Nollywood Actor Markets Nigeria To The World

Naija News.

10.07.2013, 13:06  Arts and Entertainment

Deji Adenuga, remember him? He's the suave A-list actor and husband of delectable broadcaster, Yemi Adenuga. For many years, he straddled both the stage and the screen, bringing immense delight to many homes through his acting.

Then, with neither a warning nor a farewell, Adenuga disappeared, simply vanishing from the cinemas and the home videos. His fans were left with nothing but the old films he had been involved in before his sudden departure, even as they wondered what actually happened to their beloved entertainer.

"Well, I relocated, like people would say, to join my family in Ireland. That was in 2006," the actor told the reporter recently at a chance meeting in Lagos on his way back to Dublin.

But he denied abandoning the theatre totally, saying it was unthinkable that he would run away from what had become a passion for him.

So what has been happening to Adenuga since he 'ported' to the Irish Republic? A lot, he says. "Even though I'm not acting now, I'm into a lot of things. In Ireland, I've done series of radio drama productions, I've also been part of shaping some of their policies in the arts industry. With that, I've been able to see even beyond what I was seeing here. I've gathered more experience and more knowledge that will be very useful when I come back."

Right now, the project that dominates Adenuga's passion is the Nigerian Carnival. So, what is the Nigerian Carnival in Ireland all about?

"I have a company in Ireland called Ddymensions Communications. We are into events management, training, personal development, public relations and so on. One of our projects is the Nigerian Carnival. When I got to Ireland, I sat down and looked back, and I discovered that a lot of the things that should be happening in the Nigerian community are not happening because those who should be doing them are not around. So, my wife and I decided that we wanted to show the passion that we have for our country. And one of the things Nigeria needs is a good face, a good image. In Ireland, like in other parts of the world, Nigeria has been stereotyped negatively.

They say we are corrupt, fraudulent etc. But show me anywhere in the world where there are no corrupt and fraudulent people. So they have stigmatized us. But it's of no use arguing and defending what is bad. So we decided to tell them that no, that's not all that we are about. If you say we are fraudsters, that's just a minute percentage of us. Maybe .00005 per cent of us are fraudsters. But if such are the people they meet all the time, that would be enough for them to stigmatize us. We want to come up and fight that negative stereotype. We want people to know that, if you believe that's what we are, you need to come and see us in our true colours. And that's why we brought up the Nigerian Carnival.

The Nigerian Carnival in Ireland, how is it staged each year? Adenuga explained: "Well, the Nigerian Carnival Ireland is a platform to showcase Nigeria, our culture, our traditions, our dances, our food, every good thing about Nigeria. It's to promote Nigeria, to promote tourism in Nigeria, to promote the good image of Nigeria. It's also a platform for cultures to interact. So it's not for Nigerians alone. We want other ethnic groups in Ireland to come together, to showcase their cultures, to interact with us and know who we are. It started as a one-day event, but by the grace of God, today, it's has become a one-week event."

Adenuga informed that the Nigerian Carnival would hold next month, between August 12 and 18. "We want to bring Nigerians from everywhere in the world to Ireland and enjoy the beauty of the Nigerian community in Ireland. If you want to enjoy your holiday, come over during the carnival, and you'd have loads of fun. We have a column on our website for international participants. When people go there, they can see how they can be part of the carnival."

Asked how supportive the Nigerian government has been in driving this patriotic initiative, Adenuga shook his head. "This is a private initiative. It's our own way of making our contributions to the progress and promotion of the image of Nigeria.

"To be honest, we have not actually approached the government. And the reason is, I don't like to say to people, I can do this, I can do that. I like to show to people what I can do. Now that we have built the Nigerian Carnival to a very commendable level now, we have been approaching people from government quarters, and they've been showing interest. I'm sure that when we bring the full gist of the Nigerian Carnival to their table, they would respond positively and fund us."

Adenuga isn't particularly contented that many Nigerian families in Europe and North America don't inculcate the Nigerian into their children, especially, the language, culture, music etc. "They allow their children to be exposed completely to the western world, not minding the fact that it's going to rub off on them later in life. That's why in Ddymensions Communications, we teach our culture to the young ones and adults who are married to or desire to be married to Nigerians. That's one of the things we do in our company. Nigerian Carnival Ireland also has a day for the children to display what they have learnt about our culture. We call it the Children's cultural day."