Tango with me

I had the privilege of attending the UK film premiere of TANGO WITH ME on the 17th of August 2012 at the Greenwich Odeon.

I've attended a couple of other premieres and so was expecting the usual 'hustle' in order to speak to the cast and crew. Not so on this occasion. It had an informal approach which I think worked in its favour.

We settled down to watch the film (just about 30mins behind schedule) and I must say I was really impressed by what I saw. It had a simplistic approach and feel which I'm sure was not easy to achieve. The unpredictable storyline was a nice deviation from the Nollywood norm and whoever the costume designer was should be paid double whatever they're originally signed up for!

The film takes the viewer through a roller coaster of emotions and the support cast stole the show as far as I'm concerned.

Director Mahmood Alli-Balogun

The director Mahmood Alli-Balogun  and lead actor  Benjamin Joseph answered questions from the audience and we got a little  insight into what it takes to put a production of that quality together.



 

The film is now on general release in the UK. See the website for listing details

www.tangowithmefilm.com

Its 'awa' birthday!

I swear the world is spinning so much quicker now that I'm getting older!

It seems like only a few weeks ago that there was so much noise about Naija being 50...but in reality that was a whole 12 months ago!!

I'm sure everyone has an elderly relative, who doesn't give 2 hoots about what anybody else thinks and is will to say whatever they feel without any applied tact, right? Well maybe na old age o, but I'm really starting to feel that way, and I'm not even THAT old!

As many of you know, I share my birthday with Nigeria, 1st october is my birthday.

I remember last year how enthusiastic I was about the us as a nation turning 50.

 I shouted in the faces of all those who said that we had nothing to be proud of as a nation:

"Lets not be so negative, lets see what WE as a people can do to change the state of Nigeria" "Nigeria is not a president, neither is it a governmnet, Nigeria is about the people"!!

Do you remember that?

Well I did believe it at the time.....but boy!, what a difference a year can make.

So now, we have a new government but the same ol' problems, things aren't   moving in the right direction. Or so it seems.

On  Thinking Aloud with Ayo  this week, l'm looking back at the Naija at 50 show and I'm trying to figure out why I'm not as optimistic about the possibility of change within our nation.

Abi na just old age dey do me?!

www.nigerianwebradio.com Fridays at 1700 GMT/1100US ET, repeated Saturdays 1100GMT/0600US ET

Did poverty cause the England riots?

Ususally August is dead when it comes to news.....not in 2011! This year will be remembered not just in the UK but around the world as the summer of looting and riots.

They have been many debates had, (and to be had) as to what caused such a unified wave of criminality. Some have said, boredom, ignorance, a lack of education and even a sense of belonging. But what caught my attention was the number of people who said it was caused by poverty.

And that got me thinking........Do we really experience poverty in the Western world? What IS poverty? Can you blame poverty when shoes, electronics, jewellery etc were being looted and not food?

Thinking Aloud with Ayo today (Friday) http://www.nigerianwebradio.com/ at 17:00GMT (repeated Saturday 11:00GMT)

TAWA - Is it true that women are not as good in leadership as men??

On today's (3rd June 2011) edition of the show I address this question.

It was sparked by  a conversation I had with a male friend who said he would NEVER employ  woman over a man.

To say that I was annoyed and irritated  would be an understatement but it did make me think....

 -What makes a good leader?
- Are these skilled unique only to men?
- Are all men genetically engineered to be leaders or is that more to do with social engineering?
- Are my friend's views on women in leadership shared by most naija men?
- What on earth do women have to do to be seen as more than just, baby making machines and cooks?!

Join me at 1700GMT/1100ET on www.nigerianwebradio.com and let me know what you think