One of the reasons I look forward to December is because I know my Leading Woman for this week always has a blockbuster that clears the charts. She is the stunning, intelligent and assiduous woman of substance, who has consistently shattered the ‘glass ceiling’ and paved way for other women to follow suit. She is Mo Abudu, the CEO of Ebonylife TV, Africa’s first Global Black Entertainment & Lifestyle network. First, she thrilled us all to the amazing movie titled Fifty and just when we thought we had seen it all, next was the captivating Wedding Party directed by Kemi Adetiba and in 2017 it is Wedding Party 2.
I had received my invite and when I saw the dress code I knew we were all in for it. I remember going to an Arabian store to pick my head piece and I met different women coming in to look for something to wear. One lady actually said to me “This is so hard” and we all burst out laughing…well, when Mo decides to bring everyone together, never expect it to be the norm, you have been forewarned!
I had known what I was going to wear and I decided not to eat much so my stomach wouldn’t bulge…in Falz’s parlance I had “something light” and that helped.
Hair…Check! Make-up…check! …dress…check! and voila, I was ready…I knew there would be gridlock at Eko Hotel which was the venue of the premiere so I didn’t even bother driving down, Uber came to my rescue.
Walking into the venue, the colour theme was black and gold, beautifully draped to the left and right on the walls of the entrance while you walked in, as you make your way down the aisle, the photographers and camera men all ensuring they capture each moment through their lenses, they were certainly ready for what we all know them for… paparazzi! and no one was permitted to go unnoticed. Flashlights here and there, it sure felt like you were walking to meet an Arabian royalty.
Moving on, you meet with beautiful hostesses adorned in Arabian themed outfits, politely serving you Arabian tea, you pick a mini glass of the tea, move forward a bit and to your left, pretty ladies from The Henna Place Lekki, adorning guests with various stunning and intricate henna designs that complemented their dazzling outfits.
Moving further, you meet a pleasant man who walks up to you dressed in his Arabian outfit and asks you to come to their partition for your name to be written in Arabic. Once you are done and you finally make your way into the hall, the lights, the striking decoration of black and gold all over the hall, the beautifully dressed ushers with various table numbers ensuring you do not look for your table for too long, all made the ambience a true depiction of “Arabian Night”.
Anchoring the event were Ada Afoluke Ogunkeye popularly called Folu Storms and Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and they did brilliantly well. One after the other, various artistes graced the stage to entertain us all including the legendary King Sunny Ade, the lovely Seyi Shay and Reekado Banks. The live band was outstanding!
Aside the characters in the movie, other distinguished guests that graced the day included The wife of the Vice President of Nigeria, Her Excellency, Oludapo Osinbajo, the Honourable Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, Dubai Tourism officials, Betty Irabor, Tonye Cole, Sylvia Cole, Bola Adesola, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, Lady Maiden Ibru to mention a few.
We sat comfortably on our seats enjoying the scrumptious meals we served ourselves from the array of food displayed for buffet as we watched the artistes take the stage one after the other and of course AY the comedian didn’t fail to do what we all know him for…to make us laugh!
One by one Mo Abudu ensured she took her time to visit tables appreciating her guests for showing up to support her. I must say she looked absolutely breath taking in her gorgeous outfit made by the spectacular Lanre Da Silva Ajayi, now that is how an Arabian Queen stuns…Mo Abudu slayed! Period!
When we were done, we moved to the next hall for what we all couldn’t wait to see, The Wedding Party 2 and as usual, our pop corn bags were already positioned on our seats so with pop corn on our hand, eyes glued to the screen, we all were set to be thrilled.
After the brief speech, lights were out and the movie began. We all couldn’t hold our excitement as we laughed through it all. There was not a single dull moment. To everyone going to watch it in the cinemas from today, trust me, you are in for a treat.
The Wedding party follows the shenanigans that go on during the planning of a wedding in Nigeria. Dunni, a 24 year old art gallery owner and only daughter of her parents, Engineer Bamidele and Tinuade Coker, is about to marry the love of her life, IT entrepreneur Dozie, the handsome son of Chief Felix and Lady Obianuju Onwuka.
Between matchmaking attempts on the bridal train and other captivating moments, Wedding Party gave us all whao moments but The Wedding Party 2 focuses on Dozie (Banky W ) the groom’s brother, Nonso (played by Enyinna Nwigwe), who has continued his romance with Deirdre (played by Daniella Down), the bridesmaid from London. Nonso proposes by accident, while on a dinner date, and that sets off a chain of intriguing events.
Netting over N400m at the box office, The Wedding Party certainly raised the bar for the Nollywood industry. I bet Wedding Party 2 has more in the offering and we can’t wait for Mo through her relentless effort to raise the bar once again with the intriguing Wedding Party 2, to top the charts as usual.
For her dedication to excellence and consistent focus on ensuring our stories are told to the world positively without losing the essence of its message, I hereby celebrate Mo Abudu for her commitment to put Nigeria on the global scene for distinction and positive prominence. Am I the only one looking forward to what she has for 2018 already? I can’t wait Go Mo! Go Mo!! Go Mo!!!
KEMI AJUMOBI
