BEST 5 ACTRESSES IN NOLLYWOOD IN 2016

By Charles Novia

It’s The Novia List once again!

In 2016, television series and serials gave Nollywood films a good run for money and a couple of outstanding commissioned productions opened a new window for me to re-evaluate old and new talents.

I always use the following criteria for awarding my prizes and it hasn’t changed this year; Interpretation, Visualisation, Characterisation and Enunciation.

 

Nancy Isime

I can bet many people would be asking who she is and those who know her as a television presenter on a music channel might not even have an idea that she is an actress. I never did until a few months ago, I watched her in two movies and she completely delivered the goods in both. Nancy featured in ‘Hex’ a short film by music video maestro, Clarence Peters where she played the role of a cagey young lady and played her role to the hilt. Her ability to subsume the role and take over the screen in that short movie first caught my attention and I made a note that this was one lady to look out for in the future. That future came too soon as I watched her a few weeks later in ‘Gidi Blues’, where she played a supporting role but did it so well that it got me wondering why she did not play the lead role in the first place as Hauwa Allahburaka, the lead actress in that movie, was sometimes bland in delivery where it mattered. Nancy Isime gave natural and effortless reactions in ‘Gidi Blues’ and she was a delight to watch. This is one actress to watch out for, if the right scripts find her and all she needs is one big break. Take it from me, this young lady will go places.

Ade Laoye

In her role in the hit Africa Magic telenovela of sorts, ‘ Hush’, Ade Laoye explodes on the screen as ‘Oye’, a role which sees her give all her best and perhaps prove to us that her academic training in Theatre and Film abroad was not in anyway a mistake. Her ability to express conflicting emotions of confusion, determination, love and irritation, sometimes in one stretch in any scene tells me that this is a lady who internalises and interpretes her lines and role with minimum flaws. Though at times, her articulation wavers from an American-tinged accent to a Girl-next-door accent, that can be forgiven when she seamlessly switches to Yoruba in most of her interactions with Ruffy, a lovesick thug in ‘Hush’. Within the ambits of cosmopolitan roles, Ade Laoye comes out smoking. I would love to see her take on more challenging roles in future, a switch from the urbane to the local might help in assessing more of her range. In any case, this is a very good actress. Take it from me.

Adesua Etomi

There’s something artistically ‘ almost perfect’  in intensity when Adesua Etomi acts on the screen and the same attributes are not in anyway diminished when one sees her feature in theatre productions. I watched her in a couple of movies this year in which her powers of characterisation and interpretation were amazing. In ‘Falling’  and ‘The Arbitration’, Adesua gives performances demanding respect from her peers and professionals. The Young Lady sizzles on the screen and obviously does her homework on her roles very well. For the new generation, she is a good example of how an Actor Prepares. What the future holds for her in Nollywood is pleasantly poignant. Maybe international recognition would come calling.  Perhaps an Oscar or a Golden Globe in the near future? With talent this good, it is possible.

 

Bimbo Akintola

Easily, Bimbo Akintola would be my best pick any day and I had to mull much on whether to have a joint Number One this year. However, it is my pleasure to re-introduce Bimbo to an audience who hitherto knew she was one of the best in the country and would have to re-validate that perception after watching her in the movie ‘ 93 Days’. Her interpretation of Dr Ameyo Adadevoh, the late heroine of the Ebola Crisis faced by the Nigeria in 2014, was beautifully done. Bimbo took us all through the build ups, the family bond, the professional ethics and the uncanny heroism of Dr Adadevoh. Watching her with a lump in our throats and a pang in our hearts, one can tell that the Sympathy Value she brings to the story was enhanced by our willing suspension of disbelief. Is Bimbo good? Heck, no! She is excellent! She is in a class by herself and…..no….scratch that. She is in a Master Class by herself and acting students have no other option but to learn from her for years to come.

 

Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama

Who’s this graceful young lady who shook the Nollywood in 2016 with her prowess and panache? 

Where did she come from? How come a gust of fresh wind could smell so arty and refreshing?

The answers to those questions are as much to be found in Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama as they would be asked of her in the first place. I first noticed Somkele a perhaps a couple of years ago in the Ndani TV Web series ‘Gidi Up’ and though she stood out there, what struck me back then was that this young lady has such a powerful screen presence which looked under-utilised in that fare. Perhaps, a couple of Directors noticed it too because in 2016, Somkele came out smoking in two movies; ‘93 Days’ and ‘ The Arbitration’. In the latter, she believably plays the part of a Legal Counsel who represents her client and is conflicted as new revelations crop up during the proceedings. I was quite struck by Somkele’s deliberate mellow range in that movie and that made me sit up a bit to assess her in the other movie, ‘93 Days’. She plays Dr Ada Igonoh, an Ebola Survivor in the movie and it was in that portrayal that she won our hearts. Somkele gave us an insight into the conflicted emotions of that character. We saw pathos, poignancy, pain, and possibilities in her character. Most of all, she portrayed the power of Hope to the hilt. She was Ada Igonoh and not Somkele for the duration of the movie (and expectedly so, if one would say that was what was expected of her). And there was something very powerful about her final Walk of Life out of the hospital, where she gave a backward glance. That glance tells it all; a goodbye to an ordeal and there are few actors who can pack such innuendoes into a non-verbal action like that.

This lady lit up the screens in 2016. Let’s hope she continues to shine in the following years because she is, in my opinion, a new example of good acting.

Culled from: www.charlesnoviadaily.com

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HOW FAULTY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION LEADS TO UNDERDEVELOPMENT

By Ogechi Ekeanyanwu

The World Bank says over 200 million children in developing countries, including Nigeria, have no access to early childhood programmes.

According to Philipa Okonji, a Nigerian teacher, kids who do not partake in early childhood programmes are often sub-standard. What this means, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is that the children will not fully reach their development potential.

The World Bank says “there is growing evidence that investing in early childhood development is key to ensuring school readiness and alleviation poverty.”

In this interview, Okonji, a teacher with over 33 years’ experience, speaks on how the Nigerian early years’ curriculum got its wrong. Okonji is also the founder Havilah edu consult, an organisation that trains teachers on fun, effective and hands on methods of teaching.

MANY SCHOOLS STUCK IN THE OLD METHOD

Having taught for about 33 years and having worked in different schools, I discovered that the first set of schools I taught were a world apart from the last ones I worked in, in terms quality of teaching and learning.

A lot of schools around are still stuck in the old method of teaching. In the past and now, both sets of children achieved but in different ways.

The first set passed exams, having very good grades and the second group were able to express more and do more than passing exams because of the things that were involved in their teaching.

TEACHING AND LEARNING SHOULD BE FUN

Nigeria curriculum as it is structured now is faulty, there are even no monitoring policies to stick to what we should be doing. Also, there is not much research to improve on what we have been doing. So, it is almost the same thing that we did 33 years ago, that we are doing now. No one is monitoring the curriculum to know if it is achieving what it should and how it can be better for the overall development of the child and society. There is just not enough research going on. You can see that in the quality of output and in the expressiveness of the Nigerian child and their counterparts in developing countries. I once taught creative writing in a school and I was worried about the way the children could not express themselves properly. There are not enough policies to ensure actualization and then there is no monitoring.

In the British methods for instance, there are skills for each subject that a child should acquire. But with the Nigerian curriculum, there is no order to say this is what the child should have achieved.

The British skills are measurable, not by examining the pupils, not by standardised tests but by observing. The British curriculum has seven learning areas.

Knowledge and understanding the word, literacy and communication, language, mathematics, expressive art and design and physical, social and emotional development.

EARLY YEARS (2-5) DETERMINE LEARNING CAPACITY OF A CHILD

They are the foundation of future learning. They determine the learning and critical thinking capacity of the child. A child starts a piece of work till the child knows it. And to measure knowledge, rather that grading, the teacher makes a statement, tells where the child started from and where he is. There must be evidence of learning.

OLD (GRADING) SYSTEM ENCOURAGE ROTE

The old (grading) system encourages rote learning and memorization. It is high tension and the child is not relaxed enough to enjoy learning and is not interested in exploring other things. It does not encourage critical thinking as the teachers spoon feed the child and expect a regurgitation of what was taught.

In my early teaching years, I was teaching circles. When I was done, I asked the children to draw the circles, a boy drew a different kind of circle, a small circle, and I wanted him to give me the kind of circle that I had taught, but my inspector told me, this boy understands circles. He knows circles can be of different sizes. I didn’t think that way before.

Some of the disadvantages of the old grading system is it just says a child has done well. It does not say how. It is not evidential. You are not saying what the child did to get the good grades. That is not good enough. There needs to be evidence, where did the child start? What knowledge does the child require? and so on.

Rote largely contributes to the state of the nation. Pupils are just encouraged to give one phrase answer. They don’t know how to explain. They give straight jacket answers. They are not expressive.

TEACHERS NEED TO BE EMPOWERED

The teachers need training, exposure. But it is not enough to train, if you don’t practice, you will never really own them. The training is just to point you in the right direction. Practising is key for teachers. Countering challenges in learning and finding solutions is when mastery is achieved. Also there has to be institutional policies at all levels in Nigeria. When there are policies, monitoring is important. Do you go back to monitor?

There is resistance because of ignorance. Using the phonics and synthetic method of teaching as an example where emphasis is placed on the sound not on the letters. The letters are taught later. When people say does it matter, then I ask how easy was reading to you? Children in primary two are still battling with basic words. At five, a child who learn to read through phonics can read and write a lot of words effortlessly. This gives the child an edge as he exposed to more words and increases his vocabulary.

POLICY FOR HOMEWORK

The policy for homework is one minute for each year of the child. So for a 3-year-old child, homework should last for only about three minutes and should not be more than twice a week. Homework at this level, should also just be reinforcement of what was learnt in school and should be done without so much stress. Again, policy and monitoring of these policies are so important to ensure that the policies are implemented.

TIPS FOR CHOOSING A SCHOOL

• The environment: Is the environment clean, calm, bright and does it encourage learning?
• Have a chat with the staff, not just the school owner, to know the mindset of the staff and the even the diction. Mother tongue interference is a big put off for me.
• Find out if there are learning policies. You do want to go to a school that is policy-less, we cannot have policy-less, lawless school where there are no structures and anything goes. So, there are no offences and consequences.
• Find out about implementation and monitoring of the policies.
• Find out the educational background of the school owner and the teachers as well.

Culled from: cable.ng