Tunde Onakoya

Adewale Tinubu

Attempt by Nigerian-born chess player, Tunde Onakoya, to break the Guinness World Record has received a boost with the Group Chief Executive Officer, Oando Group, Mr Adewale Tinubu, throwing his weight behind his effort.

Tinubu, on his social handles, lauded the ingenuity of the young Nigerian.

He wrote: ‘’It’s been 27 hours and counting since  the Grand Chess master took on the inspiring feat of breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon in Times Square, New York City, as a beacon of hope for vulnerable children across Africa.

“Let’s take a leaf from Tunde Onakoya’s  book because, in all of us, there exists the capacity for great courage and good. Tunde Onakoya is a truly inspirational story, it’s one of determination, tenacity and, above all, passion for humanity, and one that we must all learn from. Bring it home!’’

Onakoya, 29, who is in New York City, aims not only to break the world record of 56 hours set in 2018,  but also to raise money for the Gift of Chess and  Chess in Slums Africa organisations that aim to use the game to lift children out of poverty.

Bigi Carbonated Soft Drink, a leading Nigerian beverage brand, is thrilled to announce that it is again the headline sponsor of the 9th season of Nigerian Idol, Africa’s biggest music reality TV show, as it has previously powered it in three other editions, in Seasons 6,7, and 8.

This reaffirms Bigi’s commitment to supporting the growth and development of the Nigerian entertainment industry and empowering aspiring talents to achieve their dreams.

Since her first sponsorship in season 6, Bigi has witnessed the rise of remarkable talents like Kingdom Kroseide, Progress Chukwuyem, and Victory Gbakara. Season 8 saw Bigi go above and beyond with exciting campus activations, engaging live show activities like the life-size Bigi Chiller photobooth, and captivating events like the Ikeja City Mall Flash Mob and shoppers dash where the top three finalists bought household items worth over a million naira.

This season, Bigi promises to raise the bar even higher, ensuring its presence resonates throughout the entire journey. From pre-show events to live performances and beyond, the brand aims to be on the lips and in the hearts of everyone involved.

Biola Aransiola, Assistant Brand Manager, Bigi, states “We are excited to be back for Nigerian Idol Season 9, and we can’t wait to share our exciting plans! As a brand that cares deeply for its consumers, Bigi wants to empower talent and provide a platform for dreams to take flight.” Aransiola adds, “Our partnership with Nigerian Idol is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to seeing young talents thrive and reach their full potential.”

Bigi’s partnership reflects a shared passion for nurturing talent and creating opportunities for young Nigerians to shine. This aligns perfectly with the show’s theme, “Dare to Dream,” encouraging individuals to chase their aspirations and believe in their potential.

As a brand synonymous with joy and refreshment, Bigi promises to inject fun and excitement into every episode of Nigerian Idol Season 9. Get ready for a season filled with talent, excitement, inspiring stories, the shared pursuit of dreams, and the refreshing taste of Bigi.

Steve Olufemi Sodiya is a seasoned filmmaker with over 30 years of experience. Undoubtedly, he has worked on so many projects over the years as a producer, director, editor, consultant, and post-production supervisor. Sodiya, who doubles as the CEO of Nukoncept Studio, takes pride in working with big legends of the industry over the years. A member of the Directors guild of Nigeria (DGN) also one of the board of trustee (BOT) Association of motion picture and entertainment editors of Nigeria (AMPEEN).

Till date, he has worked on several projects including Figurine, The Wedding Party, The King of Boys (part 1 and 2), Ayinla, Ijakumo, Kofa and his latest project  Malaika.

Practically, he has worked with the living legend, Tunde Kelani, fondly called TK closely over the years. TK opened his eyes to many concepts about filmmaking, and for that reason, he made a conscious decision to stay on gate-keeping of quality control (post-production) for the films in Nollywood for a while. This gave him the chance to study different approaches to telling stories and, at the same time, makes sure the final output was not devoid of excellent finishing.

Of course, there are no bad stories. It depends on who is telling the stories and how it is being presented. Nollywood is blessed with very interesting and exciting stories, for example, the Malaika story is a family story of someone seeking to have a child of her own. The story could have been approached linearly but he decided to give all the characters a chance for the whole world to see from their own point of view.

“Most times humans refuse to look inwardly when they have a challenge but rather blame external forces. Nollywood has come of age and it is time to bring a new game to the table” Steve explained.

Starting from the background of advertising agency back then, the advent of film-making in Nigeria was very interesting, the Alade Aromire, of blessed memory, attempted and became successful in home video movies, which caught the interest of a lot of us that are already into advertising and TV. That is how the quest of Sodiya into the film world started.

“Everything about film-making to me is always about the story. I remember when I took on the project Afonja in 2002, written by Adebayo Faleti, the same feeling I got before going into the project is the same feeling I had when I jumped on King of Boys by Kemi Adetiba.”

Adding that , “We had limited resources when we started Nollywood and that affected our creative process. And trying to tell our stories back then, we hardly think of going very wild with our imagination because we try to limit the stories to what we can achieve right here in Nigeria. These days, our creative process has changed drastically since the industry is now opened up to endless possibilities. “

“Netflix hand-picked some of us and gave us master classes on production and post-production, that alone says a lot about the potentials the outside world see in Nollywood”.

Speaking about the challenges, Shodiya narrated what it has been like functioning in the industry; “In recent times, the most challenging film I directed was Ijakumo. We had to merge the past and the present, cultural depth and modern-day lifestyle needed together. We did a serious balance while I worked alongside a beautiful mind and experienced Movie Director, Adebayo Tijani, to make sure we could deliver that masterpiece.”
“The fight sequence, which we shot for 3 days, was the most challenging one. It was jointly done with the awesome effort of an amazing stunt coordinator, Mr Nollywood David Ugeonyemechi, as well as Hakeem Effects on special effects. The Art Director, Tunji Afolayan, made life easy for us also, and, at the end of the day, we brought the scene to life”.

“Most of the productions I delved into either breaks the box office or brings tons of awards back home. Last year, 2023, one of the projects I co-produced (Kofa) won best film awards at Amaa awards and Afriff as well”

“I have always belonged to a school of thought that believes in reproducing oneself through training and impacting people as one moves up the ladder. Handling multiple projects is very easy when you already have trustworthy and competent hands to work with you with little or no supervision”.

“Malaika is my latest film, the most challenging part of directing this film is handling well over a hundred children in the ‘Ewe orun’ scene of the film. It has never been easy managing children on any film set. Meanwhile, it is even a vfx scene, which requires paying a lot of attention to details”, he concluded.