publication of his 1994 memoir, "Long Walk to Freedom," someone asked Mandela who should play him in the movie.

"And he said he wanted me," Freeman recalled. "So it became. That was the whole sanction, right there."

The South African film producer Anant Singh, who bought the movie rights to "Long Walk," arranged for Mandela and Freeman to meet.

"I told him that if I was going to play him, I was going to have to have access to him," the actor said. "That I would have to hold his hand and watch him up close and personal."

As president Mandela could be surprisingly approachable - he once allowed me, the New York Times correspondent in South Africa at the time, to shadow him during a day of his presidency, something I can scarcely imagine an American president allowing. But since stepping down in 1999, and especially since his memory began to fail him, he has become more reclusive, protected by a staff that worries he might embarrass himself. But he obliged Freeman.

"Whenever we've been in proximity in one city or another, I have had access to him," the actor said. Their encounters ranged from tea at Mandela's home in Johannesburg to a charity fundraiser in Monaco. But through multiple screenplays, Mandela's sprawling memoir proved too unwieldy for a film, and Freeman abandoned the project.

"There's just too much to whittle down to movie size," Freeman said.

Then, in 2006, Carlin, a British journalist who had covered Mandela in the 1990s, was in Mississippi to write an article on poverty in the American South for El Pais. He ended up in the Clarksdale living room of Freeman's business partner. When the host went to the kitchen for a bottle of wine, Carlin recalls, he turned to Freeman.

"This is your lucky day," he said. "I have a movie for you."

"Oh, really," Freeman replied. "What's it about?"

"It's based on a book I am writing about an event that distills the essence of Mandela's genius, and the essence of the South African miracle."

"Oh," Freeman replied, "you mean the rugby game?"

Carlin's proposal for his book had already been circulating in Hollywood, and it had caught Freeman's eye.

Freeman sought Mandela's blessing, bought the rights and persuaded Eastwood to direct. (Their two previous collaborations, "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby," both won best picture Oscars.) They hired Peckham, a South African emigre, to write the script.

Freeman insists that if the portrayal transcends impersonation, that is largely Peckham's doing.

As an actor, "you're looking for the physical: how he stands, how he walks, how he talks," he said. "Nuances he has in terms of tics or movements. Things that sort of define him. The inner life has to come off the page. Whatever he's thinking, I don't know. You have a script, and you stick to that script, and the script is going to inform you of everything."

Peckham's main difficulty in writing a script, he found, was to do justice to such a familiar and beloved figure without tipping into idolatry.

"It was extremely difficult, because in the period I write about he was in many respects at his most saintly - leading the country the way he did," Peckham said. The danger of hagiography "was something we all knew was an issue and that I struggled with every day while I was writing it. With the additional complication that we didn't want to be offensive and disrespectful either. It's easy enough to kind of show someone's feet of clay if you're prepared to be brutal about it, but it's not so easy when you want to be respectful without hero-worshiping."

The notion they settled on to humanise the hero was that, while Mandela was making a nation he was neglecting his own family. It is certainly true that Mandela's marriage to the cause contributed to his two divorces and his estrangement from some of his children. In the movie there is a scene of Mandela, who could always summon the words to move a crowd, failing to connect with his resentful grown daughter, Zinzi.

"Knowing what I know of Madiba personally," Freeman said, using Mandela's clan name, "his real concern is not for what he did, but more for what he didn't do. He had family obligations that he couldn't live up to, one, because he was in prison, and they just wouldn't allow it, and he had so many other obligations. The father of the nation is usually less than the father of his family."

South Africans listening to Freeman's rendering may agree that he "doesn't do accents." (He says "Spring-BAHK" where Mandela would say "Spring-BOHK.") But Mandela's distinctive voice is less about accent than cadence, and Freeman gets that precisely right.

Carlin, who covered Mandela in his political prime and spent many hours with him for the rugby book, said Freeman "channels Mandela beautifully."

Most important, Carlin said, Freeman, abetted by the screenwriter, "impressively conveys the giant solitude of Mandela."

Though an admirer of Freeman, Carlin has seen Mandela gotten wrong often enough that he braced himself for disappointment. After attending a screening in Paris last month, he sent an ecstatic e-mail message: "They didn't screw it up!" he wrote. "WHAT a relief!"

For me, the realisation that Freeman had nailed it came as the film ended. Alongside the closing credits came still photos of the actual rugby match, and the actual Mandela. And for a second I wondered, "Who is that imposter?"

DANCING AND SINGING FOR DAPO ADELUGBA AT 70

Bookmark & Share 234next.com
By Akintayo Abodunrin

December 12, 2009 10:32PMT
Print print Email email Share Share


It ended where it started 51 years ago. On Saturday, December 5, the week-long activities marking the 70th birthday of dramatist, Dapo Adelugba, ended at the Arts Theatre, University of Ibadan (UI).

One of Nigeria's foremost theatre arts teachers Adelugba was admitted into the then University College, Ibadan in 1958 to study English. His interest, however, spanned drama as he featured in some of Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka's productions and later headed the school's Dramatic Society. After completing his postgraduate studies in Theatre Arts at the University of California, Los Angelesm, in 1964, he taught at Ibadan Grammar School before joining the faculty at UI in 1967.

He remained there, nurturing and producing notable scholars including Niyi Osundare, Ziky Kofoworola, Duro Oni, Saint Gbilekaa, Steve Abah, Tunde Oloyede, Ihria Enakimio, Zik Zulu Okafor and others until his retirement in 2004. Adelugba clocked 70 on March 9, 1939 and a committee comprising his former students and admirers decided to roll out the drums for their mentor and teacher.

The celebration which fittingly had Adelugba, theatre in Nigeria, and the relevance of the arts to national development as its focus, started on Sunday, November 29 with a stampede at the National Gallery of Arts, National Theatre, Iganmu.

Adelugba, who directed Nigeria's entry (late Wale Ogunyemi's ‘Langbodo') at the Second World Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC 77), appeared on the Nigerian Television Authority's ‘AM Express' the following day and shared his views on theatre theory and praxis with the press at the University of Lagos the same day.

Daodu of Nigerian Theatre

A two-day international symposium themed ‘Issues and Developments in Contemporary Nigerian Drama and Theatre Practice' where some of the honouree's former students examined his contribution to scholarship and extolled his virtues, held at the Faculty of Arts conference room of the University of Lagos, on December 1 and 2.

The launch of ‘Daodu of Nigerian Theatre: Tributes in Honour of Dapo Adelugba' edited by Sola Adeyemi and Akin Adesokan preceded the presentation of papers. Theatre greats; Wole Soyinka, Martins Banham, James Gibbs, Segun Ojewuyi, Reuben Abati and Muyiwa Awofidiya, are some of the contributors to the book.

A documentary on Adelugba, whom his students reverentially call Baba (father), was also screened during the symposium. Yinka Akanbi produced the documentary.

In his keynote on the theme, Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria, Ahmed Yerima, highlighted the contributions of Adelugba to the development of theatre in Nigeria, including his campaign against falsification of historical materials, but noted that contemporary theatre in Nigeria has changed since Baba's time. Yerima subsequently recommended measures to put theatre practice back on a solid pedestal. He said for theatre to thrive, artists and government have to perceive the National Theatre the same way; dramaturgy must appeal to the commonality of people; theatre must be allowed to diversify and the private sector must be lured by government and practitioners to put money into theatre.

Professor of Inclusivity

In a tribute he sent in from New Orleans, US, titled ‘To Dapo Adelugba at 70', poet Niyi Osundare noted, "As we celebrate this veteran theatre artist, let us remember the unflattering state of the stage on which he schooled our acting, even more, the theatre which houses that stage. Let us not forget the rescue work that needs to be done to bring the universe back to our universities, culture back to our ministries of culture... We need a theatre (and theatre tradition) that does not make us so helplessly nostalgic about the golden era of Geoffrey Axworthy, Martin Banham, Wole Soyinka, Yinka Adedeji, and Dexter Lindersay. We need theatre practitioners who, enabled by their society, can live by their art and thrive on their talents."

Australia-based Chika Anyanwu, delivered a paper in which he compared Adelugba to Bangladeshi banker and economist, Muhammad Yunus, who developed the concept of microcredit. Anyanwu said while Yunus empowered people economically, Adelugba empowered artists intellectually and has played a pivotal role in the growth of theatre in Nigeria.

Mabel Evwierhoma's paper, titled, ‘The Teacher and the Metaphor of the Waist Beads: Dapo Adelugba's Guilt in Retrospect' acknowledged Adelugba as a consummate teacher who made great impacts on his students. "Permit me to rename you professor of inclusivity; most professors make knowledge and access to their library exclusive but Baba is different. He was able to chisel out roughness and crudity from some of us and was able to add that zest and knowledge into us," she said.

Patrick Ebewo, whose PhD thesis Adelugba supervised, dramatised the gist of his paper, titled, ‘Dapo Adelugba: A View off the Stage.' Ebewo regaled the audience with anecdotes underscoring the humility and generousity of the celebrant. He added that Adelugba is a meticulous, wonderful and humourous teacher.

Muyiwa Awodiya, Nneyelike Nwagbo and Charity Angya, also delivered papers on the celebrant.

A tinge of sadness

‘That Scounderel Suberu', which Adelugba adapted from Moliere's ‘Les Fourberies de Scapin (The Trickeries of Scapin) ran at the University of Lagos before its final performance at the University of Ibadan. Actor and teacher Sola Fosudo directed the play.

Before the grand finale in Ibadan, there was a variety night featuring performances and more tributes to Adelugba at the National Theatre, Lagos. Though it commenced almost two hours behind schedule due to a combination of shoddy arrangements and power outage, students who had a gyration (singing and dancing session) entertained people outside the Arts Theatre before the commencement of activities.

Duro Oni, the chairperson of the Dapo Adelugba @ 70 Committee, gave a recap of the celebration and described the finale as "homecoming."

"Prof has left his mark on everybody who has something to do with theatre in Nigeria today," began the head of UI's Department of Theatre Arts, Hyginus Ekwuazi.

Like others before him, he acknowledged Adelugba's impact on his life, disclosing that Adelugba got him the scholarship that took him to the US. He noted that the evening was "Pleasure mixed with a tinge of sadness" and wondered "why did he go away." It was performance galore, thereafter, as groups took turns to entertain the packed hall.

Two students performed ‘Telephone' about a stammerer who instead of one minute, ended spending 25 minutes on a call he made from a pay phone; Rudolph Kansese presented a dance medley; Femi Aborisade chanted an ijala piece titled ‘Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Theatre' while the Alajota Dance Company opened with drum recitals in honour of Adelugba before displaying their dancing skills.

Honour for Dapo Adelugba at 70

Honour for Dapo Adelugba at 70

Saturday, December 12, 2009

HOW ALEXANDER AMOSU MADE HIS BUCKS

Bookmark & Share 234next.com
ELAN PERSONALITY: Alexander the Great

by Uchenna Ezenna

December 5, 2009 06:20PMT
Print print Email email Share Share


On April 22, 2009, the world's most expensive suit was revealed at Pall Mall in London, with a price tag of $100,000. It was a luxurious masterpiece of gold and diamond buttons, platinum threads, sewn onto the rarest quality and blend of Himalayan pashmina. With an estimated labour time of 80 hours, and 5,000 individual stitches, the ‘Alexander Amosu' suit, as well as its creator, Alexander Amosu, entered the Guinness Book of World records; another remarkable feat for this 34-year-old trailblazer who made his first million at 25.


Humble Beginnings

Alexander Amosu, creator of Amosu Luxury Ltd, is a luxury designer for the rich and famous. With the fame associated with his lifestyle brand, it is hard to believe that this young entrepreneur was originally a loner. "I went to school at 12, didn't have any friends because I had a really thick African accent, my clothes were raggedy, and they called my shoes ‘pony'. No one could relate to me. I felt distant from everybody else." Constantly teased for having the wrong outfit and shoes, Alex decided that he wanted to fit in. "And the only way I could do that was to work, so I got a paper round job."

Within a month of saving his earnings, Alex was able to purchase a Nike Air pair of trainers that got him all the attention he wanted at school. "That was the catalyst that made me realise that if you want to be somebody in life, you have to work hard at it."


R ‘N' B Ringtones

Like most entrepreneurs always on the lookout for brilliant ideas, Alex stumbled upon his while fiddling away with his cellphone. "I was playing with a mobile phone I had and tried to see if I could create music with it. After two hours, I created a sample of Jay Z's "Big Pimping", which my brother loved and shared with his friends". Seeing the buzz his ringtone created, Alex decided to capitalize on it and sold the ringtones to his brother's friends for £1 each. After making £21 in one day, it was clear to him that he had indeed tapped into something valuable.

Although he was in school at the time, he felt very passionately about the profitability of his business idea and decided to take a year off from school, much to his dad's dismay. "When you have a great idea you can't come back to it because somebody else will be on it, so I saw that (ringtone) as my opportunity and took it."

Within a year of first working in a small room with a small computer and a mobile phone, the company turned over £1.6 million, and in 3 years £6.6 million. Finally, in 2004, he sold the company for just under £9 million.

So what does a young man of 25 splurge on with his first million? "My first luxurious item was a house I bought for myself."


Fendi, Gucci, Louis, Amosu

While others often dream about retiring early after amassing such great fortunes at a young age, Alex's mind worked tirelessly to come up with the next big thing. "I am one of those people that set a goal and after it is reached, get bored and want to do something else; I am always looking to push my ideas to the next level." What he had in mind, this time, was much bigger than what anyone could have imagined.

Realising the fortune and longevity that comes with luxury brands like Gucci, YSL, Versace and LV, Alex decided to get involved. Mr. Amosu subsequently launched a line of customised luxury phones that took the market by storm, selling out in stores all over London, Dubai and Monaco. His launch also ushered him into the luxury market, which was then followed with the launch of various luxury products: jewellery, bespoke suits, customised diamond-encrusted key-chains and iPods. In 10 years, Mr. Amosu hopes to be bigger than other renowned luxury lines.

Alexander Amosu's success story sounds like one for the books, but it came with its challenges and obstacles. Along the way, he has lost money countless times, had to overcome his dad's disapproval, as well as jealousy and betrayal from friends. But Alex, who deplores the notion of failure, never let such obstacles overwhelm him. "I have never considered failure as anything. It is all part of the learning experience. You are always going to fail at something, especially if you try something you've never done. However, true failure comes from not being prepared to give it a go after you first stumble."

With all the success and accolades in England, this young, married father of two is now ready to make a name for himself where it matters most - home.


Homecoming

Born in the UK to Nigerian parents, Mr. Amosu is bringing a part of his business to Nigeria, after being away from the country for more than 15 years. His first journey to Nigeria was to participate in the reality television program, Dragon's Den, as one of the business experts (dragons) on the show. Impressed by what he saw, he decided to return with something tangible. In a partnership with MTN, Mr. Amosu will launch his bespoke suits and luxury line in Nigeria, not only to mark his strong beliefs and commitment to the profitability of Nigeria, but to celebrate his success. "The launch is to show Nigerians at home what Nigerians are doing overseas and to celebrate their accomplishments. I don't just want to be known in Britain; I want to put Africa on the map."

But more importantly, Alex, whose role models include the likes of Richard Branson and Bill Gates, comes with a very important message. Often the only black person at important industry events, he is pushing to see fellow blacks and Nigerians at the top. "There are opportunities everywhere and lots of money to be made, and we need to be pushing ourselves to be the best."

So what message does Alexander Amosu have for those intending to follow in his great footsteps? "You have to take the bull by its horn. You have to do what you think is right because at the end of the day, there is only one person to blame for who you become, and that is you. If you want to do something, just do it. It doesn't matter if you mess up because you are doing this for yourself and nobody else."

Back

Friday, December 11, 2009

The Asylum Seeker

He paced the small room with tired feet. Tiredness seemed to rest on his shoulder blades like a woolen jacket he’s afraid of losing. He returned to his sweat soaked bed, springs creaked weakly into life as he lowered his bulk on them. He sniffed the air; the whiff of rotten mushroom and the stink of dirty linen-on the bed, the arm chair and inside the laundry basket-hung heavily like a blanket in the room. The air stood still. He rose weakly, tread his way to the window and pushed back the louver. He suck in a draught of wintry air, the air seemed to mock him as it passed through his nostrils like a pair piercing icy needles. He groaned and sighed, he climbed on the bed. He gave a long look through the window and saw the grey winter sky lined with a pocket of blue clouds; perhaps, his mother could see the blue and grey part in the sky and read the sign. How could she when he never told her? He chided himself but he knew it was no use, he would live regretting everything his life, Mariam, her unclaimed son, his mother and home. He was as a brute. Mariam had once said that he had no emotion. He had tried to contradict her; he did not behave the part. They dated for three months but end came when she came and told him she had been bleeding since their last act. Cyrus had simply stared at her without, not a word of consolation or “ I am sorry”, he only stared at her. That was how he lost the only person who really cared about him-he still pined for her but he knew it will be for Mariam died during the stampede in Senegal.

Whether Mariam died with or without the child…there was no way to tell. He looked everywhere but it was futile and he got no result. Maybe he got what he deserved. He was a too self-absorbed, he cares about nothing but himself. he ran away from Bathurst to Goree Island where a band of circus players had arrived for a show. He joined them and was allowed to take care of their monkeys and for a better part of the year. he constantly was moving from place to to playing with the circus along the Sene-Gambia. Immediately after the civil war that witnessed the overthrow of President Ismaila Hamdi, Cyrus was already on HMS Gibraltar- a stowaway. He arrived in Bristol with nothing to his name but he was, deep inside him, happy to be away from home. The country had been crippled with years of civil war, corrruption, and leadership incompetence. Now he thought to himself he has arrived and would soon sort himself out properly. In the first few days, he lay around the harbour begging food and sleeping among the various disused warehouses that dotted the harbour. Life couldn’t have been more precarious with a certainty of death from cold; he got to Bristol during the winter and the cold was cutting at that time of the year. But he was an exceptional character, only exceptional death can kill Cyrus. He battled with cold and hunger the first few weeks and soon enough he got too used to it, such that no other kind of life seemed appealed to him. He woke everyday; he loitered to the harbour and helped them carry a couple of boxes of confectionaries. The money he earned from these chores went to his feedings. Cyrus was a big eater, though for days on end he might go on without food. But when he has money, Cyrus eat big meals. He made eating some kind of festival to be celebrated when he could afford it. After the fourth week, Cyrus was arrested, he was taken to the foreign office, where he was made to sign a stack of papers; content of which he found too bulky to spare the luxury of reading. He hurried through the papers. He was taken to a single room apartment in a tenement already populated by immigrants from war ravaged countries: the building where he was taken was really an assemblage of unfortunate people with various degrees of deformities- souvenirs from ill motivated strife, the cause of which the people hardly understood. As he was being led into the building, some of the occupants of the buildings came out to see the latest addition to their number. He was given an official title: an asylum seeker.

The system eventually seemed to have recognized him, he thought. He was told he could go around as freely as he liked provided he reported at the foreign office as at when due. He was left alone as soon as the key was given to him. He was left with a strict wording “You must report at the foreign office every month!”

Last month he was there. When he got there he was given a form to fill. For the first time he became aware of his colour; for he was required under compulsion to fill in his colour in a box provided for such on the paper. He wanted to question the wisdom but he thought better of it. He reasoned if these strangers could be kind enough to give him stipend and a shelter without knowing him, then he had no gall whatsoever to question the wisdom of such magnanimous establishment.

“Mr Cyrus!” the orderly summoned him into the inner cubicle that served as the main office.

“That’s my name” He said as he sat down in front of the white man.

The White man plucked his moustache in a familiar gesture, then tapped the stack of paper in front of him with a pencil. He seemed to be reading through his heart but his steely blue eyes were saying nothing, yet the white man never shifted his gaze, but fixed it on him. As Cyrus sat there watching the strange man with his steely eyes, he felt as if a laser beam was piercing his heart and ripping it apart, yet the man said nothing, not for the first few minutes.

He cleared his throat through a lengthy ritual, picked up a paper cup on his table and flipped a glob of phlegm into it. He shot him the steely gaze again. Cyrus was now afraid. Has he done something wrong? He had broken the front door’s handle, back at the hostel, but no one had seen him. Perhaps someone had seen him and had informed the caretaker and the man decided to tell on him. No! That couldn’t be. His mind kept flipping. Work? Work? That’s it! But he had not been working since the foreign office started giving him the monthly allowance. Whatever it is, he’ll never allowed anyone to push him around, he muttered to himself. He was not the type to obey anyone but now he’s at these people’s mercy. His mind wandered back to the broken door handle again. It can not be that! The deviant of his head echoed. His mind was in tumult, the efforts to suppress the wandering thoughts were very visible on his face. He shifted his feet restlessly.

“They are all wily wimps.” Captain Winchester thought to himself. He was one of the few in the foreign office who shared in the belief that taking care of asylum seeker was a waste, a mammoth waste. As a means of getting back at them, he loved to make them feel loathsome. He knew that the most abject a man could descend in self devaluation was to feel inferior and he knew how to make these gits feel inferior; these undesirables are nothing but burdens. This is another of such burden, on the shoulder of the Queen, all in the name of absurd diplomacy. He just couldn’t find peace with all these mindless gobbledygook the homeland has been taking from these minnows.

“You make yourself available here every month!” he pinched his beard and rolled the tip of the pencil in the bushy edge. The slimy remnant of greenish phlegm coated the side of his mouth.

“I know about that, Sir!”

“Don’t start getting liberties with me!” Winchester smacked the table with his palm. “Don’t talk if I don’t ask you to, all right?”

“Yes sir!”

“Fine! Every body is happy now” he resumed. “You don’t work until you’ve gotten your permit, all right?”

“Yes sir!”

Without asking him to leave Winchester barked for his orderly. The young man flied into the cubicle looking like someone who had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Call in the next person” said Winchester pulling his moustache in that accustomed gesture. Cyrus took the cue and left the office. He walked almost half the way before hopping on the bus. He sat at the back. He met an old woman sitting there at the back but as he was sitting she abandoned the seat and went to the front seat; she was muttering under her breath and some of the white folks in the bus all turned to look at the nuisance.

That was his first acknowledge encounter with the diplomacy of narcissism. They avoided him quietly on the bus. At first, it was too much for him to take and he was already getting homesick. The problem was he couldn’t get himself to think of anywhere as home. Not even Nigeria where he had a mother. His mother was a rheumatic old woman. His mother was an overprotective woman, she had lost so much to the civil war. She was always over pampering him. Cyrus didn’t like that. How could she turn him into a whimpering sissy? He was not a girl deserving of her protective fang all the time. Sometimes a man has to learn to do his fight. But his mother would go out and fight in his name, fight for him. There were times he was simply cordoned from playing with other children by his mother, she thought he would be beaten by the other children because of his spare frame. His mother succeeded in scaring away other children from playing with him. He was like a scourge, the other children learnt to give him a respectable distance. He was used to being the odd one but never has his oddness so nakedly seen, never has he been so rejected in life. He felt it but his insensitivity would not allow him to see the picture lucidly like other person in such station might have seen it.

He looked out through the window again the snow flakes were coming down in gentle shower, some flakes drifted in through the opened window. The heating system has broken down and the caretaker did not seem to be in a hurry to start work on the repair. He has lodged that complaint over a month before he got bedridden, yet nothing was done about it. The flakes came down in showers, even more flew in through the window. The room became colder; he could feel the cold seeping in through the pore of his skin and sinking deep into him. The stench became frozen and solid even to the nose. He drew himself up, painfully he closed the louvers. As he lowered his trunk, he grabbed his chest; he felt the lump in his lung expanding, his breath had become more punctuated and uneven. He clutched the chest tightly but that did not ease the pain. His rib cage ached tensely, he lowered himself onto the bed, he coughed but no sound came forth. This seemed to please him in spite of the pain. He winced, cough again. As the air issued forth, a malodorous stench came out and enveloped the room in an invisible coat.

The sky has lost its gloss, it has taken a grey sheen, and the flakes were still pouring down as if angered. The roofs of the tenement lining Ashcroft Avenue on both sides have adorned new coats of white on their smudge-covered roofs. He could hear happy clatter of children in the street pelting one another with snowballs, reminiscent of African rain with children begging the rain to come back again. As the evening darkened, orb of light traversed the horizon as far as he could see. Twilight, trekked into the night, a dark night, for the stars also went into hiding. The cold grew more intense; he wrapped himself in the duvet cover, his hand searched for the black head warmer. He donned it. His mind wandered to back to the conversation he had with his friend, Hassan. They had met during his first stay at Bristol Harbour. He was an Egyptian. Hassan had told him they could still find a means of taking him to St. George. He needed health insurance card to access the facilities at St. George, but neither he nor Hassan had one. Hassan left after their discussion, hoping to see another Egyptian working at the tube station that had a card, to take care of his medical need since he could not afford the luxury of a private clinic. He fell into sleep wondering if Hassan would ever come back.

The throbbing in his chest has become more severe, pulsating, and threatening to burst out. He sighted the table clock. It was 2.00am. He felt very nauseated but he has not really eaten much. Hassan forced him to take a bowl of Quaker oat when he came and that was all he had taken. He felt very pressed, his bladder has welled up. He belched; the same smelly emission. The nauseous feeling returned once more. He felt sick, then a sudden surge right from his throat issued out in a gush, he tried to hold on to it with his mouth but he has lost the will to shut his mouth. Now, he knew he has to find a way of getting up from the bed and trudge to the bathroom. A trickle of green viscous material coursed down the side of his mouth. He gathered himself with all his strength, his muscles were not responding, they have all gone numb from cold. His left arm held on like a clasp to the edge of the bed and as he was supporting it with his right, the left hand lost grip, he fell off the bed and roll on the carpet. The duvet shrouded him, he summoned all the strength inside of him but even his will seemed to have succumbed to passivity. He could not free himself from the duvet, his heart tweak violently. He could hear the violent thudding coming from within. He let go of the duvet swaddling him from head to toe and strove to save his lungs. Breathing became more difficult and it was evident he would choke if he could not struggle free.

*******

He climbed the stairs two at a time, he was careful to avoid touching the banister. Jammeh was not at the tube station when he got there yesterday. Jammeh was arrested earlier that evening; he was told. It was Jammeh’s mate at the tube station that informed him. Jammeh owed one of the prostitutes living close to the tube station on Marylebone Street; whatever Jammeh bought from her, his mate could not give a satisfactory answer. What else does a prostitute has for sale? He went to contact his uncle, Sabur, to get Jammeh’s release and before he could finish with that, it was well past 3.00am in the morning. He got the card all right but he could not return to Cyrus for fear of being mugged by the migrants living around Ashcroft Avenue.

He knocked on Cyrus’ door. No answer. He knocked again, he tried the door, it eased in as he pushed it. He stepped into the room. The stench that rose from the room made him sick, he stepped outside quickly. After he had regained his breath, he went inside, covering his nose. What he saw appalled him. He was too struck to utter a cry; he sat down dejectedly staring at Cyrus lying in a pool of smelly green pus. His mouth lay open and giant house flies played around the opening.