Entertainment
Nigeria Set To Host World-Class Film Festival In Abuja
Abuja is set to become the host city for a prestigious film festival this December, thanks to a collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy, and the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC).
The Chief Executive of NFC, Chidia Maduekwe, recently met with the Minister of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, in Abuja to present a roadmap for achieving their goals in developing Nigeria’s film industry.
As part of their plans for the Zuma Film Festival, the Corporation has secured a 10-year hosting partnership with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) back in 2021 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), designating Abuja as the official host city.
During the meeting, the Minister, joined by other high-ranking officials, received valuable insights into the NFC’s agenda.
Maduekwe emphasized that designating Abuja as the official host city for the film festival aligns with global best practices, citing renowned cities like Cannes, Toronto, Durban, and others as examples.
The NFC CEO also highlighted the challenges hampering the film industry’s development and growth, particularly outdated laws, including the untouched NFC Act of 1979, which has remained unamended for 44 years, and the legal frameworks governing the Motion Picture Practitioners Council (MOPICON).
He encouraged the Minister to reconsider pivotal film industry policies that hold the potential to bolster the sector, ensuring its continued contributions to content creation, efficient film distribution and exhibition, training and capacity building, and the establishment of the National Film Development Fund (NFDF).
He said “The NFC, filmmakers and stakeholders are enthusiastic and committed to ensuring that the Minister’s 2030 Destination Agenda was supported to succeed, because of its impactful focus and objectives.
“The legal framework is aimed to update and strengthen the existing legislation governing the NFC to create a conducive environment for growth and innovation.
“There’s a need for a practitioners council, which describes the establishment of a dedicated council for film professionals, aiming to foster collaboration, mentorship, and skill development and also international collaborations that the we plan to form more co-production agreements with international partners, to facilitate the exchange of talent, resources, and expertise.”
Discussing capacity development, the NFC CEO noted that the National Film Institute (NFI) has been consistently delivering training and capacity-building programs in film and television production.
This includes imparting entrepreneurial skills to youths across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones through its mobile audiovisual training platform, in addition to offering a Master’s Degree Programme in Film Culture & Archiving Studies.
Maduekwe also highlighted the significant strides made at the National Film Video and Sound Archive (NFVSA), which has been designated as the national repository for audio-visual heritage.
Entertainment
Davido Is Our Son, Our Pride – Gov Adeleke
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has congratulated his nephew and global music icon, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido on the occasion of his birthday, describing him as a superstar Osun State is proud of.
This was revealed in a statement by his Spokesperson Olawale Rasheed, where he cited Gov Aeleke as pointing to Davido’s consistency, energy and passion yielding the result he has recorded not only in his music career but also in his life as a person.
Gov Adeleke, stated Rasheed, prayed for progress, more success and achievement for Davido, while commending his continuous outreach to the orphanages and less privileged, which he described as ‘a noble act every blessed hand in Nigeria must emulate’.
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He said, ” I want to rejoice with my nephew, David Adeleke, Davido, on the occasion of his 32nd birthday, I am very happy we are all alive to witness it.
“Davido is a global super star that Osun State is very proud of. The consistency, energy and passion he has inserted into building his music career is evident in the result he has recorded not only in his career but also in his life as a person.
“I pray for him for progress, more success and achievement in long life, prosperity, sound health and mind.
“I equally want to commend his continuous outreach to the orphanages and less privileged. I must say that this is a noble act every blessed hand in Nigeria must emulate.
“Once again, Happy Birthday to Davido”.
Entertainment
Wizkid Drops Sixth Studio Album ‘Morayo’
Afrobeats sensation Wizkid has unveiled his highly anticipated sixth studio album, Morayo, released today (Nov. 22) via Starboy Entertainment and RCA Records.
The album, whose title translates to “I see joy” in Yoruba, is an emotional tribute to his late mother, Juliana Morayo Balogun, who passed away in August 2023.
“Best album I ever made!! Now listen! It’s only up from here!” the Grammy-winning artist tweeted in July, building anticipation for the 16-track project.
Morayo features an impressive lineup of collaborations, including Brent Faiyaz on “Piece of My Heart,” Asake on “Bad Girl,” Tiakola on “Après Minuit,” Jazmine Sullivan on “Bad For You,” and Anaïs on “Slow.” The album also includes previously released singles like “Piece of My Heart,” which reached No. 4 on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart and No. 7 on World Digital Song Sales, and “Kese (Dance).”
Notably, Wizkid and Asake’s collaboration on “MMS” has earned a Grammy nomination for Best African Music Performance in 2025, cementing their impact on the global music stage.
READ MORE: Wizkid Unveils Morayo Album Tracklist Featuring Asake
The tracklist for Morayo includes:
1. Troubled Mind
2. Karamo
3. Kese (Dance)
4. Bad Girl (feat. Asake)
5. Time
6. Piece of My Heart (feat. Brent Faiyaz)
7. Break Me Down
8. Bend
9. A Million Blessing
10. Après Minuit (feat. Tiakola)
11. Bad For You (feat. Jazmine Sullivan)
12. Soji
13. Don’t Care
14. Slow (feat. Anaïs)
15. Lose
16. Pray
This marks Wizkid’s first album in three years, following More Love, Less Ego, which reached No. 2 on the World Albums chart and No. 59 on the Billboard 200. His previous projects, including the Grammy-nominated Made in Lagos (Deluxe), have solidified his place as a global music icon.
Fans can stream Morayo now and experience the evolution of Wizkid’s sound, deeply rooted in love, loss, and celebration.
Entertainment
Olajumoke Onibread Accuses Ex-Husband Of Assault, Career Sabotage
Model Olajumoke Orisaguna, popularly known as Olajumoke Onibread, has opened up about her traumatic experiences in her marriage, accusing her ex-husband, Sunday Orisaguna, of domestic violence and ruining her career.
In an interview with City FM, Olajumoke shared harrowing details of her past, highlighting the abuse she endured during her time in her ex-husband’s family home in Ire, Osun State.
“We stayed in my husband’s family house at Ire in Osun State, and there is no way you stay in such a place that you would not encounter problems,” she recounted.
Olajumoke revealed that her mother-in-law’s hostility exacerbated the situation, as her ex-husband often sided with his mother without hearing her perspective.
“He would not hear my own side of the story before beating me. Whenever I had a misunderstanding with his mother, he would beat me to the extent that my face and body would be swollen. Sometimes he would even use a belt,” she said.
READ MORE: N1.7trn Loan: Atiku Blames NASS For Worsening Nigeria’s Debt Burden
She further explained how she kept the abuse hidden to avoid upsetting her mother, who also lived nearby. Despite the hardships, Olajumoke continued to support the family financially, as her husband was unemployed.
Reflecting on a pivotal moment in January 2016, Olajumoke described the day she decided to leave:
“We were frying akara for his dad’s remembrance when I had an issue with his elder sister. As usual, he beat me up, and I decided that I was going to leave, move to Lagos, and start working at the bakery because I had been there before.”
Three days later, she relocated to Lagos with her two children. According to Olajumoke, the separation led to further challenges as her ex-husband began tarnishing her reputation, contributing to her career’s decline.
“Everything started going down the drain after separation because he started spoiling my name. Since then, things started going down,” she lamented.
Olajumoke, who rose to fame in 2016 after a chance encounter during a photoshoot with British rapper Tinie Tempah and photographer TY Bello, is now using her platform to shed light on the struggles she endured.
The model’s story has reignited conversations about domestic abuse and the societal pressures faced by women in similar situations.