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TONY OKOROJI Reveals A Lot About Niteshift Gov.
A few Saturdays ago, there was a very big bash in Lagos. Practically everyone who has been anyone in the Nigerian creative industry was there. Ken Calebs-Olumese, the man fondly called the Guv’nor by his many admirers, was celebrating his 80th birthday. One of the highlights of the celebration was the launching of his autobiography, “My Niteshift Coliseum Odyssey”. I am honoured to have been invited to contribute to the boundless book of 328 pages. I am publishing my 11-page contribution which can be found on pages 213 to 224, in the next three editions of Saturday Breakfast. Please read on:
“If any Nigerian deserves a national honour, the Esan born workhorse and creative genius, Ken Calebs Olumese does. To the best of my knowledge, Olumese never held a government job nor did he ever do a government contract. He has however done more to create friendships across Nigeria, give impetus to many an aspiration and promote the culture of intellect, finesse and class than anyone paid from the purse of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The NiteShift phenomenon created by Ken Calebs Olumese deserves a whole book. Trying to capture the rise, fall and rise again of that phenomenon and the vision and sheer will power that drove it, in one chapter of a book, is a tall order.
I make bold to write that Nigeria may have been different in a number of ways without NiteShift. For instance, there is little argument that the celebrated and distinct Nigerian movie industry, which for some time has been known as Nollywood, took off with Living in Bondage, Kenneth Nnebue’s 1992 blockbuster Igbo language home video featuring the likes of Kenneth Okonkwo, Francis Agu, Okechukwu Ogunjiofor, Kanayo O. Kanayor, Nnenna Nwabueze, Ngozi Nwosu, etc. The amazingly well told ritual love story of Andy and Merit was the first time that a Nigerian audio–visual production had been successfully mass marketed in the VHS format. Undoubtedly, Living in Bondage was the hit that opened the floodgate.
However, it is indeed possible that the Nigerian movie industry would not have gained universal traction without the camaraderie that came out of 21 Opebi Road, Ikeja, the flat right above where Tastee Fried Chicken for a long time dished out ‘Charcolit Chicken’, ‘Chicken Topper Salad’ and ‘Crispy Chicken’ to all and sundry. That was where in 1988 NiteShift was born and where the likes of Zeb Ejiro, Fred Amata, Zik Zulu Okafor, Segun Arinze, Clarion Chukwurah, Gloria Anozie (before Mr. Young made her his own), Biola Ogunduyile or Abiola Segun Williams as she is now known, Richard Mofe Damijo, Liz Benson, Keppy Ekpeyong-Bassey, Kate Henshaw, Stella Damasus, Sammie Okposo and many others regularly fraternized under the banner of Glamour Boys of Nigeria (GBN). GBN was one of those unique creations of Ken Calebs Olumese. With his gift of spotting distinctive talents destined for the top before their bloom, Olumese provided this upwardly mobile crowd a platform for networking and ultimate success. Under the swinging and swaying lights of NiteShift, a lot of Nigerian movie ideas were shaped and executed and the rest, like they say, is history.
Another industry that may have been significantly touched by Olumese’s Glamour Boys of Nigeria is the Media industry. In the tick of GBN were 3 young reporters: Femi Akintunde Johnson (FAJ), Kunle Bakare (KB) and Mayor Akinpelu. I sat through some of the conversations that spurred the trio to go ahead and bring to life the famous FAME Weekly. With their eventual separation, Kunle Bakare with FAJ created Encomium Weekly today run by KB and his wife, Desola; Mayor Akinpelu founded Global Excellence. FAJ has sat on top the Mega Awards with his wife, Iretunde. Dele Momodu, another Glamour Boy who once edited May Ellen Ezekiel’s Classique magazine, stormed the world with Ovation International before delving into Politics and seeking to be President of the Federal Republic.
Ehi Braimah, once a Journalist, who became almost an Olumese twin brother at NiteShift is today a Communications guru and very successful hotelier. Ehi was however deputy to Moji Danisa, the famous Queen of Junk who terrorized the high and mighty with Climax magazine founded by Sunny Ojeagbase and ‘mathematical’ Segun Odegbami. Moji was succeeded at Climax by FAJ. Charles Okogene who edited Saturday Independent for many months and now runs a hyper news blog, was part of the inner sanctum of Olumese’s ‘resource team’ and so was Azuh Arinze who was Editor of Encomium Weekly but has in recent years published Yes International magazine. Arinze’s brother, Azuh Amatus, a niteshifter himself, edited the high-flying Entertainment Express founded by Mike Awoyinfa and his late friend, Dimgba Igwe. Have you forgotten Coker Onita’s Todays Choice, Muyiwa Adetiba’s Prime People and Vintage People? There is no question in my mind that the soft sell brand of Journalism in Nigeria got its fillip and lubrication at NiteShift.
The doyens of Nigerian journalism such as Sam Amuka-Pemu, one of the founders of the Punch Newspapers, who later brought Vanguard Newspapers to life; Clarkson De Majomi who owned the defunct Mail Newspaper and was reputed to be one of Nigeria’s most elegant, tasteful and sought after men of a generation; Ray Ekpu, co-founder of Newswatch and Stanley Macebuh, Managing Director of the Guardian, found the NiteShift Gold Card Sector (later, Platinum Sector) to be a great place to unwind, sip vintage cognac, make friends and have exhilarating conversations. So did the very cerebral Bolaji Akinyemi, Sunny Kuku, Festus Odimegwu, Kalu Idika Kalu, Bode Olajumoke, etc, etc. At Niteshift, they talked Politics across tribal lines; they talked business without tribal borders and made things happen in Nigeria.
NiteShift was also a magnet for Nigeria’s beautiful women of power: from the likes of Opral Benson to Florence Ita Giwa to Franca Afegbua to Jennifer Madike and whoever was qualified to be among the nation’s most high-flying fashionistas. They loved the special royal treatment Olumese gave them and the razz and pizzas that NiteShift exuded. What of the designers who clothed them? Where else do you think you would have found David Kolawole Vaughan, my man, Dakova; Maureen Amenechi of Maufechi; Godwin Mekwuye of Vivid Imagination or city clothier, Bevista? They all laid siege at the NiteShift.
It is true that like many others, I religiously read Rueben Abati in the Guardian. It is also true that without NiteShift the real brilliance of Abati, the man who went on to become Chief Press Secretary to President Goodluck Jonathan, Deputy Governorship candidate in Ogun State and an important voice on Arise TV, may not have become apparent. At NiteShift, Dr. Abati was a constant member of Olumese’s resource team and the very articulate reviewer with the uncanny retentive memory of many a Grand House Reception proceeding. Abati simply held many spellbound. The Grand House Reception was the NiteShift flagship event, an intellectual feast, where a key policy maker or newsmaker is brought to the hot seat on the revolving stage and fired questions from every direction on important national or international issues with the nation’s hottest journalists in the mix.
In the long list of persons who have had to face a barrage of questions at the Niteshift Grand House Reception will be found the late MKO Abiola, Atiku Abubakar, Goodlucjk Jonathan, Babatunde Fashola, Orji Uzor Kalu, Ayo Fayose, Jolly Nyame, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Anyim Pius Anyim, Ikedi Ohakim, T.A. Orji, Nasir el Rufai, etc. The effervescent Ghanaian Head of State, JJ Rawlings was not spared live fire from all and sundry as he went on the hot seat at the NiteShift Grand House Reception.
At Niteshift, every step was choreographed, rehearsed and rehearsed again and no detail was spared. Olumese was a great believer in the maxim, “If you fail to plan, you have planned to fail”. He planned for everything. Victor Eiremokhae, the smiling Police Officer turned lawyer, made sure that Security was always top notch. No poorly dressed person was allowed into NiteShift regardless of how many bags of money he was bringing with him. Every sector had its special wine glass. A hostess could be sacked for sitting a guest in the wrong sector of the club or serving the guest with the wrong glass. At a Grand House Reception, the dressing of the crew was ‘oriental ornamental’.
NiteShift was a well-tuned orchestra. The eagle eyed Guv’nor was everywhere. Ken Calebs-Olumese, the man who composed the NiteShift symphony conducted the orchestra. Night after night, he stood through it all, saw it all and with the wave of his hand, had the diverse instruments all in harmony. He never fell asleep.
Just like the seasons, night clubs come and go but unlike the seasons, they never come back. NiteShift defied the odds. The club which opened on Opebi Road in 1988 shut its doors about 1994 following disagreements with the owners of the rented property. NiteShift however came back bigger than before in February 1999 when Ken Calebs Olumese completed his building of the circular shaped Coliseum. The Salvation Road edifice became the club’s permanent site.
As if to say that nothing built by man can really be permanent, there would be no Christmas party at NiteShift in 2003. A week to Christmas, specifically on December 18, 2003, the Coliseum went up in flames and everything was burnt. Once again, the NiteShift sensation came to a screeching halt. There were many who were sure that Olumese could not compose a third movement to his epic symphony. They were wrong. Twenty months later, specifically on August 5, 2005, NiteShift came roaring back in a redesigned Coliseum and for eight unbroken years no one could stop the orchestra.
At NiteShift, many learnt how to do things well. To compere an event, you had to be an Ohi Alegbe, a Yinka Craig or a Taiwo Obileye. The technical quality of every presentation had to be spot on. The showbiz impresario, Edi Lawani and his guy, Kunle Akintayo Stewart who have led the technical line for many big shows in Nigeria, polished quite a bit of their craft at NiteShift. They provided the technical support for the likes of Felix & Mozzyz, Edmund Spice, Mike Okri, Sunny Neji, Tunde & Wunmi Obe, Neil Oliver and many of the stars who made NiteShift their second home and from there took their careers to another level. Not long ago, in London, I met Segun Roberts, the voice that welcomed you to NiteShift before the likes of Eddy Jay Omodiagbe consolidated the position. Segun and I shared memories and nearly cried at the thought of NiteShift disappearing.
There are those who will swear that Alibaba started stand-up comedy in Nigeria. Even my friend Ali will tell you that despite his huge impact on the art, there were several progenitors of the trade ahead of him. Only a people without history would have so soon forgotten the late great Ralph Opara. Before Ali and the new crop of comedians hit it big, the late John Chukwu who proudly reminded you that he shared the same initials with Jimmy Carter, James Callaghan, Jesus Christ and Julie Coker was bringing down the roof with laughter at NiteShift. JC made NiteShift a second home despite the fact that he owned the quite successful Klass Night Club also in Ikeja. Jude Onakpoma with his unique call sign, ‘Away-Away’ and his hilarious Michael Jackson theatrics was a NiteShift staple before he checked out to the United States. Fritz Baffour had cracked many ribs and driven everybody crazy with laughter at NiteShift before going back to Ghana and winning elections to parliament and subsequently becoming his Nation’s Minister of Information. Following those path finders, the likes of Alibaba, Gbenga Adeyinka, Okey Bakasi, Julius Agwu, AY, Klint Da Drunk, etc., have all had their nights on the NiteShift stage.
Since the shut-down of NiteShift, a number of people have expressed dismay. They ask: ‘how could a great business like NiteShift close shop?’ They got it wrong. Forget the façade, NiteShift was not a business. It was a labour of love and a nation-building project which one man had thrust upon himself. I believe that Olumese simply wanted to prove a point that Nigerians can do things well. If Ken Calebs Olumese’s real objective was to make money, he had more than enough connections to buy and sell, supply and retrieve, forward and backward, set up a church, build a university that teaches little, set up a sham NGO, be a lackey to a politician, run for political office himself or do any of those things that Nigerians do to make quick and easy money.
Let me give you an example: Not once did anyone ask me for a penny to gain entrance into NiteShift. Much of my drinks at NiteShift were not paid for by me but by the Guv’nor. A lot of Niteshifters will tell you that they had the same experience. Most of the people to be found in NiteShift’s Glamour Boys of Nigeria had talent, dreams, ambitions and a lot of swagger. They had no money. Very few of them could afford a good bottle of cognac. That did not stop Olumese from pulling them close, giving them an opportunity to network and helping them to realize their dreams. At Niteshift, some of these young people rubbed shoulders with the likes of the greatest sportsman the world has ever known, the iconic Mohammed Ali, the one who flew like a butterfly and stung like a bee. Mohammed Ali was once a guest at NiteShift. The young NiteShifters met the likes of the suave Babagana Kingigbe and spoke with tried and tested talents like Ngozi Okonjo Iweala. Does anyone make money this way? Crazily, this illogicality is at the heart of the legend of Ken Calebs Olumese and the triumph and fable of NiteShift.
Some other people ask: ‘Why did the Guv’nor not pass on the management of NiteShift to a younger person?’ I may have asked the same question if I have not faced the same challenges in the institutions that I have led.
NiteShift was not a bank or an insurance company. Its method is a complete novelty. It may be difficult for a lot of people to understand but there is no university in this world that teaches you how to run an institution like NiteShift. It was about the dream, the vision and the passion. There is no instruction manual or template. Buoyed by the vision, you follow your instinct. A lot of what Olumese did to succeed would have been considered by many as irrational and suicidal. When you think of it, the geniuses of our time are people who shun the norm. In other words, they break the rules and create the impossible. Grooming a successor in the circumstance is not as easy as it sounds. The fact that you share a bed with someone does not mean that you share his dream.
Do you recall August 2, 1997? There was no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or WhatsApp then. There was no cell phone… no SMS. Word was however spreading fast that Nigeria’s best-known citizen: singer, songwriter, producer, performer-extraordinaire, politician, activist, ‘womanizer’, ‘trouble maker’, ‘igbo smoker’ iconoclast (you may please add your own) had finally passed on. I use the word ‘finally’ deliberately.
Before the August 2, 1997 date, the death of Fela Anikulapo Kuti had been reported many times. Each time, it was a ruse. Of course, this added to the legend of the man.
With his endless wahala with the Police and the Army, Fela clearly lived on the edge. ‘No! Fela cannot die!’ insisted some of his die-hard fans. Their proof? How can a spirit who bears the name, Anikulapo die? Anikulapo (the one who carries death in his pouch), was the name Fela had chosen to replace Ransome, the famous family middle name which he threw away into the trash can, calling it a slave name.
And then, Olikoye, Fela’s elder brother, a medical doctor who had been a very respected health minister in Nigeria, issued a statement confirming not just that Fela had died but that his younger brother who had married 27 women in one day and smoked marijuana like it was going out of fashion, died of the dreaded disease, AIDS. Emotions went wild. Never before had Nigerian newspapers had a more salacious story and they ate it up from every angle.
Following Fela’s death, I made a public call on the Lagos State Government to acquire the venue of Fela’s African Shrine on Pepple Street in Ikeja, compensate the Binitie family who claimed ownership of the land, maintain the structures and turn the place into a center where people from all over the world interested in the legend of Fela could come and relieve the life and times of the icon, his music, politics and philosophy. I was certain that ultimately, it would pay for itself. Apparently, mine was a voice in the wilderness. Nobody listened.
Today, the spot where Nigeria’s greatest music star of all times made history is part of the sprawling Computer Village where pirated music, software, videos and counterfeit electronic products from everywhere in the world, run amok.
Several times, I have been to the African Shrine set up by Fela’s son, Femi in the Agindigbi area of Ikeja. The place is well run by my good friend, the beautiful Yeni, Fela’s daughter, who seems to look younger with age. The Agidingbi shrine is a testament to the commitment of Femi and Yeni to the Afro beat legacy they inherited from their father. But… Fela never played at Agidingbi. That to me is a major difference. If we were a people with foresight, Fela’s shrine at Idioro and that at Ikeja, would have been preserved and developed for posterity.
In every new city I go to, task number one is to find a Tour guide and see the historic sites. From these, I learn a lot about the People: their Culture, Religion, politics, economics, etc. There is no great nation on earth that does not take extra care to preserve its historic sites and show them off for the simple reason that if you do not know where you are coming from, you are unlikely to know where you are going to. Besides, these sites are the bedrock of tourism, an international multi-billion-dollar enterprise that adds meaningfully to the GDP of many nations.
Have you ever had a guest from another land visit you in Lagos? Where did you have to take him to? Bar Beach that is gone? One of our hotels? Silverbird Galleria? What special story or history does any of these, offer?
Every year, we celebrate our independence from the British. Pray, what have we done with the spot where the Union Jack was lowered and the Green-White- Green raised? With all its imperfections, I love Nigeria but where do I go to get that deep inspiration that rekindles my love for country?
I know that night clubs have very short lifespans. They are like flowers. One minute they are launched with glitz, shining lights, booming music and gaily dressed women, the next minute, they are gone. Just think of all the night clubs Lagos has had in recent years. Where are they now? Do you recall that multi-talented stand-up comedian, John Chukwu ran Klass Night Club on Obafemi Awolowo Rd, Ikeja? Jerry Anazia had Ozone on Allen Avenue. Beach Comber Night Club had boomed at Shonibare Estate, Maryland. Mike Inegbese’s Peak Night Club at Adeniran Ogunsanya Shopping Mall in Surulere, designed by the great Guitarist, Beckley Ike Jones, was at some time, the place to be. If you had not partied at Maryland’s Lords Night Club where Silver Oforgu held sway for many years, you really were not a happening guy in Lagos. There was Faze 2 at Jibowu owned by the Bensons long after Hotel Bobby’s Caban Bamboo had packed up. There was also Fantasy in Yaba piloted by the Murray Bruce brothers. The irrepressible Eric Danian known to many as Stagger Lee first experimented with Diplomat Night Club at Cornerest Hotel in the Olowu Street area of Ikeja and then proceeded to the Customs zone off Toyin Street where he set up Silver Shadows with the help of Leo Stan Eke whose computer empire was beginning to blossom. Lagos had MOD 208, Gondola, Phoenicia, Daniels, Optima, Honeyland, Subway in Lawanson and the Princewill clan practically owned night life in the Island with Princes, their nightclub at Federal Palace Hotel. You can please add to this list. They are all gone.
Knowing what I know about night clubs, why should it bother me that NiteShift is closed? How do I explain to you that NiteShift was different? It was not a night club. Like Fela’s African Shrine, NiteShift was an essential part of the history of Lagos. NiteShift was a Nigerian phenomenon. There are many in our land today in different positions whose lives may have been quite different if it was not for some night at the Opebi place. There is indeed a significant amount of our politics, commerce, media, entertainment, social networking and marriage propositions that took shape in the midst of Ken Calebs-Olumese’s cognac and ‘Chicken in the basket’. Even Fela, was a niteshifter.
When I think about it, I am not sure that Olumese, the genius behind the NiteShift phenomenon, quite understood what he had created. He was so engrossed in doing what he did in his special way that he did not realize that he may have built a historic national institution which Nigeria should not fritter away. By the way, I first met Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State at NiteShift Coliseum. Every serous politician in Nigeria came to NiteShift to campaign. Jonathan did, Abiola did, Atiku did, Fashola did and of course, Sanwo-Olu did. The Governor of Lagos State is certainly in a position to make sense of what I am talking about.
Meanwhile, when does Ken Calebs-Olumese get the national honour he richly deserves?
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