Stunts and fashion showcase in Nigeria's Lagos, puts luxury cars to the test

The thrill, the rush, fun, music and dance was what kept audiences spell bound at the recent Revs and Runway event held in Lagos. I'm sure you are wondering like I was when I first heard of it.... Revs and Runway????? Yeah, a motorsports event that has cars doing dangerous stunts....what we do not normally see in this part of the world. All thanks to the Lebanese folks who seem to have 100 percent love for drifting.
Over a hundred people were entertained with heart stopping car stunts earlier this month in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos as fierce Lebanese drifters thrilled them with their performances. The Abuja based drifters, DarkKnight Motorsport Limited which has been in existence for 10 years brought their cars and motorbikes to the controlled environment where adrenaline activities were carried out to the delight of the audience. Motorsports is gradually becoming popular in football obsessed Nigeria with events being held yearly in various cities across the West African country.  Organised by Mach Motorsports and Mastermindz Motoring, this year's Revs and Runway event was the second edition. The organisers plan to hold motorsports events in the country to draw audiences who travel out to enjoy such activities. The drifting technique comes into play when the driver intentionally turns the vehicle sharply with loss of traction in some or all the tyres while still in control when turning a corner. One of the daring drifters, Anthony Sandu says he is looking to open a club for drifters in Nigeria. A variety of cars were on display as drifters set the ground on fire with their revving skills leaving spectators in awe of their moves. Many Nigerians still do not understand the concept of motorsports while others are excited over its debut in Nigeria. The organizers say they are hoping to grow the motorsports industry so that Nigeria can become a choice destination as well for such sports.

Pictures courtesy: Sharon Ogunleye

 

NIGERIAN ARTIST "WRITES WITH FIRE" TO CREATE MASTERPIECES

On one of those days I spend hours searching for story ideas and convincing myself not to give up the search for that day, some images caught my attention. Wow was the first thought that came to my mind..... I could not stop staring for some seconds. I was in love. This artist was..... my goodness! There are absolutely no words but his works are stunning. I quickly shared the Twitter link to my colleagues. That was in September. And then I completely forgot about it. Like really. I got caught up with other stuffs and here was this idea buried deep in weeks of messages. Until a month later when the urgency for story ideas reached a peak I could barely sleep. I decided to scroll up on ideas I had shared and I found it. Yaay! Forgive my excitement but it's great to tell stories from Nigeria. So I kickstarted the process of an interesting story of this young man Alex Peter, a pyrography artist who does "amaaaaaazing" work. Pyrography means "writing with fire" and believe me this has been around since the dawn of recorded history. Creating images on wood via controlled heat. My super colleagues jumped on it and the process was easy thankfully. For Alex Peter, a trained accountant; art was like some hobby that he started when he was younger until a light shone and he thought hey, I could actually do something with this and that led him to fully kick off his art journey in 2016. So here is how the self-taught artist does it. He gets a board then uses a pencil, sketches his subject on the board, goes on to burn the image with a blow lamp after which he uses a razor blade or sand paper to carve out the patterns. The process ends by spraying with a fixative to stop the colours from running. Voila! Check out the art works below and tell me if it ain't the work of a genius. Nigerians forever making us proud with their talent. The 25 year old is only just beginning even after two exhibitions. We can't wait to see him on the world stage. *Smile*. He already is. He has done some work on famous African personalities. His future plans? He wants to open an art school where he can put up a gallery and promote pyrography.

Pictures courtesy: Alex Peter and Angela Ukomadu

SHARON OGUNLEYE'S SHOWREEL

NIGERIAN SCIENCE FICTION WRITER NNEDI OKORAFOR INSPIRES NEW GENERATION OF WRITERS

I was so excited, I could not wait. I had seen chatter on social media about this amazing lady blazing a trail for Africa in the world of science fiction books and it was one of those stories you just knew would make a story. You don't need to overthink it. What is needed at that point is how to cook it and I was so looking forward to it. I love writing. Always have. I loved writing poems especially. I even wrote poems for my best friend back in the day. And I keep them. Poems, letters..... They are my most prized treasures. So when I come across certain authors, I am instantly drawn to them especially one that involves talk of aliens coming to Nigeria. I reached out to Nnedi Okorafor, award winning Nigerian-American writer and she mentioned she would be at this year's Ake Arts and Books Festival in Abeokuta. That did it for me... distance was no barrier. Abeokuta is one of my favourite places. I was counting down to the day until I found out my sister was getting married same day and to top that, my daughter fell ill same week of the shoot. Bummer! My colleagues made it to the rocky city. Though I was not there, I felt like I was there. From dozens of kilometres away, I could feel the energy. And I was not disappointed.
Nnedi Okorafor desperate to see more diversity in the world of superheroes and considering that comics have always been interesting to her is taking her stories to a new audience this time with Marvel Comics, making it a new chapter for them as it is the first Marvel story to be set in a real-life African country. The character, Ngozi stems from the high-profile abduction of about 220 schoolgirls in Chibok in northeast Nigeria in 2014 by the militant group Boko Haram, and the comic's author hopes the teenage superhero will resonate with girls across the country. The author is set to write a three-issue storyline for Marvel’s Black Panther. One of Nnedi's books "Who fears Death" is also being adapted for a TV series by HBO. It took three years for it to culminate. She wrote the book cos of her father's passing so it is close to her heart.
At the festival, Nnedi Okorafor hosted writing and mentorship sessions on Afrofuturism and science fiction. Seeing the video edit two days after, I noticed her hair. Wow! I found it quite fascinating. She was an enigma to me. I did not meet her but I did meet her. She responded to mails, messages on Twitter and even called me when she got to Abeokuta. She expressed how much she was looking forward to the interview and I'm so grateful she made it easy for us.
Nnedi Okorafor, the daughter of Nigerian immigrants was raised in Illinois. She went to school in the states but spent vacations with family back in Nigeria. Her trips to Nigeria over the years inspired her to start writing science fiction books.
Her science fiction and fantasy novels reflect experiences of both Nigeria and the United States and often center around characters who are trying to figure how to make different aspects of their identities fit together. Nnedi has written over 12 novels that have the trends and themes she is obsessed with. She is interested in portraying strong female characters, showing their stories. For her, it is also important to show male characters as well. We cannot wait for the new and exciting opportunities that lies ahead for science fiction stories from Nigeria and Africa.

Pictures courtesy Angela Ukomadu

Nnedi Okorafor with Angela Ukomadu

Seun Sanni with Angela Ukomadu

Nnedi Okorafor with Angela Ukomadu

NOLLYWOOD PREMIERES ITS FIRST SILENT FILM

With the producer Ego Boyo

I sat silent as I viewed the trailer. It seemed normal but what occurred to me was that it did not have so much action.... I was expecting more. I was unaware I was watching a trailer for Nigeria's first silent film. The trailer had no dialogue. The blog post gave no hint regarding the fact that it was a silent film and since there was soundtrack I thought it was deliberate for suspense purposes. Few weeks after, I spotted a tweet while searching for story ideas. Twitter is my favourite place to dig for ideas and here I was engrossed. I could spend hours cos eventually it pays off. Nigeria's first silent film...."A Hotel Called Memory".... I was curious. I clicked on the link and it directed me to the trailer. Wow! Then it hit me. I did more research and it got the thumbs up from my editors in Nairobi. I teamed up with my filming partner a week after and like they say the rest is now history. The producer of the film Ego Boyo and director Akin Omotosho who also featured made history. Shot within six months in Lagos, Zanzibar and Cape Town.... the result was a dramatic and experimental film that follows a lady, one of my favorites, Nse Ikpe Etim who recently separated from her husband and decides to go on a self rediscovery in Zanzibar and Cape Town hoping to forget the past and move on with her life. With gestures, facial expressions and movements, the actors brought the film to life. The movie won the favourite experimental film at the Blackstar Festival in Philadelphia in August. This is a different genre Nollywood is exploring away from the norm we are used to. The 49 minute film was well.....hmmmmm I had to end it my own way as the end had different interpretations. "A Hotel Called Memory", I would not be forgetting that in a hurry. You would have to watch it to understand. What's next for this team? A thriller in the works. We can't wait!!

Unfortunately, I lost some of the pics so I only have few to share... it was also an opportunity for WINGS, the venue where the premiere was held to let guests have a feel of the place.

With Latasha Nwugbe

Africa's art scene gains steam with Art X Lagos

Artwork by Ghanian artist, Jeremiah Quarshie - Photo credit: Chioma Udeh

For this year's edition of Art X Lagos, thousands of people from all over the world turned up for the three-day event, an unusual and impressive sight to behold.
This year's art fair had a broader representation featuring over 60 artists from 15 countries.
Artists that exhibited their works include Ghanian artist, Jeremiah Quarshie whose portraits are popular all over the world, British Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, Ben Enwonwu, one of the pioneers of modern African art and other renowned and emerging artists.
31 year old founder of Art X Lagos,Tokoni Peterside says this year's aim was to have more artists introduced to new and experienced art collectors.
The organizer hopes to widen West Africa's connection to the international art scene, showcasing the best and innovative contemporary art from Africa and western countries.
The fair featured curated projects, talks, live art and music performances.
Different perspectives were at play with some artists choosing themes that resonate with issues facing Africa like Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria's northeastern region, epileptic power that has plagued the West African country for years, water issues in Ghana among other societal ills.
Some of the art works were a reflection of iconic afrobeat musician Fela Kuti's life and music.
Art X Lagos launched in 2016 and is seeking to reinforce the visual arts as an important aspect of Africa's creative industry while positioning Lagos as an emerging cultural capital on the continent.

Photo credit: Chioma Udeh

Tokoni Peterside and Chioma Udeh