A response to AY, Chioma Chukwuka

I decided to write this piece as a response to the appalling attitude displayed by comedian Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY, and Nollywood actress Chioma Chukwuka, now known as Chioma Akpotha. I found it appalling that these two public figures would engage in word exchange. I won’t want to keep you, dear readers, in the dark as to what transpired while we were onboard our return flight to Lagos from Port Harcourt penultimate weekend. The atmosphere was tense and everyone was tired after we had waited endlessly to get onboard. It was a full flight chartered by our host, the organisers of the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). Since the flight was full, the flight attendant explained through the in-flight address system that it won’t be possible for the luggage to be on the same flight with us and as such another flight scheduled for 8pm would take them to Lagos. Obviously, Chioma Akpotha and her two friends were not paying attention. Sitting by the window afforded her the opportunity to see the luggage being wheeled away. She exclaimed: “Our luggages (sic) are there o. Wetin I wan go do for Lagos if my luggages (sic) no come with me?” “I have a show tonight o,” answered one of her friends. The flight attendant had to walk up to them to politely explain to them why it won’t be possible for the luggage to be on the flight. But Chioma and his friends won’t take any of that as they went on to chat noisily about their bags that were left behind. For me, Chioma and her friends did not understand basic aviation safety rules. There was no way those big bags and boxes could have come onboard with us. And I wondered if she had never been on international flights where no one would tell you your baggage were left behind until you get to your destination. I think the flight attendant was too nice to have taken the pain to explain to them why their bags were not taken. After that episode, Chioma and her group continued to chat noisily about one thing or the other, disturbing the peace of everyone onboard. It was obvious they wanted attention. You know that kind of I-want-everyone-to-know-I-am-here attitude that some ‘popular’ faces at times want to put up. As if that was not enough, there was a quarrel between Chioma’s group and Yemisi, a correspondent with Vanguard Newspaper, shortly after we landed in Lagos. The quarrel was caused by shoving or pushing on the aisle while a few people who got off their seats were trying to bring out their bags from the luggage compartment. Chioma and her friends resorted to insulting Yemisi in Igbo language, not knowing that Yemisi understood everything they said. She is half Igbo. Her mum is Igbo. Out of annoyance and irritation, she retorted: “What’s wrong with these lousy Igbo girls?” “Did you just say that?” asked one of the girls in Chioma’s group. “What did you say?” asked Yemisi. “Did you just say ‘these lousy Igbo girls’?” “Don’t mind her, she is a coward?” replied Chioma. “And if I say that?” Yemisi asked. The exchange continued, in which Yemisi was forced to call them lousy bitches and the other girls responded by calling her ugly bitch. In the midst of all this, the sentiment of tribalism was played up as everyone thought Yemisi name-called the girls because they were Igbos. But nobody knew she is Igbo herself. She equally insulted herself in the process. Chioma would stop at nothing to educate anyone onboard about how proud she is being Igbo and how she can afford to pay Yemisi’s salary. She went as far as questioning why the organisers of AMAA would put someone like Yemisi on the same plane with her, the superstar that she is. “If not for AMAA, why would someone like me be on the same plane with this one?” Chioma ranted. “It is not her fault now, it is AMAA. Who is this one, who knows her? I know her, she works with Vanguard. I will call her chairman now and tell him. He will sack her.” As if that was not enough, AY, who should have kept quiet, took sides and supported his fellow ‘superstar’. “If you were my wife, I would have slapped you,” he told Yemisi. I was perplexed by AY’s utterance. I was dismayed at how a public figure like him would say a thing like that because of a verbal exchange between two women. Why on earth will he say that? That just shows he has no respect for his wife and he must be a wife beater. There were other stars like Zack Orji, Dakore, Saheed Balogun, amongst others, onboard who never said a word. AY went ahead on Saturday to post a long piece on his Facebook page still defending his ‘co-star’. In his post, AY wrote: “(I am so sure she wouldn’t ask an Angelina Jolie or a Kim Kardashian that same question if she were to be on the same flight with any of them. Perhaps she would have started twitting immediately, saying ‘AMAA things…. Kim just asked me to take it easy, they are yet to open the exit door. Wow wow wow, 2013 my year of exit opening doors’). But definitely not to a Nollywood multiple awards-winning happily married actress with kids.” Kim, Angelina Jolie and Chioma are not on the same level when it comes to fame. AY may need to rigorously search for another personality for his comparison. Who is Chioma in Nollywood? She is definitely not on the same pedestal with the likes of Genevieve, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde or even Dakore. How much is she worth? What is her current market value in Nollywood? It was the brand ambassador deal she struck that made her have a little change and not the money she made from Nollywood. She is not amongst the highest paid or even the most popular. So what is AY’s pain? Perhaps AY has forgotten that he is also a father when he sagged his trousers revealing what he had under while boarding the plane that fateful Sunday evening. A word is enough for the wise!

Bayelsa and an opportunity called golden

The sleepy town of Yenogoa came to life last weekend when people from all parts of the continent and beyond converged on Bayelsa State. It was the 2013 edition of African Movie Academy Awards otherwise called AMAA. Hosting more than 5,000 people in a gathering at once is not a common occurrence in Bayelsa. It only happens once in a year when the AMAA takes place there, and the state has hosted more than five editions of the award that is in its ninth year. I have attended more than three editions of the awards held at the Gloryland Centre in Yenogoa and the story has always been the same – poor organisation. This last edition was horrific and I was saddened by the impression the visitors from overseas have about Nigeria. Leaving Lagos for Port Harcourt was a difficult task as everyone had to wait at the domestic airport for more than three hours. There was the promise of a chartered flight. Eventually, we were able to get on a plane. After a 45-minute flight, we were in Port Harcourt. It was a relief, though, that there were buses waiting to transport us by road to Yenogoa. We arrived Yenogoa and about 8pm. Everyone was tired. Sleep, food and water were top on our minds. We had thought we would be driven straight to the respective hotels booked for us. But anyone who had attended AMAA in Yenogoa would know that is not the norm. The tourism bureau is usually the next port of call. And I was right. When we got to the bureau, everyone tried to scramble for the few wraps of eba left. There was rice but no stew. There was eba and ogbono soup, no meat. A white guy had to eat his rice with ogbono soup. We were later told there was chicken frying on the big fire in a corner. Perhaps the caterers were overwhelmed by the large crowd who arrived at the bureau at the same time. But a better arrangement could have been made for us to have dinner at the hotel. The following day, a media chat with the jurors was held at the tourism bureau. From the look of things, it was obvious there was no adequate preparation for this. It was just a makeshift arrangement. After the briefing, there was no bus to take the media from Kenya to their hotel. They had to make the journey of foot. It was sad. In fact, a Kenyan delegate told me he won’t return to Nigeria for the AMAA again because he has been disappointed for the second time. “Do you know why Kenyans did not submit more films?” he said to me. “It is because they were disappointed the last time they came to Nigeria. If it were in Kenya, I wouldn’t agree to sleep in the kind of hotel I was lodged in.” Returning to Lagos was a battle. We stayed hours on end for the return tickets to be sorted. From 11am we didn’t get on the plane until 6pm. It is important that the Bayelsa State government take the annual hosting of the AMAA very seriously. They must begin to see and harness the opportunities therein for the development of Bayelsa. Out of the nine years of AMAA, Bayelsa has hosted it seven times. I was told the Ididie Hotel where my Kenyan friend was lodged was the ‘five-star hotel’ at the maiden edition of AMAA. It was the place Nollywood stars and other international guests were lodged. Nine years after, the number of hotels in the state has tripled. That’s one of the contributions of AMAA to the development of the state. In addition, AMAA offers the opportunity for the state’s tourism to grow side by side with the awards. A proper arrangement should have been made for all guests to go on a tour of the historical landmarks of the state with a guide on each bus explaining to them the importance of these places. This is an opportunity for job creation. At least, the guides will be paid at the end of it. Also, stalls should have been built for indigenes to sell the state’s arts and crafts like beads, little figurines, amongst others. Even the boat regatta, not all the guests were there. AMAA is an opportunity for commerce. No matter how little, it will begin to open up the state’s economy. AMAA is the only event that brings a crowd of that magnitude to the state annually. I see no reason the state government should not take it seriously. It should be properly organised in a way that air tickets would have been bought ahead, hotels inspected and booked, there should be meet and greet at the airport, amongst others. Visitors should not be left on their own to sort things out. It is not a time to play politics with the image of Nigeria because when AMAA is mentioned on the continent, the first thing that comes to mind is the name Nigeria because that is the awards’ origin. If AMAA is too big for Bayelsa – and it appears it is – then the organisers may begin to consider other African countries hosting it. They should allow them bid for hosting rights. This will change the game and the way the award is perceived on the continent. If not, then it is high time Bayelsa took AMAA seriously as its tenth anniversary comes up next year.

Good old Alawiye

Good old Alawiye A few weeks ago, I encountered some friends who brought about old memories – memories of growing up in a peaceful country with functional educational system. One of them reminded me of those good old days when our teachers would take us out under the cool shade of trees outside our classroom to tell us stories. Story time under trees was a time we always looked forward to. It was strategic that our teachers had chosen to take us outside after lunch break because they knew sitting down in class to listen to any lesson was not the best for filled tiny stomachs! Sleep was always the next for us. That was when we were in primary school, Primary One to be precise. At the time, we would take turns to tell stories with Ijapa, the tortoise, the main character in our stories. Also, Alawiye by J. F. Odunjo was our indispensable companion. We would have memorised stories that we would share during story time from it. The moral lessons were always there for us to learn. Our teacher would swing his cane if anyone failed to state correctly the moral lesson from the story told. At the time also, we would memorise this famous poem from Alawiye Kini, the first of the book’s series. It was a popular poem whose lines I will never ever forget. They are ingrained in my subconscious forever. It is titled Ise ni Ogun Ise, literally meaning ‘hard work is the medicine for poverty’. It goes thus: Ise ni ogun ise/Mura si ise ore mi/Ise ni a fi n di eni giga/ti a ko ba ri eni feyintin/Bi ole la n ri/ Ti a ko ba ri eni gbekele /Ka tera mo ise eni/ Iya re le lowo lowo/Baba re si le lesin lekan/Bi o ba gbojulewon/ O te tan ni mo so fun o/Iya un be fun Omo ti o gbon/ Ekun un be fun omo ti n sa kiri/Ma fi owuro se ere ore mi. At the time, Alawiye was like a cross we all had to carry in primary school. We thought our teacher was taking us through hell because we had to learn all the words by heart. In Alawiye, there was also the story of Ijapa and Ojola and Alade, the man who grew horn on his head. These are interesting stories that I believe pupils in primary schools these days are missing. I don’t know if Alawiye is still included in the list of books for schools, especially for private schools where the American and British curricula are taught today. It is sad if books like Alawiye, Chike and the River, Ade Our Naughty Little Brother, Sugar Girl, This is Our Chance, amongst others are not on pupils’ reading list. These are books written to shape young minds. They help to shape imaginations. I can recall reading the stories of Simbi and Agbo in the Macmillian series and how these stories have shaped my imagination. Simbi, Agbo and Wakama were characters I adored. I used to imagine myself in their shoes whenever I read about them. They were to us then what the Superman was to an average child brought up in Europe and America. I think it is important that parents should also encourage their children to read these books even if they are not in the school curriculum. Parents should buy them and read them to their children. We must begin to build a reading generation.