If you were in Enugu over the weekend, you will appreciate the rich Igbo cultural heritage on display at De Dome Event Place in New Haven. From the enthralling traditional music performances, presentations in Igbo language to the very rare local wine and food menu served, the Igbos have a bouquet of heritage worth priding of and preserving.
Of course, the people were more glamorous than ever that day. Decked in colourful and themed attires, the sons, daughters of Igboland, and their friends, especially M-Net Africa and MultiChoice gathered at Enugu to celebrate the Igbo entertainment industry, and most importantly, to launch a sustaining platform for the industry.
‘Ebe o na kpotu,’ literally interpreted as ‘where it is happening,’ ruled the air as the audience kept repeating the pay-off line for Africa Magic Igbo that was about being officially launched in their homeland. It was a journey to the roots as ‘Living in Bondage,’ the first movie that kick started Nollywood’s movement to global viewership, was made in Enugu in the early 90s.
Well, the culture thing was truly played up by the many Nollywood movie stars from the Igbo extraction that graced the occasion.
From veteran such as Pete Edochie, Kenneth Okonkwo, Clem Ohameze, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, Eucharia Anunobi, Francis Duru, Patience Ozokwor, to the younger generation like O.C Ukeje, Yul Edochie, Gideon Okeke, Linda Ejiofor, among others, the launch was all about the Igbo language, culture and heritage.
Unlike most events across the country that begin with the singing of the National Anthem, the launch of Africa Magic Igbo, ‘Ebe o na kpotu,’ started with the symbolic breaking of kola nut. As expected, the kola nut blessing, breaking and presentation, was all ceremonial. First, Pete Edochie, who suggested the pay-off line for Africa Magic Igbo, called on Kenneth Okonkwo to break and present the kola nut, because Pete is from Anambra while Kenneth is from Enugu. Traditionally, the Kola nut has to be broken or presented by someone from the place it is being offered.
It was not long after the kola nut was broken and presented to formally kick off the event that food was served. There were variety of menu from across Igbo land and the guests were encouraged to eat something different.
Having eaten local delicacies and drunken both water and wine, M-Net Africa, the host, took time to explain to the guests the imperative of the Africa Magic Igbo launch. Though Africa Magic is already showing on channel 159 on DStv since April, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, regional director, M-Net (West), said there was no better time to launch the channel than now.
“Africa Magic is renowned for providing entertainment made for Africa by Africans. We are renowned for telling the African story, and giving African entertainers a platform to show the world what they can do. We have demonstrated this with our channels, including the indigenous language channels which continue to promote the richness of Nigeria’s different cultures beyond the nation’s borders, and we are continuing this trend with the Africa Magic Igbo channel,” she said.
Africa Magic Igbo is a 24-hour general entertainment channel featuring the best of Igbo language content, she explained. The channel, according to her, also features magazine shows, movies, drama series and sitcoms, all showcasing the best of the Igbo culture and tradition.
For John Ugbe, managing director, MultiChoice Nigeria, the launch is all about creating platform that would further consolidate the success of Nollywood.
“At MultiChoice, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of the development of the Nigerian film and television industry. For over 20 years, we have consistently invested in Nigeria’s creative industry.
”Furthermore, the Africa Magic channels, which sit on our DStv and GOtv platforms, provide Nigerian talent with the opportunity to showcase their works to the rest of the continent and indeed the world,” Ugbe said.
While everyone that graced the occasion was happy with the Africa Magic Igbo platform, one man that is most pleased with the development is Pete Edochie, who had been advocating for the platform long ago, especially with the smooth take off of both Hausa and Yoruba languages on Africa Magic. Probably, that was the reason Africa Magic gave him the sole right to give the pay-off line, which he did with pride-‘Ebe o na kpotu.’
But while the battle of getting Africa Magic to showcase Igbo cultural heritage through the movies is won, Edochie said the next battle was to sustain the platform with quality movies that would see Igbo culture better appreciated across the globe.
“With the launch, it is time to take advantage of the new channel to produce rich and enduring Igbo content. There is no excuse to fail,” Edochie told Igbo film makers.
OBINNA EMELIKE
