I KEEP MY MUSIC POSITIVE - DR MONEY

ARC WILL TAKE AGUATA TO THE NEXT LEVEL - EZENNWA

And so I barged into an interesting young man, looking all sleek with a lot of blink blinks. He introduced himself as an Ekwulobia  indigene like me and the brain behind a well packaged show I’d been hearing about, Aguata Rocks Carnival, a project that had recently begun to bring to the limelight the treasures of beauty Ekwulobia is endowed with. In the following interview, Nnaemeka Celestine Ezenwa, a.k.a Showstopper, shares with O’star Eze of Orient Daily secrets to how he broke into the entertainment industry and made history. Excerpts:

Who is Showstopper?

Showstopper is my a.k.a. My name is Nnaemeka Celestine Ezenwa. I am also known as Venny Kingson. I am a singer, a dancer and an event coordinator. I hail from Nkono village in Ekwulobia, Aguata L.G.A of Anambra state. I am a graduate of Industrial Physics at Anambra State University, Uli. I am the CEO of Showstopper Plus Entertainment Firm.  I have always loved the show business and this passion moved me into conceiving the Idea of ARC, Aguata Rocks Carnival.

What is ARC all about?

ARC was an initiative that came to me in 2013 and I went ahead to launch it on December 2013. However, we held our first ARC event in January 1, 2016, which featured Miss Aguata Beauty and Cultural Pageant, MABP, and Aguata Achievers Awards, Triple A, discovery of new talents and performances by such Nigerian celebrities as Phyno, Zoro and Slow Dogg. So, far, it has become one of the most anticipated and biggest annual events in Aguata Local Government Area, if not in Anambra State in general and we are already set to hold the 2017 edition of ARC which is intended to hold between December, 30, 2016 and January, 1, 2017. ARC, therefore consists of five basic activities; Miss Aguata Beauty and Cultural Pageant, Aguata Achievers Awards, ARC Scholarship Scheme, ARC cultural and Music Festival and ARC Marathon Race.  So, basically, ARC is a project intended to achieve the purposes of providing educational grants and scholarships for Aguata youths, create platforms for human capacity building, promote interpersonal relationship among Ndi Aguata, promote the rich cultural heritage of Communities in Aguata as well as create good opportunities for sale of products, ideas and services.

What is the ARC cultural and music festival all about?

You see, every individual, group or nation has something that surrounds them; an identity that was inherited from the past and that influences their activities. This is called heritage in some quarters. A person’s or a people’s heritage can be physical, spiritual, social or cultural. The ARC motto, ‘celebrating our heritage’, came from the sheer fact that Aguata Local Government Area has, as a result of developments in the social, economic, cultural and political experiences over the years, garnered some heritages that had hitherto not gotten the kind of worldwide attention they deserve. The cultural festival is hence organized to celebrate the cultural heritage of the different communities that make up Aguata Local Government Area. The event features cultural dance displays, wrestling, boxing, drama presentations from Aguata people of various age brackets.

This year's edition is going to be a different whole thing all together, the first edition went for a day. ARC 2' will be for 3 days starting from 30th Dec - 1st Jan 2017 at ekwulobia stadium. Day 1 cultural and music carnival. Day 2  Games and awards. Day 3 miss aguata  beauty pageant, performance s and comedy. hopefully what you will be seeing in ARC 2 is something familiar with calabar carnival and by the grace of God, is going to be a wonderful and epoch making event.

How about the ARC scholarship scheme, how does it operate?

The intention of ARC as a project is to award scholarship grants to the students of Aguata origin who are in both primary and secondary schools, especially those students who show exceptional academic ability. This scholarship scheme aims at providing materials and financial assistance to Aguata students so as to help and motivate them to pursue their educational goals fervently.

The selection will be based on the academic performance in school as well as the performance in tests designed to measure ability and aptitude of the participating students, recommendation from the school instructors, financial needs of the students as drawn from oral interview of the participating students by the ARC scholarship committee. Selected schools will be informed and application forms distributed to the schools. We are starting with the primary school and as the capacity of our organization increases, we intend to extent the exercise to the secondary and even the post secondary level.
e also grant scholarship 'ARC SCHOLARSHIP'. Such grant will be used extensively for tuition fees and books, and its duration is subjected upon the time the person completes that level of education in that school. This scholarship scheme aims at providing material and financial assistance to the students of Aguata and beyond so as to help and motivate them pursue their educational goals. we also aim to award scholarship to students in high institution but on a gradual process. our sponsorship lines are still open for companies and individuals who are willing to support our good work and sponsors for the next edition ARC 2.

What challenges did you encounter as you sought to launch this project and how were you able to surmount them?

Showstopper

In order to achieve our targets in the first edition, we solicited for support from a lot of firms such as microfinance banks, food and bottling companies, eateries, as well as individuals. We got a lot of promises and based on those, we commenced intensive publicity. Our major challenge came as disappointments from many of the firms and individuals who had promised to partner financially with the project, as the scheduled date for the event came closer. We almost gave up on the project and it would have been a thing of irreparable shame given that similar events had been holding in neighbouring Local Government Areas. Thanks for a few individuals who paid for adverts on our magazine that was launched during the first edition, which money we used to offset some of the bills we incurred. We had to go a-borrowing to the tone of millions of naira in order to ensure we brought the superstars we promised on the media as well the car prize for the Beauty Pagentry. Yet we are not relenting because we know that this ARC is meant for the unity and progress of Ndi Aguata and just like Noah’s Ark, we intend it to serve our people as a medium for greater self emancipation and expression.

Are there lessons you have garnered from organizing a project like this and do you have any final words for fellow youths?

Of course, i used to be a proud person and always think I am the best.
But since i started ARC, i realized that I'm still learning. So right now, i listen, learn, I'm loyal and aim to achieve the best. For our youths, i wouldn't say much because we are still starting, we've done the first edition but the little i Will say is that there is nothing more important and benefitting than to know your culture and heritage and to understand the root of where you came from, so i believe we've created an impact on that.

Do you have any persons you would like to appreciate?

3, Yes, without a good and a honest team by your side, i doubt if success can be achieved. So i want to use this medium to thank my team ( ARC organization), my parents for their support, Aguata local government chairman Hon. Chukwuma Umeorji and his deputy, Hon Sir Micheal Anedu, for their consent and endorsement.

OCHA Brigade Boss Endorses aPas C O'star Eze

Pix: (L-R) Osita Eze, Henry B Klassic, Chief Kenneth Okonkwo, Adanma Amanda Amaechi
DJ Black

OCHA Brigade Boss Endorses aPas C

O'star Eze

The Managing Director of Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra State, Chief Kenneth Ositadimma Okonkwo has given his nod to a forthcoming Anambra Peace and Security Concert, aPAS C, which will hold at GeoGold Hotel, Awka come October 21.

Chief Okonkwo gave this approval in his Awka Office while entertaining a contingency of aPAS C Execution Team, lead by Henry Ukachukwu, the CEO of Henry B Klassic Entertainment, a firm that has held several successful shows in the South South part of Nigeria.

Kenneth Okonkwo said, "If there is one legacy the Dr. Willie Obiano administration has created, it is security of lives and properties as well as sustained peace of NdiAnambra. It is therefore an exciting thing to partner with a group of youths intending to celebrate the peace and security in Anambra state and I'm happy the government has given their endorsement to the cause and I shall look into the proposal they have submitted to me to see how we can help."

Henry Ukachukwu, while speaking with the press later on, explained that the music concert is borne out of a deep passion to see peace and security, two major catalysts to facilitated sustainable development and increased IGR, engrained in the consciousness of NdiAnambra and beyond.

"This has taken more than 2 years to birth and I'm glad the present administration of Chief Dr. Willie Mmaduaburochukwu Obiano has achieved this ideal. This is why Henry B Klassic Entertainment is going to celebrate peace and security as well as the Father of Peace and Security in Anambra himself, Willie Obiano, who started from day one to sanitize the state," Henry submitted.

He then revealed that prominent artists like Phyno and Zoro will be brought down to their base and the youths will under the atmosphere of unbridled entertainment learn their part in continued sustenance of peace and security from the lips of Chief Security Stakeholders in the state, while upcoming artists will be given a platform to move their dreams closer to reality by putting them on a platform that will expose them to millions of record labels world over.

The Media Director of the group, Osita Eze also intimated that the event will be free while the Brand Ambassador, Queen Ameena Amanda Amaechi who is presently contesting for Most Beautiful Girl in Abuja, called on all Anambrarians and people living within Anambra and around to partner with the Peace and Security event, which will be educative, free of charge and fun.

Also in the delegation was DJ Black and several print and electronic media men.

Socioeconomic transformation depends on education - Altruist

Engr. Bart Nwibe

An Education altruist cum enthusiast, Engr Bart Nwibe, has fingered education as the singular tool that can cause the desired socioeconomic revolution in the country, while frowning at the what he described as the poor attitude of firms and government towards education in the country.

Engr Nwibe made this assertion while receiving a 15-man delegation of Anambra Teachers Forum, in his foundation office at Igboukwu, Aguata Local Govt. Area of Anambra state.

Nwibe also observed that education gives equal opportunity to everyone to attain any desired height in life, saying that this is what informed he sustained effort of his foundation, Ugo Igboukwu Foundation, which has run for  15 years already with not less that 10000 young people from across Anambra state as beneficiaries, to, besides giving full scholarship to children who show a degree of academic brilliance, also run an adult education program that equips disadvantage adults with literacy skills.

The chairman of the Teachers' Forum who lead the 15-man delegation, Comrade Peter Ezekwe, in his introductory speech, narrated how the activities of Ugo Igboukwu Foundation has kept alive the dreams of countless bright children and youths from indigent homes in the state, saying that this was why the forum members who are first hand observers of the effect of Bart Nwibe's philanthropy have decided to collectively sought to encourage commend his efforts and encourage him to continue.

"Engr Bart Nwibe may not fathom the gravity of good he is doing in this state with his educational empowerment programs, but I stand here to say that there is no philanthropy greater that educational empowerment as it is the best way of doing the proverbial " teaching how to fish", as removed from the conventional hand-outs that most well-to-do but misdirected persons do these days," Ezekwe enthused.

Let's preach peace and security through music - Music Entrepreneur

Henry Izuchukwu Ukachukwu, CEO, Henry B Klassic Entertainment, is from Imo state, but was born and brought up in Anambra state. In the following exclusive interview with O'star Eze of Orient Daily, his Odyssey into the music entrepreneurship was explored as well as the Peace and Security concert that he conceived and is on the verge of launching. Excerpts:

Can you share your antecedents?

I started school in St Faith, Awka and from there i moved to St Paul's Primary School. Then, when they transferred my dad, who is a clergyman, to Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Government Area, our family had to relocate there and i started schooling at St Catherine's Comprehensive Secondary School and then finished secondary education at Urban Secondary School, Ekwulobia, where i wrote my WASCCE. Then i gained admission at Federal Polytechnic, Oko, where i studied Business Administration. I graduated in 2006. But in that year, we had an entertainment club we were managing. So, when we were about closing down the club, given we were graduating, we decided to organize a life show that would bring a lot of people. Then Cosmo FM was in vogue. So, we discussed with the Cosmo FM management, liaised with their DJs, got the partnership of very big shots in Oko, including the Director of Rozander Hotel. The show was such an explosive success. I had not been to Lagos before then but that show took me to Lagos where I contracted Sample (Ekwe). Then he was at the prime of his career as a music artiste. We brought him down to Oko them for the show. The show was a grand success. It was Sample that first observed that i was not stuff for Anambra state and that i should come up to Lagos where my Entertainment promotion and organisation (which he was obviously impressed with) would be better appreciated.

From the origin, i had always been a music enthusiast. I enjoyed and played all kinds of music; Reggae, Highlife, Hiphop, excetera. A habit that always got me in trouble with my father who was  a conservative given his religious vocation. I also was a vocalist in church. So, music was a natural flair. But i never wanted to be a public figure.

So, following my passion, I went to Lagos after graduating from Fed. Poly. Oko and in 2009, I launched myself formally into the music industry in Lagos. I hosted 120 DJs, 12 media houses and a lot of other entertainment firms in Lagos state to launch Henry B Klassic Entertainment into the Music Industry. From there, i started running shows, both on the streets and in establishments, managing artistes and suchlike. That was how we got into the music industry and it has been a rich and profitable experience all the way. These days, you find that music is the in-thing. Back in the days, when you indicate interest in music, your parents and relatives would tag you wayward, 'ofeke', but these days, football is the order of the day. These days, everybody would want to associate with musicians and musicians are big boys. We show promoters have all their contacts.

Presently, i want to break the jinx of Showbiz in the South East and make it a big deal, just as it is in Lagos. 

Now, let us talk about your Peace and Security Concert. When and how did you conceive the idea and what is all about?

The Peace and Security concert. Yes, i have been seeing a lot of crisis in the society.  A lot of people die, are maimed and are rendered homeless as a result of conflicts and wars. We got really concerned about this and started thinking of how we can reach the youths who are the primary target of conflict and instigators. We now perceived that it would be good if we go to the society with the language of music to preach peace and security.

And you know that whenever a country is at peace and secured, a lot of investors come in. Business will be flourishing and development is facilitated. So, we decided we would marry showbiz with the message of peace and security, a strategy we believe would drive the message home better. This birthed the concert of peace and security.

We want to use known faces in the music industry, draw the crowd and we would now pass the message of peace. People should be security conscious, promptly report any suspicious activities in their environment to the security agencies. We don't want to hold a conventional show where people just come, pay gate fee and get entertained. The event is a free show.

So far,  a lot of people want to be part of Peace and Security Concert and more people are invited to partner with it to make it a resounding success.

I understand that there is such a concert in the Offings.  Can you share with us how far you have gone and when we should be expecting the show in Anambra state?

So far, we have been able to break into the Anambra state government. We introduced the idea to Anambra state government, they set up a committee to look into the project and saw that the project is good to the society. So, they now endorsed it. We have the endorsement letter with us. The government now propelled us to package our materials, source for funds from the private sector and carry out the event. We have talked to our artistes and to some media houses to partner with us, given it is more of a humanitarian outing seeking to impact the society positively. We want to also use the platform to appreciate the governor for how far he has gone with security in the state. People now talk about Anambra in Lagos and elsewhere, that it is now a safe economic hub for investment. So far, we are looking for more sponsors to come in and partner with us, because we already have our team ready, our materials set and our artistes on standby for mobilization. There is also going to be a PowerPoint projection of the old Anambra before the present Administration with it's security issues and then the present security status of the state courtesy of the present administration.

So we have work plan for the event and we have a lot packaged for the day. What we have been waiting for is here already, which is the government's endorsement letter. It is here now, so we are good to go. We therefore call on individuals, firms, brewery, telecommunications, to partner with us. Let us preach security and peace to our people through music.

I WILL FIGHT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE - ANAMBRA PC

Mr Sam Okaula, Anambra state's new Police Commissioner has declared his resolve to nip every abuse of human rights in the bud in the discharge of police duty by sensitizing his men and officers on his stance concerning it and working with members of the Civil Society Network, Anambra state.

He made this known while receiving the executive members of Civil Society Network, Anambra state in his office during their courtesy cum familiarization visit.

Speaking further, Mr Okaula said that he believes strongly in the rule of law and respect for human rights and have always drummed it into the ears of his officers and men that any abuse of human rights is not tolerated anywhere he serves.

He therefore asserted that the Civil Society Network will work with him in ensuring that the human rights of Anambra state inhabitants are not trampled upon while assuring that he maintains an open door policy and will always welcome any information that would aid him solve any problem that might arise as a result of human mistakes amongst his men.

GAMES VILLAGE TOUR: IFEANYI UBAH SHARES PASSION FOR YOUTHS

Yesterday, Chief Dr.  Ifeanyi Ubah, Ebube chukwu uzo Nnewi, the newly appointed chairman of Anambra FA took out time to share very intimate aspects of his persona and projects in his hometown with a large number of social media experts during which he shared the sleepless nights he gets over the Anambra Economic question and youth empowerment.

During this memorable day,  Anambra online media people who were invited to a tour of the IFEANYI UBAH FC GAMES VILLAGE also witnessed the appointment of IFEANYI UBAH as the National Grand Patron of Youth Forum. He also accepted to host the Dr Ifeanyi Ubah under 20 National football competition, one of the competitions that were proposed to him.

The group were also led on a tour of the site of the Games Village in Nnewi where he said he wants to prove that football is made in Anambra state. He enthusiastically pointed out the position of the Lawn tennis court, golf course, five star hotel,  L shaped gallery. He enthused that the Games Village will be a tourist attraction.

 Dr Ifeanyi Ubah also shared his intention to share 30000 footballs to every family in Anambra state. This, he envisaged, would inspire 30000 families in Anambra state to produce at least one professional footballer each.  This will be a major economic boost,  he said.

 Ifeanyi Ubah went ahead to disclose that the huge project is on the verge of providing 500 job/ empowerment opportunities during road construction."How many Anambra youths know how to make mold kelps or carry out standard road construction? How many anambra people are good road workers? We are using here to create a model to empower youths for road construction."

The Entrepreneurial genius then pointed out the spots for a shopping mall, Football academy,  Linguistic school where the footballers will learn  Spanish, Portuguese, French. He added that Ifeanyi Uba FC is partnering with Westham Football academy,  rated the World best in running their own academy,  making them the first African partner with Westham. He then noted that Ifeanyi Ubah FC has already signed three Brazilian players in their team.

Other features of the more than 200 hectare Ifeanyi Ubah games village were Amusement parks, 4 industrial boreholes for the surrounding ; Ozubulu  and Nnewi. Each borehole worth 8 million naira. A state of the art Night market. First of its kind. 1000 Kva transformer, thirty warehouses.