Spectacle, music at formal opening of Lagos @ 50 celebrations

Guests were thoroughly entertained at the special edition of Wakaa The Musical that kick started the festivities.

THE Lagos@50 celebrations couldn’t have commenced on a better note than it did last   Saturday evening at Terra Kulture Arena, Victoria Island.

Top government officials, business executives, lawmakers and royalty amongst others turned up in large numbers to witness the formal commencement of the anniversary that had began on an informal note last year.

Fittingly, it turned out to be a thoroughly entertaining evening for the select attendees. Guests had their fill of choice drinks and canapés before retiring into the spanking new theatre to enjoy Bolanle Austen-Peters’ delightful and spectacular satire, ‘Wakaa the Musical’

However, before the guests were mesmerised by the acting and singing talents of Bimbo Manuel, Mayuwon Ogun, Patrick Diabuah, Dolapo Oni, Ade Laoye, Jolomi Amuka, Ozzy Agu, Nengi Adoke, Segun Dada and Lord Frank amongst others, some opening formalities were observed.

Chief Executive of Terra Kulture, Austen-Peters, who is also a member of the Lagos@50 Planning Committee headed by Professor Wole Soyinka, gave a welcome address as did the state governor, Mr Akinwumi Ambode.

Austen-Peters disclosed her excitement at being part of the celebration and appreciated the Lagos State Government for its support for Terra Kulture. “We are honoured because we see this as a validation of what we do as a company. The Lagos State government has  been extremely supportive of all our initiatives; they supported the building of this theatre and six more that would be coming up later this year,” she said.

The producer and director of the musical assured guests that, “We are going to have a fantastic time; it’s a rib cracker. It shows excellence in the talents we have in Nigeria; our youth are phenomenal. All we need to do for them is to create environments like this and they would fly.  Tonight you are going to see an incredible pattern our costume, our dances and the incredible talents of our youth.”

Governor Akinwumi Ambode recalled how the year-long celebration with the theme ‘Enhance the heritage, advance the future’ began in 2016 while highlighting the goals of the anniversary that will climax on May 27.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Idiat Adebule said: “The Golden Jubilee presents a unique opportunity to us not only to celebrate our achievements but also showcase to the entire world the immense potential awaiting to be tapped. On our part, we are determined and committed to fully explore all the possibilities presented by this moment to lay a solid foundation for another glorious and prosperous 50 years.”

Ambode congratulated Austen-Peters on the completion of her ultra-modern theatre, adding that the state appreciates the partnership with the centre he noted is one of the success stories prevalent in Lagos. “Lagos is home of many success stories, we are the land of opportunities. I salute the courage and commitment of Mrs Austen Peters and thank everyone here for sharing our vision and giving us the encouragement, the empowerment to stay focussed on the goal of making Lagos State one of the best places in the world to live and invest in.”

A riveting production, such as guests saw on the evening, is what you get when all the production elements of a performance cohere. The lighting was excellent and accentuated scenes and moods appropriately, the costumes was colourful, the dances were well choreographed, the music great and the dialogue and acting excellent. Most importantly, the audience identified with the production and appropriated it by participating fully as events unfolded on the stage.

Wakaa deplores ‘gold diggers’, deceitful and corrupt politicians, and supposed smart Alecs whose follies are shown up at the end of the day while celebrating integrity and service. Politicians, covetous ladies, young graduates, indeed every member of the society will take away something from the production that toured London’s West End last year.

From the greedy Kike (Nengi Adoki), that wouldn’t let go of idealist Tosan (Patrick Diabuah),  to the  deceitful Otunba Sagay (Bimbo Manuel)  of the Generating Party, who eventually becomes governor of Savanna State by deploying ‘stomach infrastructure’, Wakaa is a spectacle-filled   production that takes its source materials right from happenings in our national life.

Professor Elias Basuaye (Lord Frank) and his running mate, Professor Jojoba (Ozzy Agu),  of the Brainny Party are  failed academics who also want a piece of the national cake. They speak high falutin English that causes one of their supporters to faint at a point. In fact, the campaign scenes moderated by Segun Dada stand out in the production. Aside from the excellent representation of the typical Nigerian politician, Austen-Peters and her crew also reference Senator Dino Melaye’s recent certificate palaver and his now infamous Ajekun Iya ni oje song. Ex-British Prime Minister David Cameroon’s description of Nigeria as a ‘fantastically corrupt’ country also re-echoes through Tosan who describes his Uncle that way.

For Tosan, who Kike sees as her meal ticket, service is the most important reason for going into politics but he is disappointed by his Uncle Sagay, who unashamedly loots the public till. He would later contest the governorship against Sagay with the assistance of the equally altruistic Ngozi (Dolapo Oni) and her rich Igbo husband, Cletus.

Otunba Sagay, who tells Tosan at a point that “election promises are not real promises like that,” is not the only villain of the musical. There is also Rex (Jolomi Amuka), who though trained as a medical doctor, travels to London with the intention of living an easy life with the supposed white girl, Cassandra (Ade Laoye) he meets on Facebook.

To his horror, she is actually a sex-starved black lady. “My African Sango, come breathe me some fire,” she tells him endlessly. Like Jojoba, Kike also does not cover herself in glory with her avarice and her oscillation between Rex and Tosan. Though she eventually gets her comeuppance, the scene early in the musical where Rex and Tosan fight over her with songs drew in the audience who tried to second guess the actors as the scenes unfolded and before the curtains eventually came down.

Co-chairman of the Lagos@50 Planning Committee and a former member of the House of Representatives, Habeeb Fasinro, spoke the minds of many at the occasion when he described the evening as a ‘fantastic’ one.

Activities marking the Lagos@50 celebration continue with Runway Jazz 2017 special edition on April 30, movie screenings on May 5 and Lagos Dance Exhibition on May 6.  Lagos Laughs and Ibile Comedy Challenge will happen on May 7, the Lagos Carnival on May 13, Eyo Festival on May 20, Kakadu the Musical on May 21 and  science, arts and crafts exhibition for secondary school students on May 23. Wakaa, meanwhile, is showing through Easter and on all weekends in April.