A man died yesterday after collapsing in the chambers of a magistrate at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court The Point has learnt through dependable sources.

Paulino Ocante, a Nigerian national now based in United States of America, was said to have collapsed in the office of Magistrate Kayode Olajubutu where he went to receive money he was supposed to be paid by Lawyer Sheriff Tambedou.

Sources said Mr. Ocante’s Gambian wife sold a vehicle to Lawyer Tambedou who effected a part payment of US$21,000 but Mrs. Ocante wanted to resell the same car to somebody else and as a result the matter ended in a court of law.

The sources revealed it was the balance of US$ 4000 that Lawyer Tambedou went to settle, but while at the magistrate’s chambers Mr Ocante suddenly collapsed and was rushed to the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH) where he was clinically pronounced dead.

When contacted to shed light on the matter, Magistrate Kayode explained. Mr. Tambedou and the deceased were in his office on Monday for Mr. Tambedou to settle the balance due to take possession of the car in question which was a matter of litigation before him.

He said that Mr. Tambedou went to court to take delivery of the car because it was a problem to have it from the lady. He revealed that when the claim was read to the lady in court she admitted liability.

He said he made an order to that effect for the car to be brought to the court pending the outcome of the case. He stated that Mr. Tambedou went to the court last Friday to commit the woman for not obeying the court orders.

According to him the deceased on Monday came to the court with Mr. Tambedou and said that he wanted to have the matter settled out of court and it was for that purpose that they went away to discuss the issue. After some time they returned and informed him that they’ve agreed on terms that Mr Tambedou pay the balance of US$ 4000 and have delivery of the car. He said that the man made a promise that he will bring the car before the close of work. He explained at around 3.30pm Mr. Tambedou returned to his chambers to inform that the man has called that he is around DentonBridge coming with the car.

He said when the man arrived Mr. Tambedou told him that he had US$ 2000 but the other two thousand dollars was in Dalasis, but the man insisted that he would want the whole amount in dollars as he planned to leave for the US the following day. He added that as Mr. Tambedou was trying to call someone who could convert the Dalasi into dollars, all of a sudden, the man collapsed, thus he was rushed to the hospital.

Three Nollywood stars, on Tuesday, arrived in The Gambia for a mega concert to be held at the Seaview Garden Hotel in Kololi.

The visiting actors and actress are Nkem Owoh (alias Ozofia), Patient Ozokwo fondly call Mama Gii and Francis Duru.

The team of actors and actress were received at the Banjul International Airport by their Gambian representatives Dr Wilcok and Saul Jagne, president of the up-coming Association of Gambian Artists (Actors).

Shortly after landing, Nkem Owoh expressed delight at the warm welcome accorded to them.

He added that they are fully committed to expanding the movie industry to other parts of Africa and that they are trying to form a network of actors and actress so that they can branch off to other African countries.

According to him, they have started with Nollywood. “This is part of the things that have brought us to The Gambia to see how we can bring up the movie industry to the country and am glad that Gambians are coming up and have shown interest in the industry,” said NKem.
 
The famous Nigerian actor expressed his desire to help uplift the movie industry in The Gambia noting that they are willing to listen to those interested in the film industry during their stay in the country. He added; “creativity is not something that academics can bring. We want to see Gambians also excelling in the film industry, let them come up with plans and we come in to help them.

Mama Gii, another actor said Nigeria’s film industry is very advanced now. “So let Gambians show us the way, we will give them the necessary support. I have come to put life into our women, and I want to tell you, my colleagues in The Gambia, that no African country is small, you don’t measure the country by the number of people living there, but what they are capable of.

The most important thing in the movie industry is the heart or desire to learn and the ability to know what your capabilities are,” said Mama Gii.

For Francis Duru, the visit is geared towards strengthening the incredible relationship between the two countries. “It is only when we have this kind of bilateral relation that we can exhange ideas and lot of things can come in that,” he said.

Nkem Owoh popularly called Osuofia, is one of the gifted actors in the Nigerian home video sector. He is most popular for his interpretation of roles, a talent which has endeared him to the hearts of many people both locally and abroad. He still remains one of Nigeria’s greatest comedians ever in recent years.

According to him, while tracing his career to his primary and secondary school days as well as the university and youth service year, he recalled how he eventually got a job at WACO Engineering Co, where he was sacked and left stranded for quite sometime. But he soon rose from this depth to become a force to reckon with in the Nigerian home video sector.
 
Background

He was born in Udi, Enugu State and attended his primary and secondary education in Nsukka. For his tertiary education, he had a stint with the University of Ilorin and later IMT Enugu, where he graduated as an Electrical Engineer after which he proceeded on his national youth service in Ogun State. However, he had a stint with television shortly before joining IMT. He was at both the NTA and Channel 8 in Enugu.
 
Acting career
 
"I know I have always had this acting talent in me, but it was the television that really inspired me. I was so popular in my primary school days for my performances during what we call ‘The Anniversary’. I am not sure it is still being done today because some of those things stopped after the civil war. During the period of the anniversary, I always took part in almost all the entertaining activities holding during the festivities. In fact, in my secondary school days, I was invited to the University of Nigeria Theatre Group. One of the performances was Vengeance of Haba by Chiko Ozuo. It was produced in the early 1970s and since then, I have never looked back".

Why acting and not engineering

"My dad wanted me to study Medicine, because he himself was into Pharmacy. But I preferred engineering. But somehow, something kept bothering me and I felt I should give it some attention. The lure went on and on such that even while studying Engineering, I was still very active in the acting circuit, particularly for the television and radio. I am an engineer by certificate, but an artiste by practice. I never can tell, events may force me to dust my certificate one day and soon something big can come up, not necessarily in form of employment, but may be through political appointment that requires the candidate to have knowledge of the issues in that sector. So I cannot rule out the possibility of my returning to practice Electrical Engineering in future".

WACO

"I worked for WACO Engineering immediately after my youth service and after working for just about one year during the era of belt-tightening policy by the Federal Government, WACO, just like other business outfits in the country then, needed to lay off some of her work-force and naturally without any parameter decided to lay off those of us that were new in the company. After losing my job, I tried to get a teaching job in an institution of higher learning or even a secondary school, but this did not work out.

Later I started getting calls from a particular group luring me to come and be part of a particular television production. Unfortunately, I stopped fraternising with drama as soon as I joined WACO. They sacked me because they were trying to protect themselves and they were putting me in a fix. But that was the way God wanted the whole thing to go in order for me to reach His desired goal for my life. I cannot be grateful to those that sacked me, afterall the fact that Judas was instrumental to the death of Jesus Christ doesn’t make him (Judas) a good man although the Bible had already said that somebody must betray Christ. I thank God that today I have so many people under my employ and a legion of trainees under my tutelage" .

From Enugu to Lagos

"I was still acting as a stringer on television when NTA Enugu came up and I was invited to do something for the station and along the line, The New Masquerade was re-launched and I joined the crew. At a time, I was the sole-script writer for the series and once in a while I created a character for myself within the play, this is the reason for some of the brief appearances I made in the now rested TV comedy. Within that same period,the late Ken Saro-Wiwa came up with Bassey and Company.

He made me the production Manager. This particular offer was very engaging, because I was given an official car, a house, an office and all other required conveniences that aided my job. This was in Enugu although we had our main office in Port Harcourt. At a stage, I was the script editor of Bassey and Company. People did not take note of these.

It was when I came to limelight that some went back down the memory lane to discover that I have been around for sometime. After leaving the East in 1990 when Bassey and Company was rested, I moved over to Lagos. In Lagos, I was also very active in the scripting of Memorial Hospital, I did a lot of writing and acting but most of the time. I operated behind the camera. It was this period also that the serene town of Badagry spurred my creative instinct to write one of my earliest gifts to the Nigerian home-video industry. Taboo. Later, I was instrumental to the creation and scripting of a number of programmes on NTA Lagos, then. Although I am not a trained writer, but because I had this strong passion for anything creative, I was able to write well enough to become one of NTA’s approved script writers.

How did you became a comedian?

"I have always been known for serious roles in most plays that I take part in and those that know me very well see me more as a business minded actor and practitioner that may never have anything to do with comedy. In 1987, I was given my own programme slot called ‘Star Comedian Corner’ by the Anambra State Television (ATV). I accepted the challenge, and went deeper into my person to explore the hidden comical aspects of me. So I went on from one comedy to the other until I was in total control of the goal or let’s say the challenges I have initially set out for myself. Whenever I show some of my early plays where I played serious roles, I always doubt if anyone can say that I wasn’t good enough playing those roles as I am known to play the comic roles today".

"Apart from my acting career, I am also very much involved in the business aspect of showbiz. I have my own production outfit which I must say has been developing in the last seven years. My editing studio too was installed three years ago. I have cameras that I hire out both for high-tech movie productions and coverage of social functions.

I also have a film school where I train writers, actors and other talents in the profession. I have a branch office in Enugu where I sell accessories for film productions. I am thoroughly a show-businessman because I also anchor occasions as the MC in addition to organising shows and what I am trying to do in the long run is to be in tandem with some of my colleagues that have broken into the international market".

Why was he Ban by the marketers

"I think it was a kind of misunderstanding, since people in the sector usually misunderstand certain positions. I give the marketers kudos ( marketers ,with reservation). Marketing is a different ball game from what they are doing. But if they choose to be called by that name it is fine by me, but mere distributorship cannot encompass the true meaning of marketing. In fact, the issue of distributors sitting down in the market and waiting for the buyer to come and pick up the movies they require is not a good way of distribution. Despite all this short comings, I still give them kudos because they were the first to take the risk of plunging their funds into the movie video sector even when uncertainty was prevalent.

But I can say that this unnecessary show of power has not helped anybody at the end of the day. Let us check how much sales they have made since the ban, no doubt their action has affected the industry quite negatively, they are losing and the affected too artistes are losing. But I can assure you that for some of us in this business, it is going to end on a very positive note in terms of us breaking into the international arena as world class artistes that we really are.

So at the end of the day, if I now decide to charge my clients only in dollars based on the reality of the time, it is then that the marketers would realize that the Nigeria artiste is still very poorly paid.  As much as I hate to use the word banned, it becomes quite imperative to state that the arrogance that I was accused of is based on my insistence that no matter the circumstances, I will not shoot on any set that will not shoot for at least two weeks with eight working hours expended each day. I insist that there must be a mini discussion of a production before we embark on any shooting and some producers and directors see the above as arrogance".

"We must learn to follow universal standards if the international market is ever to take us seriously. I am not the type of artist that will be running from one location to the other and so I demanded for some level of sanity because I was coming from the old NTA style where things were planned and artistes were camped for a while before recording commenced . I know one or two producers in the past who allowed some suggestions from the artistes and at the end of the day, they were the better for it.

The way some of the producers see the actor is very strange. For most of them, we are making our money, but of what use is money if after you have made the money you suddenly drop dead or fall so ill that most of what you have is plunged back into medical bills? Those people at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) who insisted that a working person should put in a total of eight hours a day must have a tangible reason for doing so. Personally, my physician has warned me to take things easy and it is important I obey such medical advice".

"Right now in this sector, we don’t have a policy, neither do we have the necessary structures to protect what we produce. For me, these are more important issues than the unnecessary bickering here and there. If the Federal Government is sincere, it should quicken the process of putting into legislation some kind of policy to guide and protect the profession.If we have the right policy, we may not need to be fighting over the little things that we as an industry make for now because by then, the true potentials of the industry will emerge. It would also checkmate some greedy artistes and directors that are so brazenly absurd, many of who actually collect three scripts at the same time and thereby create problems for the producers".

Osuofia in London

"Being part of the production was very fulfilling for me. It was an interesting experience because it was a cross-cultural production in which we explored the culture of the white man to see where we have agreements and where we disagree. It was such a production that is far from demeaning to the African sensibility; those who say they have become so European in their own ways that it becomes extremely difficult for them to even appreciate the fact that in Osuofia’s home land, to capture a pigeon and prepare it in a pot of soup is the rule and so, if he finds himself in a land where such a rule becomes an exception, he deserves our sympathy and not condemnation. So despite all his clowning, Osuofia in the midst of murky dangerous waters ferried back his late brother’s money into Nigeria. The movie showed once again, like in Wole Soyinka’s Lion and the Jewel, that most often, native intelligence has a way of surpassing book-knowledge. With this in mind, I want to advise people to see the movie again and they w
ill be very proud that Osuofia went to London.

Reaction of Europeans

"When I was playing with them, I was like a God in their midst. People rushed to get me seat wherever I went. Even the European artistes on set exclaimed aloud that ‘Oh! my God, this is a very big actor from Africa, when am I going to be like him?’ The people on the streets too were so thrilled to see us and all that has shown that it is only when you go outside Nigeria that you get to know the kind of mileage Nollywood has brought in for this country".
 

Political functions

"Because of the level of insincerity on the part of government officials to themselves and the very terrible way they choose to deal with the Nigerian people, I have had to turn down many invitations to come and entertain during government functions right from the Presidency to the local government.

I have refused to do anything for them. I am a personal friend to some people in government but I won’t entertain them. It is a way of showing my displeasure to those in power that I am not impressed with the high level of misrule in the land. The government is not doing what they should be doing for Nollywood. Look, we are not begging them for money, all we want are relevant policies to help protect our profession and investments.

We have a government, yet people come here and steal our sweats by way of copyright infringements. Until such a time when I am sure that our government can safe guard this industry, I won’t be happy with them and until such a time when they become socially responsible and responsive, I will not touch their contract and this is my own social responsibility and contract with the Nigeria people".

Impact today and the future

I see myself as an instrument of progress, because if I simply align myself to the side of the government or even my co-travelers in this industry, there will be absolute peace and movie producers would taunt me as the best available, but because I have my eyes not only on the gains of the moment, that is why I am totally dedicated to the development of this industry. If God wills it that I am going to succeed in making a positive impact, especially on the next generation of movie practitioners, then no man can take that away".

Most embarrassing moments

"Where do I start from? Because it has not been once or twice but many times over. A lot of embarrassing things happen in this industry, it happens during production, when I to get my money or during post productions. Embarrassment crop up at any of these stages probably because I lack some knowledge or some other person lacks some knowledge. It is even embarrassing for someone to come and tell me that Osuofia in London demeans Africa but I take it with maturity, because that is where their own level of interpretation ends".

Three Nigerian actors, P Square, Osuofia and Mama G are expected to arrive in the country latest on 23 July, 2008, as part of celebrating the 14th anniversary of the rule of His Excellency President Alhaji Dr Yahya A J J Jammeh.

Organised by Tradeplus, Charterhouse in collaboration with Comium, side attractions will include music, dance, comedy, Giltz and Razzmataz.

Briefing ‘Entertainment’ last Wednesday at the Seaview Hotel, Dr S Wilcox, informed Entertainment journalists that their main forcus of organising this event is to establish links between Nigerian and Gambian movie production. Dr.Wilcox explained that the reason for doing this, is to give back to Gambians in the area of movies, adding that Nigerian movies are receiving a lot of reception in The Gambia especially in recent years. Nigerian movies, he asserted, have lots of admirers here. According to Dr.Wilcox, the only way to bring Nigerian artistes is to get them in the country to interact with their Gambian counterparts. “I’m doing this because it will enable us to create cultural existence between Nigeria and The Gambia. It is also the reason why we brought Francis Duru first,” Dr Wilcox asserted.

He went on to explain that,what Tradeplus is working onis to close the gap between Nigerian and Gambian actors. He said after the visit of Mama G and Osufia, they will alsoarrange the visit ofAki & Paw Paw and Genviea. Before the coming of Genevie, P Square is also coming in October. Dr Wilcox revealed that 50 percent of their fee has already been paid but owing to certain constraints, it was decided to move the visit to October 1, 2008.

For his part, Tradeplus- CEO of the Company, disclosed to journalists that the start with Francis Duru is to create awareness for The Gambian people. He said this is not the first time of organising such a programme and was therefore calling all Gambians to attend the programme.

Reports reaching the Daily Observer indicate that Slok Air International, a scheduled passenger airline, is owing its staff at least two months salary, amid fears of financial bankruptcy.

Our reporter who was at the Slok Air headquarters on Kairaba Avenue, met some staff who were grumbling about their unpaid salaries and allowances. Some of them pointed fingers at their superiors in the airline for the prolonged problems.

One of the disgruntled staff accused the management of ignoring their plight, saying that they have been working under difficult circumstances without a pay.

Many of the expatriates from Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry and a number of other countries, lamented that they are suffering, as they cannot pay their rents and other bills.

“They have promised to pay the two months salaries by starting with the junior staff, which is not quite certain. The promises are yet to be fulfiled,” an angry staff told the Daily Observer.

Meanwhile, an insider hinted to this paper that the management was preoccupied with off-setting its outstanding debts, before paying the salaries.

Contacted to shed more light on the matter, Clifford Emoh, the chief executive officer of Slok Air International, denied any problem at the airline, but was quick to admit that their operations have ceased.

“We are trying to pay salaries today,” he said, but declined to comment further on the concerns raised by the staff.

When contacted, Senor Thomas, the managing director of the International Insurance Company (IIC) and a member of the Board of Directors of Slok Air International, refused to comment on the issue, adding that she can only answer matters of the IIC.

Slok Air Gambia was established in November 2004. It was originally named Slok Air and was formed by the Slok Group in Nigeria. Its air operators certificate was suspended in March 2004 by the Nigerian government and the airline was subsequently dissolved in November 2004. In the same month the airline was reformed as Slok Air Gambia.

Service was halted in the end of December 2007 due to maintenance and resumed mid-February 2008. But problems still lurch on at the airline.