DAILY TRUST, Friday, January 26, 2018
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YOUTHVILLE
Around Naija: Group to engage youth in cultural trek across the states From Nurudeen Oyewole, Lagos The Around Naija, a maiden cultural and traditional exploration would soon engage youth to familiarise themselves with local cultures across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the organiser has said. At a briefing in Lagos, President of Blue Diamond Entertainment and organiser of the project, Otunba Olumide Adekunbi said ‘Around Naija’ which is a combination of a roadshow and a reality TV is expected to enliven the competitiveness among Nigerians and help to propagate the cultural values of the people. He said: “Around Naija is a reality TV show designed and created to showcase the aesthetics inherent in the tradition and culture of the Nigerian people as well as highlight it’s unity in diversities. It is a road trip show to cover the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. “Participants would be competitively engaged among themselves throughout the show will be drawn from across Nigeria through an auditioning exercise. It is basically life on the road,” he noted. He also explained that 37 participants, each representing a state and the FCT, will be drawn through auditioning at Ibadan, Abuja, Enugu, Port Harcourt and Lagos. He added that participants who are 18 and above and are Nigerians, could apply. The Project Director, Blue Diamond, Aniemeke Hyacinth said unlike experiences in other reality TV shows where immorality is allowed, the project has been configured in a way that would make any immoral act difficult. The Head, Research and Scripting, Gbenga Adesanya said the organisers have gone extramile to provide adequate security in all of the states that t at the t e programme p og a e would ou d be held. e d.
Why Kano censorship board pardoned Rahama Sadau — Afakallah By Richard P. Ngbokai, Kano
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he Executive Director of Kano state Censorship Board, Alhaji Isma’ila Muhammad Na’abba has spoken about why the board pardoned Rahama Sadau, a Kannywood actress. Na’abba also known as Afakallah disclosed this in an interview with Daily Trust in Kano. The Board is an agency of the state government that regulates the movie making industry. Afakallah who was the first chairman of Arewa Film Makers Association of Nigeria, Kano chapter and former image maker for Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN), Kano chapter said, “I want people to understand that censorship boards are not after personalities or individuals, we are after the content of what is there in your film.” He said what happened was that there was an order that any person that wants to do a film anywhere not only in Nigeria has to know that he is representing Hausa culture, he is going back to his people and that person has to be a good ambassador of the people. “I know they drew that line so that any person that violated it before that one has passed but when they drew the line, Rahama Sadau violated that law,” he explained. He said Rahama went ahead to Jos and shot her film and she banned by the movie producers association as the movie was against the culture. “The association took the decision for banning Rahama Sadau and we (board) supported it because we observed that it was for the good of the people of Kano state,” he
noted. He said d the actress acttress apologised for the action year on last ye ear and that she wrote a letter etter to that th hat effect. “We don’t on’t have e any reason not to forgive rgive her. We showed her mistakes istakes and she realized and went we ent to the media and apologized as a star, now ow it is left le eft for the association on to decide decide its way of disciplining disciplin ning her, but on our partt we have forgiven her an and nd we are ready to censor her films,” he said. On movie pr productions roductions in Hausa language e meeting the cultural demand demands, ds, he said, “I may come me with my own personal thinking but the there ere are judges who would wo ould assess your our movie mov vie to see iff it meets meetts the taste e of the e public, iff it doess not contain aspects that hat may offend people’s sensibilities. The board was created to protect ect the norms and values of the people of Kano state.”
I thought juggling business and architecture would be impossible — Fashion designer By Latifat Opoola @LatifatOpoola
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I have come to realize that there are a lot of things that happen behind the scenes which clients or customers cannot imagine, therefore now, I am more tolerant and understanding when dealing with other entrepreneurs” says Faridah Musa when asked about the most valuable lesson she has learnt along her entrepreneurship journey. Faridah who recently launched her clothing business, “Fanimura Apparel” said she nursed the idea since 2015. The Architecture graduate, says she juggles practicing Architecture with fashion designing. “I have always had an interest in the fashion industry because when I was much younger; my mother enrolled me in a sewing school to learn. So I always had 2 hours of sewing lessons after school until my sewing teacher had to relocate to another town” says the 27 year old Kogi state
indigene. The young entrepreneur who confessed that she had been procrastinating because she didn’t think it would be possible to juggle the business with her job which is quite tasking, said “Towards the end of 2016, I felt a certain restlessness and yearning, I knew I had to do something more than just following my professional dream and so I started making plans and researches on how to go about the business without it actually hindering my work and here we are now”. Faridah who is Bassa by tribe, started the business with about half a million which covered the cost of branding, registration purchase of fabrics and cost of production for the first collection. She also said her biggest motivation has been her love for fashion and comfortable clothing. “My main aim is to create pieces that are effortlessly chic, easy to wear, very comfy and not revealing” she said. “Apart from determination and a lot of patience, I would say you need creative skills, and ability to illustrate and interprete illustrations. You also need to know about fabrics, colors, patterns and know what would interest your target customers” she added. Faridah stated that although the business is still in its early days “but from my research, fashion business is lucrative”. “Fanimura is mainly an online store
for now. I have accounts on social media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp where pictures of the outfits are displayed. I am currently working on a website and with time, I hope to get a store” she adds. The young businesswoman laments that her major challenges so far has been finding a constant source of quality fabrics, and getting artisans to interprete her designs properly. “I hate to compromise on quality so that is a huge challenge for me. So finding a constant source of quality fabrics is a huge challenge for me. Secondly, getting the artisans to interprete my designs properly is a task which requires a lot of time and patience but I believe subsequently we’ll overcome this particular challenge” she complained. She calls on youth to search within themselves and unearth that hidden talent, no matter what it is or how silly it makes them look. “It might turn out to be your biggest source of income. For those venturing into any independent business be it in the fashion industry or any other industry, know that it will not be easy. Many obstacles are bound to crop up. Self-doubt, lack of motivation sometimes, inadequate funds, all these are things you should not allow to stop you. With determination and hard work, all things are bound to fall into place” she advised.
The best b way to predict your future is to create it – Abraham Lincoln