Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards 2013

The Entertainment Industry in Africa received a boost on saturday with the first ever Awards to players in the industry. The numerous creative genius we have in Africa were celebrated.

People talk about African film industry which is Nollywood (Nigerian Movies) to me and nothing was done to improve content or reward the diligent and hard woking ones until few years ago when AMAA was introduced. Since then, they have been improvement in the industry. Other organisations like City People and Co had tried celebrating the artistes some years back but lack of funds and poor organisation killed the idea.

 

Thank God that The Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards has now been instituted by Multichoice Africa and Africa Magic to celebrate African film and television talent, both in front of and behind the cameras and i hope its sustained.
In total, 28 awards in 26 categories were created and celebrated. They ranged from acting, directing, script-writing, cinematography, editing, make-up, sound, lighting and costuming.
In all, there was no category for CHRISTIAN or religious films. Mike Bamiloye and others have been producing fantastic christian films both in English and the Yoruba language for years. How come a category was not created for christian or gospel films? Are they not good enough or they want to leave God out of it? I hope not. It is GOD that gives us all the talent. Without the creative juices from God flowing through all the artistes, writers, directors' bodies, they will be no ideas, concepts or filming. So whoever knows them, should counsel them well. We must give glory to God in all that we do.

These are some of the Artistes making the industry tick and the winners.


OC Ukeje
Winner / Best Actor in a Drama - AMVCA 2013


Jackie Appiah Winner / Best Actress in a Drama- AMVCA 2013



Olu Jacob receiving his Industry Merit Award



Taiwo Ajayi Lycett - veteran. Watched her as a kid on 'SOME MOTHERS DO HAVE THEM'.




Genevieve Nnaji at the AMVCA. Surprisingly 'MIRROR BOY' won the best Movie Director, Best Costume Designer, Best Writer but did not win best Actress. I am a fan of Genny so was disappointed. You know what, my Genevieve is still the best. She is a real actress in acting, dressing, grooming and general outlook. Still looking trim and posh after all these years. She is like an old wine better as its getting older. Wish her better luck next year.


 
DESMOND ELLIOTS



Majid



Osita Iheme




These are the Legends of Nollywood, Olu Jacobs and Joke Silver (Mrs. Jacobs)

This is one of the upcoming actresses, Eden Law. Nollywood and Hollywood should better look out for her. Although it would have been good if she practised what she learnt in the University. But you know, people respond to trend or passion differently.



Diezani Allison Madueke Representative of President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan described the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) as  cultural liberation for Africa. The President recalled that before the advent of Nollywood 20 years ago, Nigeria had relied on other countries for television and video dramas, but now the reverse is the case. He said that following the independence of most African countries in the 60s and 70s, the first thing on the mind of the leaders was political liberation and integration. This moved them to create Organisation of African Unity, now known as African Union (AU), and on the economic side Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). But on the Entertainment side, most especially drama, we dont have a union bringing us together except celebration like AMVCA. Hear him:

Africa recognised the fact that irrespective of the artificial boundaries that separate us, our needs and aspirations had no borders,

With the Awards scheme like the AMVCA, the President believes there is a cultural liberation of the
continent from the western world

.

Vimbai realised that night that presenting a programme on the television or Radio is different from hosting an award programme where you are standing in front of thousands of people. The tension she was going through was felt by everyone at the show and at home. Next time she will think twice before applying. Her boldness, courage and arrogance in the Big Brother House flew out of the doors. She was practically screaming as her nerves let her down.

OTELO BURNING won the best Movie of the year.
Sara Blecher when receiving the Award said it took them eight years to produce the Film. 8 years in Africa? I was really surprised because in Nigeria , the ibo merchants take 2 weeks to produce and market. We had a lot of nonsense then and honestly I dont watch. I hope other producers will emulate this  and take their time to attend to details that make a good and interesting films.

Congratulations to all winners and better luck next time to losers. I hope we will have more entries next time.

Dame Patience Jonathan thanks God

Those who operate in the public arena must understand that lying to the people who elected them is a grave matter. If the Presidency considered the illness of the First Lady a 'private' matter, why did they decide to make the celebration of her recovery a 'public' event?

Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited

Michael Jegede, a media practitioner wrote this piece about the abandonment of Ajaokuta Steel Company, a parastatal under the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and after reading, decided to post it here for all to read. Ajaokuta is a Nigerian government's company that is supposed to be producing steel of all sizes and other allied products. But like the writer pointed out, the government has deliberately allowed it to rot. No willpower by the government to fight the superpowers who are bent on stopping production on the plant.

'THE careless abandonment of the Ajaokuta Steel Company (ASCO) by the federal government, after spending about $7billion (US dollars) on the project, with less than one $1billion (US dollars) to complete it has for some time been an issue of great concern to most Nigerians; particularly those who are versed enough to know what we are losing as a nation from not ensuring the full operation of the steel complex.

All over the world, steel development is believed to be an essentially fundamental component to enhance economic growth. This is why many countries, including third world nations, have continued to do everything possible to ensure the sustenance of their steel sector. The case in Nigeria is evidently different as we seem to have closed our eyes to the numerous benefits derivable from having a sound and robust steel sector.

The New Sole Administrator, Engineer Joe Isah Successive governments, for instance, have heedlessly abandoned the Ajaokuta steel project, not minding its strategic role to the industrialization of our great country, and the significant growth and development it can bring to the economy.

In October 2002, Secretary-General of African Iron and Steel Association (AISA), Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, an expert on iron and steel matters, had in a paper observed as follows: “To industrialize, there is the need to have a sound industrial base. This will provide the solid foundation on which the industrial super-structure will be built. This industrial base is nothing other than a well-developed iron and steel industry that will be producing such critical industrial raw materials as: Cast iron (different categories); rods and bars (both high tensile and mild steel varieties); wires (in all its ramifications); structural steels (light, medium and heavy structural); flat sheet steels (plain and galvanized, and also the entire spectrum classified as flats); stainless and other special alloy steels; rails and pipes; plates (various sizes in width and thickness)”.

For Sanusi, it is only governments that can provide the initial developmental funds in view of the high capital costs and the long gestation period of steel projects. This, he noted, is the trend worldwide where all pioneer steel industries and accompanying infrastructures of any nation are public-owned.

Explaining further, the steel pundit had said: “It is after several such facilities are available and have proven themselves in a country; then the industry is privatised to allow the government to move on to other strategic areas of development. “This is how today’s industrialised nations became what they are.

Taking cognizance of the above, many third world countries followed suit and have been able to lift their economies away from third world poverty and starvation, and seriously threatening the developed countries of the world in economic wellbeing for their people. A few examples will suffice, thus; India, South Korea, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Libya, Turkey, Venezuela, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Mexico. The steel projects in all these countries started as serious national projects, with their Governments taking active interest in the steel development.”

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), first Prime Minster of India, who worked with Mahatma Gandhi to achieve Independence from British rule called the giant steel structures in Bhilai, Durgapur and Ruerkela in the late fifties, the “Temples Of Modern India”. Nehru must have made that pronouncement to demonstrate how much value and importance he attached to steel development.

Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Libya, Venezuela, Indonesia and Mexico are oil producing countries with excellent oil reserves. Yet, they deemed it fit to also have developed viable steel industries. In Nigeria, we have continued to depend solely on crude oil and refused to diversify our economy. Even though we have other numerous natural resources at our disposal, we choose to remain a monolithic economy with strong dependence on the oil sector.

This obsession, as it were, has made our economy to be susceptible to external manipulation and it negatively affects the planning horizons in the country.

Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, an accomplished professional with a wide range of experience in engineering, agriculture and management consultancy, visited ASCO and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), Itakpe, last year to assess the facilities on ground in the firms, he argued vehemently that with proper development, the steel sector can conveniently rival the oil sector. In fact, the Senator representing Kogi Central in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly, where ASCO and NIOMCO are located, said he would not go to sleep until the project fully comes to fruition, simply due to what he believes it owns not just for the people of his constituency, but for the country at large.

The Senator had pointed out: “Nigeria for the past nine years has spent over N2.1 trillion to import steel into the country. This shows that the country would have saved a lot of money if the Ajaokuta steel company was working. So, Ajaokuta Steel project is a must-do deal.”

The eventual discovery of good iron ore deposits in Itakpe in 1973 led to the formal signing of the Global contract for the implementation of the Ajaokuta steel project between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Messrs Tyajzhpromexport (TPE) of the defunct USSR on July 13, 1979 during the Administration of General Olusegun Obasanjo as Military Head of State. It was originally programmed for completion in 1986. But a combination of factors including policy inconsistency and massive corruption was responsible for the failure to meet the deadline.

Upon assumption of office in 1985, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) visited the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, and in 1986 he signed a new protocol agreement on the project with the same TPE, rescheduling its completion date to 1989. This target date was equally never met and operations at ASCO and NIOMCO had to be halted in 1992. Amazingly, the project was said to have reached 98 per cent technical completion before work on it was stopped.

With an estimated $7 billion already engulfed by the Ajaokuta Steel Company since the contract for the project was awarded in 1979, and about $650 million required for it to become fully operational, enlightened Nigerians, have contended in different fora that it would make much sense for it to be completed. Minister of National Planning, Shamsudeen Usman, for instance, had in the course of his ministerial screening on the floor of the Senate last year, wept for Nigeria on what has become of the largest integrated steel company in West Africa. He was responding to a question on the Ajaokuta Steel Company raised by Senator Abatemi-Usman, the young engineer turned politician, who appears to have become a champion for steel development in the country. The minister lamented that in spite of the huge amount of money spent on the scheme, there was nothing on ground in the steel firm to show for it.

A presentation by an official of ASCO during the visit of the 41-year-old lawmaker to the Company, painted a pathetic picture of the position of Nigeria in steel production among some countries of the world. It showed Nigeria as the least in the ranking of 41 countries according to the volume of steel production as at 2008. While China produced 489 million tonnes of steel in 2008, United States 97, United Kingdom 16, South Africa 9 and Australia 8, Nigeria could only manage to produce 0.30.

According to data provided by the World Steel Association (WSA), the total world crude steel production in 2010 was 1,413.6 million metric tonnes (mmt). China, which is at present the largest steel producing country in the world, accounted for 626.7 mmt (44.3%) of world steel production in 2010. Nigeria is not on the WSA 2010 list of 40 countries ranked on the basis of steel production volume, which showed that Venezuela the least produced 2.2 mmt. Irrefutably, Nigeria would have been among the top 10 countries in terms of steel production, if only we had properly harnessed the great potentials in our steel industry, and our economy would have been better for it.

The same TPE which had a frustrating encounter with the Nigerian authorities on the Ajaokuta Steel Company, commissioned and delivered on schedule similar steel projects in China and other countries, where steel development have had significant impact in the advancement of their economies.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the economic wellbeing of Nigeria will be enhanced to a large extent if there is the willpower on the part of government to make Ajaokuta Steel come to life. The project if completed is said to have the capacity to engage over two millions Nigerians directly and indirectly.

The high rate of unemployment in Nigeria is partly responsible for the destructive spiral of violence and criminal activities across the country. Nigeria’s unemployment rate increased to 23.9 percent in 2011 compared with 21.1 percent in 2010 and 19.7 percent in 2009 as revealed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in January this year. 23.9 per cent of our population of over 160 million is about 38 million. Do we therefore need to be told that it will be a worthwhile investment to complete the abandoned ASCO/NIOMCO project?

President Goodluck Jonathan at his presidential electioneering campaign rally in 2011 in Lokoja, Kogi State, clearly agreed with the position of many Nigerians when he said: “One thing that is dear to Nigerians is the Ajaokuta Steel Complex and until we revive that complex, we cannot talk about Vision 20:2020. This is because for you to play big globally, you must industrialize and for you to industrialize you must produce steel. The Ajaokuta complex must be revived.”

With this comment of Mr. President, it is expected that by now he would have marched his words with action by showing total commitment to the actualization of the project that is capable of turning around our economy in line with his much-proclaimed transformation agenda. But we really have not seen much in that regard. In the 2012 and 2013 appropriation bill, nothing was allocated for capital budget in ASCO and NIOMCO, except for the infinitesimally paltry N50 million for both companies in 2012 and N47.34 million in the 2013 budget which is still before the National Assembly for consideration.

I am absolutely worried about the pitiable condition of Ajaokuta Steel Company having visited the complex. I am therefore calling on our federal legislators to use the power vested in them by the constitution to make provisions for a substantial amount of money for the project in their ongoing scrutiny of the 2013 budget proposal presented to them by the President.'