By Taiye Olayemi

Busola Tejumola, Executive Head of Content and West Africa Channels, MultiChoice, on Tuesday disclosed that the eighth edition of Nigerian Idol would begin April 23 and run till July 16.

Tejumola during a media briefing in Lagos said the live performances for the show would also run from May 28.

She said the winner of this year’s edition of the show would walk away with N35 million cash prize with overall grand prize worth N100 million, including gift items, which would be disclosed later.

“This time, we are having our judges back, Obi Asika, Simi and D’Banj would be retained as judges as well as Ikponmwosa Osakioduwa as the host of the show.

“We decided to retain them because they succeeded in doing a great job during the 7th edition, bringing their unique personalities to the show and it emerged the best so far.

“The 8th Nigerian Idol will air on Africa Magic Showcase, Urban and Family. It will also air on an extra channel- channel 199, every Sunday at 7.00.p.m.

“This edition promises to unveil another set of great talents among Nigerian youths,” she said.

Tejumola disclosed that there was a 10 per cent increase in the number of entries received for the eighth edition of the show.

She acknowledged the headline sponsors of the show- Techno and Bigi; the tactical sponsors- Waw, Close-up, Tom-Tom and many others.

She appreciated the sponsors for their quest to contribute their quota to the growth of the entertainment industry.

“Nigerian Idol over the years has provided our audience with premium entertainment, the contestants with healthy competitions in their performances that drive to the emergence of the winner.

“Nigerian Idol will continue to offer talented artistes platform to show the continent what they can do and the opportunity to rise to fame through hard work and dedication.

“It is the right space to gain access to mentorship through the judges and couches who will expose the intricacies of the industry to the young talents.

“We invite all to join us in this journey of self discovery,” she said.

Speaking on his company’s involvement, Biola Aransiola, Assistant Brand Manager, Bigi, said “We are happy to be here, it is a big platform to help talents grow in Nigeria.

“We want to be that partner that holds them hand-on-hand to achieve greatness.”

Also, Mr Thompson Ani, Techno Marketing Manager, said “We are here bigger and better, we like giving back to the communiy, we are coming as headline sponsor this time because we want people to see the hidden talent in individual Nigerians.

“We are coming bigger this year.  So, expect something big.” NAN) (nannews.ng)

Edited by Folasade Adeniran

By Taiye Olayemi

The National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) has called on its members to promote and maintain peace in their works.

This is contained in a statement by Mr Israel Eboh, National President of NANTAP on Monday in Lagos.

He said that theatre practitioners should be willing and ready to educate, inform and be conscience of the society, using their ability to tell the truth.

Eboh said that their works must not project political, tribal or religious sentiments.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Theatre Day is celebrated on March 27 annually with 2023 theme as: “Theatre and a Culture of Peace”.

“It is another day to celebrate theatre, as practitioners, we recognise our place as the mirror and conscience of our societies in building a better world for today and tomorrow.

“As we join the global thespian family in celebration of this year’s day, we want to celebrate ourselves because collectively, we are survivors of the many challenges that have faced us last year.

“We are survivors of many battles, armed conflict, economic, environmental, social and political that we have had to confront in the last one year.

“As theatre practitioners, it is our noble call as theatre practitioners to teach those ideals that promote our peaceful co-existence by constructing bridges that connect us as one big, happy family,” he said.

Eboh said that theatre practitioners must work more on producing theatre that heals, invigorates and offers hope for a peaceful world to impact the nation positively.

He said practitioners should remain reliable compass pointing the nation in the direction of peace.

“ We must become the storytellers that change the narrative by stopping to romanticise and glorify the culture of violence as a sign of “macho strength”, when we can promote peace as the greater strength.

” For us to impact the world, we must first heal our collective wounds as a nation. Our theatre must embody hope and not hopelessness.

“Our theatre must spread the seeds of peace and not that of hatred, even in the face of political uncertainty that continues to threaten our hopes.

“We must remain the reliable compass pointing our nation in the direction of peace,” he said.

The president urged the Federal Government to provide an environment where justice, equity and utmost safety can be achieved, in order to ensure seamless operations.

“As enshrined in the UNESCO constitution, “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed,’’ he said.

” Our theatre must be the theatre of hope and truth that the nation desires. We owe it as a debt to use our theatre to help shape and create a better, and a more peaceful Nigeria.

” We are blessed with the voice that elicits attention.We have the platform and a captive audience as we celebrate the World Theatre Day 2023.

It  is our collective responsibility to ensure that our theatre becomes the voice that promotes the Culture of Peace,” he said. (NAN) (nannews.ng)

Edited Dorcas Jonah/Joseph Edeh

By Taiye Olayemi/Ronke Ojediran

Spotify, an online streaming platform, held its 2023 “Stream On” programme, unveiling features and tools to build career of artistes, podcasters and music creators.
Daniel EK, Spotify’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), during the virtual programme said this was necessary to aid deeper and long-lasting connections between music creators and listeners across the globe.
He said Spotify doubled down on discovery, revealing a reimagined interface that leverages new visuals and a completely new and interactive design.
According to him, one of the features which is the “new Spotify experience” will roll out in waves beginning today to over 500 million monthly active users of Spotify.
He noted that with “Smart Shuffle”, Spotify was introducing a new way to inject new music that perfectly complements an existing playlist with just the tap of a button.

He said building on the success of podcast previews, creators can choose or have Spotify automatically generate preview of their music and podcasts for users to sample before they play or save.

“Just like with music, Spotify will now serve autoplay for podcasts. When a podcast ends, another episode will automatically start playing that fits the user’s tastes and is relevant.

“Stream On is about all the ways we are bringing Spotify to life and letting creators at all stages of their careers know that we are open for business.

“We are focused on building the best home for them – a place where they can establish a career, thrive and grow and where the world can be inspired by their creativity.
“And that is what we have been doing for almost 17 years: building, improving and reimagining this home to better meet creator needs and help them chart new pathways to success.
“As we look to the future, we are excited to expand that ambition to even more creators across new formats.
“We are enabling more creativity, discovery and personalisation than ever before by providing the best resources, support, and interactivity,” he said.
The CEO also unveiled new and enhanced tools to help creators build and grow audiences which would help artistes find the fans who will love their music most.
He shared more details on the next revenue line to help artistes grow – merchandise and live.
He also announced the rollout of additional podcast features.
“Spotify for podcasters now brings together the best of Spotify’s podcast creator tools into a one-stop shop to create, manage, grow and monetise podcast content.
“Previously, Spotify’s most innovative features were limited to anchor users exclusively, but the company is building the new Spotify for podcasters in a way that offers more open access to innovation.
“As a result, all Spotify for Podcasters users—including those not hosting their content on Spotify, will find access to Question and Answer and Poll functionality in their dashboards.
“Starting today, when all creators sign up or log in to Spotify for Podcasters, they will find a dashboard with everything they need to make, manage, and level-up their show,” he said.
He also announced new and expanded Spotify Originals and Exclusives.
“Spotify and DC Comics will launch a new podcast series, The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark which will be led by Phantom 4 and filmmaker, novelist, and comic book writer, David S. Goyer.
“Fans can expect all of the beloved characters from the “Batman Unburied” series.
“Today, there are more than ten million creators on Spotify with over half a billion listeners across 184 countries and markets.
“Think about the massive potential that represents for creators. No matter where you are on your own creative journey within music, podcasts or audiobooks.
“The potential to reach half a billion people. And that reach is about to become more powerful with what we’ve introduced today,” he said.
Gustav Söderström, Spotify’s Co-President and Chief Product and Technology Officer, said , “Spotify recommendations drive close to half of all users’ streams. And when listeners decide to follow a creator, they listen to, on average, five times more of their music.
“That’s why discoveries on Spotify, unlike many other platforms, give creators so much more than just a fleeting moment of viral fame.
“Those meaningful, long-term connections are a key part of what makes Spotify a platform for professional and aspiring artistes”. (NAN) (nannews.ng)

Edited by Folasade Adeniran

By Chijioke Okoronkwo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was born on March 8, 1957, has clocked 66 years.

Osinbajo survived a helicopter crash in Kogi on Feb. 2, 2019, and won re-election on Feb. 23, 2019 for another four-year term with President Muhammadu Buhari.

He featured in the 2023 presidential primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Osinbajo, Nigeria’s 5th vice president is the Chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC), which deliberates on economic planning efforts and programmes of the various tiers of government.

As the chairman of NEC, Osinbajo has superintended over critical resolutions on economy, health, technology, agriculture, infrastructure and security, among others.

At the onset of COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Buhari asked him to chair the Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC) which drafted the Economic Sustainability (ESP) to shore up the economy.

He also chairs the Health Sector Reform Committee, National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy Committee, and Presidential Committee on the Repatriation.

Osinbajo is also chairing the committee on Return and Resettlement of IDPs in the North-East, National  Steering Committee (NSC) of the National Development Plan(NDP) 2021 – 2025 among others.

The vice president attended the Igbobi College, Lagos, University of Lagos (UNILAG) from 1975 to 1978, and London School of Economics and Political Science.

He was Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State from 1999 until 2007.

Osinbajo worked as a Professor of Law at the University of Lagos for many years; he was also a Senior Partner with SimmonsCooper Partners, a commercial law firm.

He is also a Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).

Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo, have three children.(NAN)

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Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz

By Chijioke Okoronkwo

Mr Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Office of the Vice President, has congratulated Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on his 66^th birthday.

The vice president turned 66 years old on Wednesday.

Akande extended his felicitations in a birthday message to the vice president who was born on March 8, 1957.

According to him, Osinbajo exists to inspire to build a better future for individuals, groups and the country.

“The place of inspiration and imagination in the pursuit of personal or national fulfilment is not only pivotal but also irreplaceable and this is why people who can inspire must remain in front.

“What I have come to know about the vice president is that he is an inspirer, and watching him do things is in itself an inspiration.

“People like that exists to inspire individuals, groups and nations to attain goals and objectives that advance their causes and lead irrevocably to greatness.

“He provokes something in people such that conduces towards excellence, endurance and empathy, attributes that he himself exemplify.

“He exudes excellence; so that people can discover hidden capacities.’’

Akande said the vice president showed endurance which enabled people to sustain the pursuit of vision by imbuing patience and humility that created perseverance.

He also listed empathy as one of the vice president’s qualities that reinforced a common bond of humanity by which individuals become an example of selflessness, rendering service and value on private and public levels.

The spokesman said it was the vice president’s empathy that took him to Maiduguri in the early months of the administration where he led a charitable effort that produced the learning centre.

He said the learning centre offered orphans affected by insurgency some of the best types of education available anywhere in the world in the past six years.

“It is the endurance that kept him in place when all kinds of malevolent forces were bent on diminishing the effective delivery of public goods directly to the people of this nation.

”(This is) in an unprecedented scale such as the Social Investment Programme(SIP) of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

“Some entrusted with leadership responsibilities wanted to privatise the SIP by sharing slots among the elites in a scheme meant to secure some social safety nets in a country fiercely battling poverty.

“Finally, it is the excellence for instance that makes him interrogate his aides and people pushing laudable ideas in and out of government by demanding for scaling up the numbers.

“After all, he would wonder “what’s the use of a government programme that reaches only a few thousands in a population of over 200million.

“For him, excellence says think, not just out of the box, but think big; do the hard part, apply yourself, be relentless, work tirelessly at goals.’’

According to Akande, in the past eight years, the average closing time in the Vice President’s Office is 8pm or 9pm.

He said that on many occasions, people in the office had been at work past 12 midnights as excellence spared no effort.

“So, today as the vice president turns 66, I wish him a happy birthday and many happy returns.

“My dear boss, and Nigeria’s number two citizen, we pray that as your days so shall your strength, wisdom and favour be with God and man,’’ he said.(NAN)

====

Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz

By Esenvosa Izah

A Nigerian dancer, Ms Kafayat Shafau, popularly known by her stage name, Kaffy, has urged women to cultivate the habit of dancing regularly.

She said this was helpful in reducing stress, keeping fit and being more productive in their various walks of life.

Kaffy, who is also a dance advocate, gave the advice at the 2023 Lagos Women Dance, the fourth in its series, held on Saturday at the National Stadium in Lagos.

The programme was organised by two organisations, Jela Projects Limited in conjunction with Seed Rehabilitation Foundation.

Kaffy said the organisers wanted to give women empowerment for business, help with education, and so on, but there was more to this.

“A wellness mind is a productive mind; also, a full belly is productive, but you can have a full belly and still be worried or stressed; I think both should go together.

“Whatever we are doing for women, we should not forget that the stress of being a woman in Africa is enough to break a woman

“So, my message here is to encourage women to understand that health is wealth, but the mind that carries the body is actually the vault of where productivity lies and we need to protect that space, “ she said.

Kaffy said that the backbone of human living was continuous movement, and dance, as a way to move, was fun..

According to her, the body, mind and soul benefit immensely from dancing.

“So, if the body moves, the mind cannot tell the difference between a body that is moving positively or negatively.

“Therefore, we always encourage people, even when we use dance as therapy, no matter your negative condition, when you get up and dance, you can never return angry or sad.

“Dance melts that sadness, tension and also, your physiology: cardiovascular system, digestive system, muscular system. every part of your body is benefitting from dance.

“So, when I talk about being an advocate for dance, it is not only for entertainment, but for human excellence; we need to move in order to live, “ she said.

Also, the Chief Executive Officer and Convener of the dance, Mrs Angela Tony-Iji, said her passion for dance was the driving force behind the programme.

She said she also had passion for strong and hardworking women.

According to her, this cuts across women from all walks of life, including professionals, grassroots women and business women.

“Many women hardly have time to socialise, stress out, exercise and carry a lot of burdens like physical, emotional, financial stress.

“Some are slumping, dying of depression, having no one to talk to,” she said.

The convener said that women love to mingle, network, learn from fellow women and build very good relationships.

“So, out of this passion for dance, singing, mingling, having fun is what birthed this programme, “ she said.

Tony-Iji urged men to support their wives and partners to partake in dance and other activities that could reduce the stress in daily living.

She also called on the government and corporate organisations to partner with others to support the well-being of women in the society.

Tony-Iji said: “Gone are those days when they say women are not heard but seen.

“These days, women should not be relegated to the background and stereotyped to keep them in one place, dying in silence; no man should push his wife to that point.

“We call on the government and well-meaning Nigerians to invest more in the well-being of women in the country.”

A participant and a mother of four children, Mrs Gladys Umokoro, said that dance had become part of her lifestyle, urging fellow women to develop the habit.

Umukoro said, “I see dance as a way to unwind and relax myself; I have a dance club that I attend and I have also made more friends in the process.

“Women in Nigeria suffer a lot due to pressure from the home front; however, women can still do a lot to care for themselves by dancing or doing whatever can make them feel relaxed and stay healthy.” (NAN)

===========
Edited by Oluwole Sogunle

By Collins Yakubu-Hammer

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), Dr Chidia Maduekwe, has congratulated the President-elect, Sen. Bola Tinubu, on his victory in Saturday’s election.

Maduekwe said in a congratulatory message on Wednesday, that Tinubu’s victory was a testament to a renewed hope for a better, secure and prosperous Nigeria.

According to him, the emergence of Tinubu as president under the APC’s ‘renewed hope’ mantra, will present beautiful vista for the nation’s creative industry, particularly the film industry, for enhanced contribution to national economy.

Maduekwe, also a chieftain of the ruling APC, called on all citizens to welcome the president-elect with renewed optimism and support as the next dispensation ushers in better days for Nigeria.

“On behalf of myself and the Nigerian Film Corporation, I congratulate the President-elect, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on his resounding victory in Saturday’s Presidential Election, despite all odds.

“This is not just a victory for our great party, the All Progressives Party (APC), but a victory for Nigerians and lovers of democracy across the world.

“The NFC, which is committed to development of a viable and sustainable film industry and cinema culture in Nigeria, will sure deliver more on its mandate under this administration,” he said.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared and presented Tinubu with Certificate of Return on March 1, after winning the Feb. 25 poll.

Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes, while PDP’s Atiku Abubakar came second with 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of LP emerged third with 6,101,533 votes. (NAN) (www.nanews.ng)

==================================
Edited by Ifeyinwa Okonkwo/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

By Deji Abdulwahab

Tade Adeyemi, National President, Deejays Association of Nigeria (DJAN), says the association has created a network platform to ease Deejay’s business for its members in the country.

Adeyemi made this known on Tuesday in Abuja, while unveiling Karu branch of DJAN.

He called on Deejays to join the association, saying that they would benefit a lot from the association’s network platform.

Adeyemi said: “The reason for coming together is to assist ourselves in the entertainment industry, because you cannot know it all and have it all; you must learn from old hands.

“DJAN has created a platform where members will assist and ease Deejay’s business for each other.

“For instance, if a member of DJAN has been invited to come from Abuja and play in Benue, that member does not need to carry anything to Benue, except his laptop.

“What he needs to do is to talk to his coordinator here in Abuja to negotiate with any DJAN executive in Benue to provide relevant equipment in that state.

“So, tell your friends to be members of this great association because you will gain more as members.’’

According to him, it is very good that we are unveiling this branch today, that means you are a recognised body of the DJAN. So, anywhere you go, nobody can mess you up.

Adeyemi, describing Deejays as parasites, who fed on other people’s works in the entertainment industry, stressed the need for them to pay stipends to the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN).

He recalled that DJAN and MCSN had on Dec.19, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to ensure that right owners benefited from the exploitation of their works.

While inaugurating Karu chapter of association, Isa Justice, the Chairman, DJAN in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), described the association as an avenue to take entertainment industry to the next level.

Justice said that over the years, Deejays were seen as drop out people who did not know what they were doing.

“But now, we are changing the narrative and we all have to change it together. It is time for us to package ourselves. It is time to turn a new leaf.

“When you go for an event, package yourselves because the world is now about packaging,’’ he said.

Justice, who is also known as DJ Smooth, said gone were the days when Deejays collected N20, 000 per play.

“We are above that level now. Very soon, there is going to be task force and it is coming very real. So, brace up as it comes,’’ he said.

Earlier, the Coordinator, DJAN Karu chapter, Sylvester Daniel, commended the FCT and National Executives for unveiling the chapter to be more recognised as body like before. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Olagoke Olatoye