News

Nollywood practitioners mourn late TV producer, Pa Wale Fanu

Published

1 year ago

June 14, 2022

The Nollywood community has been thrown into mourning as one of the best and veteran TV and Film producers in the industry, Wale Fanu, died at the age of 72years.

The CEO of CINECRAFT, Pa Fanu, was born into the Fanu family in Lagos State. His late father was a civil servant who worked with the P & T. The third child of his mother, Pa Fanu was the only one born with the sickle cell anemia.

He was never given a chance by his doctor to live beyond 20years old but according to him, his survival was a miracle. He managed sickle cell crisis since he was born and for thirteen years, nobody could tell him what the problem was, not even his mother until then.

When he celebrated his 70th birthday on April 21, 2020, the late veteran filmmaker revealed his most cherished wish in life.

“I have looked forward to my 70th birthday for a long time,” Fanu once told the media two years before and repeated same in January, 2020.

For those in make-believe industry, Uncle Wale, as he was fondly called, would be dearly missed.

In a long tribute penned for the late veteran, an actor and director, Francis Onwochei, stated that Pa Fadun was a champion discipline and culture of excellence.

“For those who may not know, Uncle Wale as we fondly call him was one of the foremost Nigerian filmmakers. A long standing associate of our dear Tunde Kilani and Lola Fani Kayode.

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“He was founder and CEO of Cinekraft , the go-to studio at the time. Beyond post production, Cinekraft was top of the range in grip, tracks, jib, car mount, heavy duty generators and all manner of production equipment. Cinekraft maintained some of the best trained crew with tested experience in celluloid film projects.

“Uncle Wale’s Cinekraft partnered with LFK to make the hugely impactful “Mirror in the Sun” a few years later I was privileged to star in his film project OWOBLOW directed by Tade Ogidan.

“Sometime in 1993, Uncle Wale Fanu,Tunde Kilani,Lola Fani Kayode and Tade Ogidan had their production offices on the famous Jakande Close in Surulere.

“Uncle Wale Fanu was a sickle cell carrier. Doctors informed that he may not survive after age 30. But he lived up to 72. To friends and close associates he is used to making morbid self-deprecating joke that he was on the brink every day of his life after he was 30.

“He was a champion of discipline and culture of excellence expected of motion picture practitioners,” he wrote.

While also extolling his virtues, Onwochei revealed that aside from being a lover of God and His ministry, Uncle Wale was friendly, supportive and jovial when encountered.

“If you have practised long enough in the creative industry particularly a back camera operative, you must have encountered the business conscious yet friendly, supportive and jovial Uncle Wale.

“He was very active in Men’s fellowship of his church in Surulere (often invited me to speak to their young graduates for skill development in the creative sector). May God console and comfort his family for this irreplaceable loss,” he concluded.

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The founder of Best of Nollywood Awards, Seun Oloketuyi, wrote: Sad! Wale Fanu passes on!

“Ahhhhhhhh!!!…..this is sad ooohhhh. Rest in peace uncle Wale. Rest in peace,” Bakky Adeoye, a Nollywood movie producer, mourned.

Another movie producer, Temitope Duker, wrote: Good night Uncle Fanu.

Yinka Quadri, a veteran movie actor, wrote: May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace.

The late filmmaker once submitted:

Presently, people ask me how I managed to survive but the more they ask me that question, the more I feel for my mother how she managed not to know what my problem was.
Each time, this crisis comes, the only thing I cry is hot water. I don’t know gives that insight. I have nothing to hide and I don’t pretend, I’m 100 per cent well. No, I’m strengthened to tell people that I’m a sickler.
One of the residual thing caused by the sickle cell was my damaged hip of which medical experts both in and out of the country advised that I shouldn’t touch. The American Surgeon I met before 40 said, do not do it. But, when I can no longer work to earn money, I should come back, it will be done.
None of my parents told how I contracted this problem. I’ve never heard it from any of them when they were alive. Probably I contracted it from both of them. But, I never had the chance to think of how I became an SS.
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The first friend I had in Lagos was SS. And he died two years after we knew each other. There is something peculiar about SS patients and that is, it is very easy to tell if an individual is SS. If this condition gives me another twenty years,
I will continue to do what I’m doing. I still drive myself. I’m only praying that God should strengthen me to work harder in finding solution to it.

May his soul rest in peace.

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Religion

CASON celebrates 10 years of professionalising church administration (Photos)

Published

7 hours ago

September 26, 2023

Seun Okerayi

The Church Administration Society of Nigeria (CASON) recently marked its 10-year anniversary with a grand celebration in Lagos. The event took place on September 25, 2023, at the Pistis Hub in Maryland, Lagos.

The theme of the anniversary celebration was “Professionalising The Practice Of Church Administration In Nigeria.”

The event featured esteemed speakers such as Prof. Ademola Tayo, the President and Vice Chancellor of Babcock University, Pastor Yemi Davids, the Lead pastor of Global Impact Church, and Mrs. Funke Amobi, the Deputy Head of Operations at Stanbic Bank Plc.
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CASON was established on the principle of leaders joining hands to effectively manage the resources entrusted to them by God.

Pastor Sam Adeyemi, who gave the keynote address at the inaugural conference in 2013, commended Pastor Seyi Oladimeji, the President of CASON, for his unwavering commitment to the vision of the society.

Pastor Adeyemi highlighted that CASON is addressing cultural defects in church administration and bridging the gap between raw resources and refinement.

“There is no much use for raw without refinement, and this is a gap CASON is bridging,” he said.

Prof. Tayo emphasized the importance of innovation and capacity-building within the church. He stated that the church cannot afford to remain stagnant and must strive to maintain order and accountability in its administration.

“The church that lacks order and accountability may put the church administration in disarray,” Prof. Tayo said, “A church that runs smoothly when the GO is not around is a church of the future.”

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Other speakers echoed Prof. Tayo’s sentiments and stressed the relevance and necessity of CASON in Christianity.

In his goodwill message, Bishop STV Adegbite emphasized that the society plays a vital role in the development and advancement of church administration.

The anniversary celebration was a momentous occasion, reflecting the growth and impact of the Church Administration Society of Nigeria over the past decade. As CASON continues its mission to professionalize church administration in Nigeria, it is expected to contribute significantly to the advancement of the church and its effective management of resources.

News

Ghana is looking to supply Nigeria with its electricity needs following power grid shutdown

Published

3 days ago

September 23, 2023

Seun Okerayi

LAGOS- With the goal of achieving “100% universal energy access” and maybe exporting electricity to its neighbor, Nigeria, Ghana has steadily been developing its power sector.

During his presentation in Lagos on the second day of the Nigeria Energy Leadership Summit, Mr. Hanson Monney, the Head of the Generation and Transmission Unit at the Ghanaian Ministry of Energy, made this point, emphasizing that via effective policy development and implementation, Ghana has already attained an impressive 80% to 85% universal energy access inside its boundaries.

“So, we are working on all these things to make sure that the power system of Ghana continues to be as good as it is or even better, and then, maybe, we can be exporting more to our big brothers in Nigeria when the grid is finally settled,” Mr. Hanson Monney said

This declaration follows the second national power grid breakdown in Africa’s most populous country and the continent’s top oil producer, Nigeria which resulted in a total blackout of homes and businesses.

In contrast, Ghana is aggressively pursuing a variety of energy sources, including grid electricity, mini-grids, and solar-dominated renewable energy, to attain “Universal access to energy by 2024” as instructed by the country’s President.

Monney agreed that the geographic limitations make it difficult to provide everyone in Ghana with access to electricity, particularly on isolated islands, riverbanks, or lakeside villages. In response to this, he stated,

“So, now, we are trying to scale our renewable energy access, and that is how we have planned in 2022 to scale up our renewable energy program,” he said.

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Financial sustainability is one of the biggest problems facing Ghana’s power sector, as the country struggles with growing debts and the purchase of surplus capacity.

“There is so much debt that the government has to shore up to make sure that the system is afloat because we have procured a lot of excess capacity, which comes with attendant costs. So, these financial challenges require some policy actions to eliminate legacy debts,” Mooney stated.

Monney stressed the significance of lowering electricity prices, particularly for enterprises, since high electricity bills are a major issue in Ghana. “We saw that in Ghana historically. These industries have been subsidizing the residential sector, and it should be the other way around. Industries should remain viable so that businesses can thrive,” Mooney stated.

Crime

EFCC declares Delta brothers wanted over alleged N330m fraud

Published

4 days ago

September 22, 2023

Seun Okerayi

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared two siblings from Delta State wanted for alleged fraud of N330 million.

This was contained in a statement issued by the EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, copies of which were made available to journalists in Warri, Delta State on Friday.

The anti-graft agency named 55-year-old Faith Onoja and 44-year-old Emmanuel Onoja, both from Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, as being declared wanted by the EFCC.

According to the commission, Faith’s last known address is “Close to Celestial Church, Ekrovie new layout, old Egini road, Orhuehorun, Delta State” while Emmanuel’s last known address is “No 6. Jasmison Street, NPDC/ND Western Estate, Warri, Delta State”.

The statement urged that “anybody with useful information as to their whereabouts should contact the commission” in its offices nationwide.