A Night With Timi - The Event

The date was Friday June 15, 2007. The location was the 1st floor, Planet 44, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event was "A night with Timi", organized by members of the Timi's Fans Club. E-mails had been sent, phone calls made and awareness had spread from one Fan to the other. The TGIF mood was in the air as it was a Friday evening and so, all roads led to Planet 44. Guests started trickling in as early as 6pm while the organizers were preparing the venue. Two large banners were put up, chairs were arranged, the sound system was tested while a collection of Timi-style songs was being played. There were lots of surprise moments as people who had only been communicating via e-mail for weeks finally saw themselves face to face. There were such exclamations as "So you are Aziza!", "Where is Fred?", "Is that Nkechi?", "Who is Shaddyplus?", etc and other remarks as is expected in such a union. Guests were soon seated and food and drinks were ordered while the kick-off of the program was awaited.

The event started some minutes after 7pm with an introduction from the two MCs (Ibrahim and Omua). First up was an opening prayer which was taken and promptly Amened to by all. It was easy to see that the audience was getting apprehensive. Where was Timi? Everyone seemed to ask. Unfortunately, Timi was stuck in Traffic, as is customary in Lagos on Friday evenings. The MCs tried their best to alleviate the anxiety and it seemed worsened until suddenly the good news came "Timi is Around". At this point, the lights were switched off and the guests were implored to keep silent and wait for a cue before making any sound. Timi was not aware of the size of the fans that were seated and so a surprise was planned for him.

Eventually, after some minutes Timi ascended the stairs led by 2 members of the organizing committee. The lights came on, there was a pause for a second and suddenly ... wild frenzy. Fans went crazy with delight at seeing Timi within a few inches of themselves. Order was thrown to the winds for a few minutes as people hugged, shook hands and took pictures with Timi while some members actually shed tears. Timi himself was totally awed. He hadn't expected anything of such a magnitude. He tried to regain his composure as he posed for picture after picture, hugged fan after fan and shook hand after hand. Finally, thanks to the MCs and some committee members, order was restored and the program resumed.

The next item on the agenda was a talk about the Fans club promptly taken by Ier Jonathan. With great oratory skills, Ier talked about the origin of the fans club and recounted experiences from early members about many a phone line which ran out of credit used to vote for Timi, and many a boss who discovered that their phone had been "stolen" by their subordinate to voting purposes. Everyone could laugh it off because it had paid off and Timi was the Idol. Ier also spoke about the vision and the aims of the club.

Next on stage was Jedi, a popular stand up comedian. The place reverberated with humor as Jedi did what he best knew how to. He captivated the audience with jokes which were centered around the Idols competition. The highlight was when he lamented that he had no fan club despite his years in comedy whereas Timi already had a dedicated fan club within just 3 months in the limelight. Time ran out, and soon Jedi had to leave.

Up next was a poetry recital for Timi read by Bode (A member of the fans club). Titled "Timi You Rock", it was written by Toni Kan, an award winning poet, essayist and short story writer. Not surprisingly, it was well composed and left people overwhelmed and Timi speechless.














The next event was a talk show tagged "10 questions with Timi". Staged in an Oprah Winfrey/Funmi Iyanda style setting, the presenter was ... you guessed it, Me! A list of questions had been pre-compiled which included both personal and general questions. Questions such as "Do you wear boxers or briefs?" and "Are you a virgin" drew interest from the audience. Timi answered all his questions well, cleverly evading the embarrassing bits and even introducing some humor into some answers.


Gifts were presented to Timi and an award plaque was presented by Aziza Uko on behalf of The Fans Club. Timi then gave a vote of thanks and said a few words of prayer for his fans, after which there was no holding back the crowd as they jostled for pictures with Timi. Timi himself took pictures with everyone he could and didn't turn back anyone. His gentleness and humility were quite apparent throughout the program, and the fans were very happy that their votes did not go to waste. Not long after, Timi left for his hotel leaving a crowd of accomplished and happy fans. And so ended a night with the first ever West African Idol, Timi Dakolo.


The Event in Pictures


Waiting for Timi.













The Entry













Frenzy!













More Frenzy!













Timi Dakolo, The First West African Idol.













Ier Jonathan - Talk about the fans club.



















Jeddi - Stand-up Comedy



















Bode - Poetry Recitial


















Timi & I - 10 Questions With Timi














Timi and Aziza Uko - Presentation of The Award Plaque














Timi with Plaque - Vote of thanks

















Timi and Fans (L-R) KD, TMan, Fred, Timi, Andrew and Femi.













Timi and more fans














Timi and I













Timi departs.














Aziza Uko - Founder of the Fans Club























The organizing committee - (L-R) Tayo, Nkechi, Ken, Ier, Aziza, Fred, Edikan and Andrew (squating)

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Omar VS Umar. Who Shall Win?

President Umar Musa Yar'adua needs no introduction. He's the president of Nigeria. Mr Abdulwaheed Omar is the President of the National Labor Congress (NLC), having recently taken over from Adams Oshiomole who occupied the position for 2 terms. These two men are currently in a battle, albeit indirectly. Events leading to the battle were put in place by Outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo when he increased fuel price from N65/ltr to N75/ltr, increased VAT from 5% to 10% and sold off the Port Harcourt Refinery to "people of unknown track record in refining" (As put by NUPENG and PENGASANG) all as part of his "farewell package". These moves proved very unpopular to Nigerians and the NLC not being one to sit back in such times has declared a nationwide strike. The strike became effective today and is to last indefinitely.

President Umar has barely spent a month in office and NLC President Omar is also new in his position. Both have a point to prove and both have tried proving it. Upon being informed about the pending strike, President Umar suspended the 10% VAT and reduced fuel price to N70/ltr. This was not acceptable to the NLC. It was either N65 or an indefinite strike. If President Yar'adua agrees to this, it will show a sign of weakness and might determine a lot of what will happen during his tenure as President. On the other hand, the NLC President also needs to make his mark and show himself strong. Hence the elephants fight, and the grass feels.

At this time, I personally think it would be wise for the NLC to suspend the strike while giving the Federal Government an ultimatum to take the price back to N65. The FG has made an effort and shown a sign of goodwill by reducing the price halfway. The NLC should also back off. Some would however argue that N70 was the intended price by the FG who knowing fully well that the NLC would protest decided to set the price above the desired price so they could "arrive" at N70 after negotiation. This makes sense and might or might not be true. The important thing now is that the NLC has already scored a goal. It's time to sheath their swords and allow Nigerians get back to work.

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A Lady of Many Colors - Chimamanda Adichie

It's probably stale news that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie won The Orange Prize for her book "Half of A Yellow Sun". The Orange Broadband Prize for fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, awarded annually for the best original full-length novel by a female author of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK in the preceding year. This was not her first time on the shortlist. In 2004, she was nominated for the same price for her first book "Purple Hibiscus" but she lost to British Writer Andrea Levy, writer of "Small Island".

Chimamanda has come a long way. At just 30, she has achieved excellence in her career and great fame. Set to follow (and exceed) the footsteps of great novelists like Chinua Achebe, her two books have already sold tons of copies.

Her first book "Purple Hibiscus" is a story recounted by a 14-year-old girl, which captures the conflict of a family whose patriarch is staunchly Catholic. Against the backdrop of a corrupt, crumbling society, the implacable force of religious fundamentalism plays out not against secular humanism, but against the animist practices of tribal elders.
Her second book "Half Of A Yellow Sun" is set during the Nigerian Civil war in a dusty university town. It's a book about moral responsibility, the end of colonialism, ethnic allegiances, class and race—and the ways in which love can complicate them all.

I call her a Lady of Many Colors because she has evolved from Purple to Yellow and now finally to Orange! Who else should have won the Orange prize if not she? I wonder what the next color she has up her sleeve would be, but I know I won't be disappointed. Congratulations, Chimamda, you deserve that prize. The sky is the beginning and there is no limit.

PS
Coverage of the event (and pictures) can be found on Molara Wood's blog here.

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BlogVille Idols

Everyday I get more surprised at the level of potential hidden within Nigerians, which is quite evident in many of my fellow Nigerian Bloggers. The smartness and innovative spirit of the average Nigerian cannot be put to question, many have demonstrated great abilities. Some time ago, Solomon Sydelle began a chain blog post called The Nigerian Proclamation, a voice of protest to Nigerian leaders which hit the BBC website on the handover day. Presently, another idea has manifested. The smoke has barely cleared from the stage of the Idols West Africa and the American Idols competitions when in a bid to spice up blogville, 2 young Nigerian female bloggers (Pink Satin and Naija Opeke) came up with a brilliant idea to replicate the singing competition on the blog platform.

They name it Blogville Idols, and the idea kicked off with this post and this post. Receiving a large comment base, it soon evolved into a dedicated blog. It's centered around a plugin from snapvine, which allows people to leave voice messages via a phone call on any site that uses the plugin. How the idea became apparent to Pink Satin and Naija Opeke, I have not the slightest idea. Presently, there are 15 contestants in persons of Sparkle, Chicala, TaureanMinx, Bobby Taylor, Idemmili, Lurlar, Nigerican, Diary of a G, Everybody loves a Naija girl, I'm a babe, Naija Dude, Mimi, AbujaBabe, 2ndCorin5:17 and d Last King of Scotland. The producers are Pink Satin and Naija Opeke and work under the label Pink Peke Productions. Consultant to the show is Ugo. The host is Cheetarah and the judges are Naija Vixen, Bimby Lads, London Buki and Myself. There shall be a grand prize for the winner which has not yet been announced.

The competition will kick off tomorrow Monday, June 11, 2007. Contestants will phone in to record their songs and after the entries are closed the judges will give their comments. After this, bloggers can vote for their favorite singers. Anyway, enough said, you can follow the event here, and don't forget to cast your votes. I believe this will make the news once again. Nigerians, we're leaders in whatever we do, and we're headed towards greatness. Good luck to all contestants.

Tayo
Official Judge
BlogVille Idols.

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FRSC. Practice What You Preach!

FRSC is an acronym for Federal Road Safety Commission, a commission whose primary objective is to maintain safety on Nigerian Roads. This they do by ensuring that road users abide by road rules and regulations. Some of these include checking to see if drivers have their seat belts on, watching out for road offenders, dangerous overtaking, making sure cars have appropriate "C Caution", and making sure each car has a fire extinguisher. Allow yourself to be caught violating any of these rules, and you should be ready to sacrifice some precious time, as well as part with some valuable cash.

That said, I'd like to bring your attention to the pictures below. They came out on Page 16, The Guardian Newspapers of June 1, 2007. Some passerby had taken them and sent them to The Guardian. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, see for yourself.

In the picture is an FRSC official car with the engine apparently on fire. People are running around looking for ways to quench the fire. Some are trying to gather sand to throw on the fire while an FRSC lady officer is running with a bucket of water. As illustrated in the Guardian, a question comes to mind, where is the Fire Extinguisher? We all know that the Fire Extinguisher is the best when it comes to quenching fires... and ironically, many Nigerians have been harrassed by the FRSC because they had no Fire Extinguishers. So now where is FRSC's fire extinguisher? Someone should please tell them to practice what they preach.

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Yar'Adua. Hope For Tomorrow?

Six days ago Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, handed over the reins of office to his successor President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, the man who was announced as the winner of the elections 36 days earlier. Those 36 days have been packed with events. There's been lots of drama in the news and beyond. There's been issues and societal tension. There's also been humor in the form of e-mails which include the "Lords Prayer" and the "Yar'Adua's Presidential speech". Governors have been reported to be on standby for flight be it by Jet, Plane, Car, ABC transport, Molue, Okada, Horseback all in a bid to escape Mallam Nuhu ... and the EFCC. Atiku decided to stay in the U.S. and watch proceedings on TV. OBJ rounded up his regime by giving us some farewell gifts including but not limited to Sale of the PH refinery to persons with no track record in refining (which has caused discontent for NUPENG and PENGASANG), increment of fuel pump price by 15% - N65-N75 (a move that'll ultimately increase inflation) and an increment of Value Added Tax (VAT) by 100% (5%-10%). What better gifts can Santa provide? But I digress, that's a story for another day.

I want to focus on the man Yar'Adua and the great task ahead of him. Now that he has been sworn in, there are three schools of thought among Nigerians.
1. He'll be an extension of Obasanjo's government, be controlled exclusively by Obasanjo and consequentially the Nigerian situation will remain the same.
2. He'll break away from Obasanjo's hold, and rule Nigeria his own way which will be worse than Obasanjo's regime.
3. He'll call Obasanjo's bluff, and lead Nigeria in a positive way without fear or favor of anyone, develop the economy and make Nigeria a much better place.
I am a product of the 3rd school of thought, and I advise everyone to do the same. It's time to forget our predictions and our magnifications of Y'aradua's supposed weaknesses. Let's look on the bright side. Let's magnify the good things that come with him. He is educated (something that has been lacking in our presidents past), his origins are well respected (the Yar'Adua family is known and respected), the fact that he declared his assets during his governorship (suggests honesty and transparency).

President Yar'Adua himself know what Nigerians think of the electoral process that put him at his current position. He knows what Nigerians think of his predecessor. He also knows the state of the country's economy and most importantly, he knows what needs to be done to move the nation forward. He knows that Nigerians think he will be no better than OBJ, but this will be a good time to prove them all wrong. I really hope and believe that this will be the break Nigeria has been waiting for. It is known that any man will work better where there's less "Negative Criticism". Therefore, let's hold down the Critics in us and allow Yar'Adua to do his job. Let's refrain from grading the script before the start of the exam. Yar'Adua has committed himself to honesty, accountability, transparency and an absolute fear of God. Let's give him a chance to bring action to his words. Nigeria shall be great.

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The Nigerian Proclamation

For those who have been consistent on my blog, you'll notice that one major thing I stand for is the hope for a Nigeria with better living conditions, a better economy and very importantly a better international image. A few days before the presidential handover, Solomon Sydelle, a Nigerian blogger resident in Maryland USA thought of a great idea. What if Nigerian bloggers all over the world would make an effort to change the status quo by blogging what he called "The Nigerian Proclamation"? I didn't get to hear about this before the handover date (thanks to these bloggers who refused to inform me - Ugo, Babs, Omodudu, CalabarGal, Mimi, etc - I get beef with all of una!) and actually saw it on the BBC website. I was pleasantly surprised, and I pray and believe there really will be a change. Without further ado, I say that "I support The Nigerian Proclamation!". Read it below.

IN RECENT HISTORY, NIGERIANS HAVE BEEN OVERWHELMINGLY BETRAYED BY THOSE CHARGED WITH ADDRESSING THEIR NEEDS. INSTEAD OF SERVING THE PEOPLE, PUBLIC SERVANTS HAVE SERVED THEMSELVES TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE MASSES. THE RESULT IS A NATION LACKING ADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE, ORGANIZATION AND SECURITY.

THE INEFFECTIVENESS OF NIGERIAN LEADERS INDICATES A LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE CONSTITUENTS. NIGERIANS ARE NO LONGER RELEVANT TO THE LEADERS, THUS, LEADERS DO NOT FEEL RESPONSIBLE TO THEM.

THE RECENT FAILURE TO CONDUCT A FREE AND FAIR ELECTORAL PROCESS WAS YET ANOTHER ILLUSTRATION THAT THE NEEDS OF THE MANY ARE SECONDARY TO THE WANTS OF THE IMPORTANT FEW.

FROM THIS DAY, ALL NIGERIANS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FUTURE OF THIS GREAT & POWERFUL COUNTRY. CONSEQUENTLY, ALL NIGERIANS MUST COMMIT THEMSELVES TO THE FOLLOWING:

1. WE MUST DEMAND THAT ELECTED OFFICIALS BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS AND IN-ACTIONS.
2. WE MUST EXPECT DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES TO BE HONORED, RESPECTED AND MAINTAINED.
3. WE MUST BELIEVE THAT ALL NIGERIANS ARE EQUAL UNDER THE LAW AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH.
4. WE MUST APPLY OURSELVES TO IMPROVING THE LOT OF EVERY INDIVIDUAL NIGERIAN REGARDLESS OF GENDER, RELIGION, TRIBE OR SOCIAL STATUS.
5. WE MUST STRIVE TO MAINTAIN A UNITED REPUBLIC DESPITE OUR DIFFERENCES.

ONLY UPON ACHIEVING THESE PRINCIPLES CAN WE AS A PEOPLE FULLY LIVE UP TO OUR POTENTIAL AS A LAND OF GREATNESS. FOR OURS IS A COUNTRY RENOWNED FOR ITS ILLUSTRIOUS PEOPLE, AMPLE RESOURCES AND SHEER PHYSICAL BEAUTY.

You can read more on Solomon's blog (here), and please brace yourself ... because a change is coming. A change for the better, and it shall come sooner than you expect.
God bless Nigeria.

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The Grand Finale. How Timi Won!

It was the day many West Africans had been waiting for. The Grand Finale of Idols West Africa was taking place. Maryland, Lagos was a beehive of activities as fans and supporters trooped into Planet One as early as 3:30 pm. Guests were let in at about 5:30 pm and took their seats (and their stands). While the presenters were doing the final sound checks just before the show, all the previous performances of Timi and Omawumi were played back. It began with the playback of Timi's "Stuck on you" performance drawing instant applause from the audience. Omawumi's "Ekwe" and "I will survive" also drew cheers from the crowd. Both good and bad performances were played and the mood was set. The show finally began with an official asking everyone to switch off their phones and turn off the flashlights from their cameras as it would interfere with the recording equipment (That's why the pictures were not clear o! I couldn't use flash, please forgive).

The show was kicked off by Basket Mouth - a popular Nigerian Stand up comedian. He made the place burst into life with his jokes and picky "Yabs". Next to get on stage was the host of the show Mike Majic. For all those who don't like Mike's presentation style, I'll tell you he really is doing a good job. Everything he says is read from a screen displayed to him. He has to read everything and still make it sound natural, and I must say he did a good job. He intimated us on what awaited us during the performances of the night and got us all expectant.

The first event of the night was a group song by six of the top 10. Omodele, Joan, Uche, Mercy, Jerrilyn and Temitayo gave a wonderful group performance with each taking individual solos in the song. It was a great performance. Never before had viewers seen a group song in the Idols West Africa competition, and they were not disappointed.

Mike then announced that each of the Top 2 would be doing 3 songs each. There was a recap of each contestant's journey through Idols. We all laughed when we saw their first pictures at the audition. They looked so innocent compared the their present states - especially Omawumi. Timi was first on stage with a remake of his "How am I supposed to live without you" performance. As usual he delivered excellently, capturing hearts with his stage presence and the applause was great. Omawumi was next with a remake of her "I will survive" performance. Exhibiting her unique strength and vigor, she made her fans wild. Up next again was Timi with his "Stuck on you" performance and like before, he blew the minds of the audience. Omawumi then came up with a rendition of her "Ekwe" performance to end the first segment of the show.

Up next was a very spectacular segment. Each of the two would be doing self-composed songs. Timi was first with a song he wrote titled "I love you". He delivered it with the great style that only Timi knew how. The lyrics and structure of the song were great. It was a very melodious mid tempo song and the audience easily learnt the words well enough to join in the chorus. Soon, everyone was singing together. Omawumi was next. Dressed in a see through black attire and thigh length black stockings to match, she immediately drove her (male) fans crazy. She sang her self-composed song "You got me", an old school style with an old school beat that reminded one of the early 90s.

Up next was another surprise. Singing Rod Stewart's "You are everything" were Uche and Jodie in a duet. In Jodie's words, this was a dream come true because Uche was her choice amongst the top 10 to perform a duet with. The hall was alive with cheers for Jodie and Uche. Jodie's fans especially went crazy with excitement at this chance to see her perform one more time on the Idols West Africa stage. Their performance was a good highlight of the night's events, partly because everyone had been expecting this duet when they were both absent from the group song, and also because Uche is the favorite evicted male contestant while Jodie is the favorite evicted female contestant. The cheers were great and people screamed, talk about "Medicine after death", it was too late.

Finally, the great moment had come. The results were about to be announced. Timi and Omawumi came on stage for the final time. First, they got some words of advice from the judges after which the results were brought to the stage. Dede quoted Guest Judge Reggie Rockstone as saying, "I wish Omawumi will win, but if she doesn't win, I will adopt her". At this time, there was pin drop silence. Mike Majic didn't help matters as he created what he knew best how to. Tension! I could swear that if someone had a gun in that hall, they would have gladly threatened Mike with it so he could speed up the announcement. Finally, the golden words, "The winner of the Idols West Africa Title is ... [pause] ... [pause] ... Timi! There was a great uproar in the hall. People screamed, jumped up and down, embraced each other in emotional bursts, shed tears and there was insanity in the hall for a few minutes. Linda (my blogger friend whom I met at the show) jumped up and down like a mad woman (her own words) and Foluso Aloko (my friend who help me get the entry ticket) lost her voice totally from screaming so much. Timi himself was overwhelmed. He jumped, laughed, danced, cried, knelt, screamed while the soundtrack to his self-composed song "I love you" was played. It was a wonderful period as all the other contestants in the top 10 came on stage to cheer him, and there were cheers, and laughing, and crying, and hugging ... and the show ended on that note.

After the show, the judges and the guest judge Reggie Rockstone were bombarded with autograph requests. I never knew Nigerians were that crazy about autographs. People were quarreling and almost snatching autographs from one another. The judges' table was so tightly surrounded that Dan, Nana and Dede were barely visible and security operatives had to barge in and restore some order, after which I managed to get some good pictures of the judges.

Timi has really come a long way, and he really deserved to win. Anyone who was at the finale will realise that though Omawumi was very good and quite versatile, she was really no match for Timi in terms of stage presence and connection with people's minds ... and these are the major qualities which make a platinum record sale. I'm happy my votes did not go to waste (you don't want to know how many votes I cast for this guy) and I know Timi will not dissapoint Nigeria and we will be proud of him. And so he went home with the grand prize of a recording contract from Sony/BMG Africa International, a Kia Picanto from Nigeria’s Dana Group, $10000 cash from Ecobank, and an ultimate viewing experience of a 26-inch LCD TV and an I-Pod from the show’s headline sponsor Celtel. And so ended a journey which has been ongoing for about 4 months. A journey which saw great and little singers drop by the way side. People say this has really changed the music industry and no "yeye" artist will dare to release "any kind yeye" song again. Personally, I await Timi's CD and I know I won't be disappointed.

More Pictures






Mike Majic

















The Judges













Guest Judge Reggie Rockstone (far left) and VIPs














The Duet - Uche and Jodie












The group performance: L-R, Omodele, Eric, Jerrilyn, Temitayo, Joan and Mercy.














The Duet - Uche and Jodie
















Omawumi - Ekwe





















Omawumi - You got me















Timi - How am I supposed to live without you















Timi and Omawumi exchange final words before the results














Under Tension !!!












The top 10 cheer Timi

After the Show

Me and Mike Majic














Me and Friends (From Right: Foluso Aloko, Tayo, Kenny, Yomi and Me)














Me and Linda Ikeji













Dan Foster















Nana Abrewa

















Dede Mabiaku

















The Production Crew













The Planet One Stage - Where it all started and ended!

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