Nigeria is an Amazing country

Nigeria is an Amazing Country- Mustafa Pulat

The new Turkish ambassador to Nigeria, Mustafa Pulat who recently presented his letters of credence to President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja was in Lagos recently. He attended the Lagos Motor fair and Spare Parts Exhibition at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos. He spoke with Yemi Olakitan on Turkish business interests in Nigeria and many other issues. Excerpts:

• Question: Sir, Didn’t you have some apprehension in being posted to Nigeria, In view of the present security challenges in the country?

Every country has its own problems. Nigeria is not an exception. Turkey has problems. I am not new to Africa. I have served in Sudan and Germany but this is my first time in Nigeria as an ambassador and it is amazing. Nigeria is an interesting country, I have made a lot friends. I have met many Nigerians who are ready to partner with Turkey in businesses, manufacturing and other issues of trades. It is very interesting because Nigeria has enormous human and material resources. There is a lot of Turkish presence in Nigeria. We have 16 Turkish companies in this auto parts exhibition for example.

• What advice do you have for Nigeria on her security challenges?

Terrorism is a global phenomenon. Each country has to tackle it as best as it could. They all come down to one thing; providing adequate amenities for our citizens. The government must accede to the yearnings of the people and provide justice for all.

• What is the extent of Turkish business interest in Nigeria?

We have many business interests in Nigeria. We have established the Turkish international university in Abuja. We are working on the establishment of an Hospital in Abuja. Turkish business men are also building factories in Nigeria. I have a mandate to set up a consulate in Lagos that will take care of Turkish business interests in the southwest. The only challenge we face is the dearth of property in Lagos and that has been limiting us. We are going to establish a joint Nigeria-Turkish Commission to promote economic cooperation between the two countries

• It has been observed that there is a consular constraint in getting Nigerian business men to obtain visa to enter Turkey. How will you be able to address this problem?.

We are going to establish E-visa regime soonest so that Nigerians can apply for visa online. We have already started the programme already with few countries but Nigeria is not included yet, Now we will include Nigeria. We are not restricting Nigerians entry to Turkey.

• What is responsible for the delay in Turkish entry into the European Union?

We have almost fulfilled all the requirements. The delay seemed to be a blessing in disguise. If Turkey had been admitted during the present economic crisis rocking Europe, Turkey would been affected. We have no political issues with any European nation. The suspicion about our economic status has been removed by the delay. We are now poised to entering the EU since we have no problems with any European country..

• With Turkey as a pride to Islam. Is not limiting for Turkey to join EU since Turkey is a leading Islamic nation. One would think that Turkey will stand out and lead the developing countries?

The two scenarios are working together. Turkey will serve in both roles. We will join the European Union and we will also support the developing nations to fulfill their destinies. We are also a developing nation.

• What has become of the legacy of Bulent Ecevit?

He was a great Turkish Leader and reformer. His legacy is continuing. His party is now in power. His economic policies are still been pursued in Turkey. He gave Turkey rapid economic development. His policies attracted foreign companies into Turkey. Turkey has no car brand and we manufacture Toyota and many other brands. The people of Turkey are very demanding. If the politicians do not satisfy them. They will change the government.

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Sexy Faces of Nollywood

By Ayo Onikoyi
The nomination process continues for another week to accommodate showcasing more faces in Nollywood.  We have showcased the new faces in Nollywood for the first two weeks, now we continue with established names to make their entry into the game.
Some of these names have made it into the last top ten in previous editions of Sexiest in Nollywood. Those who have won before have been exempted to create room for others to come in and stand the chance of going all the way. However, it is important to know that with the Vanguard coupon on this page, voters are likely to win more votes for their nominees
Those Already Making Waves after two weeks of voting
Those who are making waves from last week nomination process include Uti Nwachukwu, Joseph Benjamin, Pope Odowondo, Benson Okonkwo, Anita Joseph, Tope Osoba, Queeneth Gilbert, Collete Orji, Chika Agatha, Sunkanmi Omobolanle, Damilola Adegbite, Maureen Cyril, Bobby Obodo, Amanda Ebeye, Cynthia Agholor, Ramsey Nouah, Tonto Dikeh, Stephanie Okereke, Ali Nuhu, Ebube Nwagbo, Yul Edochie and Odunlade Adekola but the big question is: will they make it all the way?The final slot is for 25 men and 25 women. So keep voting to nominate!
Benita Nzeribe
Benita Nzeribe is a popular face in Nollywood and her career has taken her places her colleagues only dream of. She is the face of  Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and   Ambassador of Peace of the Universal Federation of Peace (UFP), and the Youth Federation for World Peace.
Bukky Wright
Bukky Wright has been called the queen of Yoruba films, not only because of her beauty but also for her extraordinary talent she has earned her many awards. Bukky is out with another blockbuster Yoruba film ‘Kani’ which is selling fast.

Cossy Orjiakor
Cossy may be making more headlines for her musical talent than acting. But the diva is still a good actress who would pull through any role that comes her way. She recently released her first album “Nutty Queen” which is rocking the airwaves.
Ejiro Okurame
Ejiro cut her teeth in the industry through television soaps like Hills and Valleys, Everyday People, Clinic Matters and Ashes and Love. She has been around for close to ten years and has acted in movies like Last Order, My Joy My Sorrow among others.
Empress Njamah
Empress shot into the Nollywood glare in 1995 and has since kept her groove going on since then. She has starred in many notable Nollywood blockbusters. Notable among her films are The Pastor and Harlot, When Love Dies, Angels Forever and many others.
Ernest Obi
Ernest Obi is a household name in Nollywood. As an actor and film director, he has seen the good, the bad and the ugly sides of the film industry and life itself. He started acting back in the 80s, and was on cast of the popular soap ‘Fortune’ and he hasn’t taken off his hand in making movies since then.
Femi Brainard
Femi’s call card into the industry was way back in 1997 and it was Tunji Bamishigbi’s soap ‘Palace’ that did it. Then he tested the waters of films through ‘Contractors’ and the rest as they say, is easy. The recently married actor now does more Yoruba-speaking films than English-speaking.
Femi Branch
Femi Branch has been around for a while but he became a hit through playing the ‘bad boy’ millionaire, Oscar Lord-Williams in Dominoes. some of his films  are Married But Living Single, Smoke & Mirrors, After The Vow, Caught in the Middle,Twisted and a host of Yoruba films.
Kalu Ikeagwu
Kalu joined the Nigerian movie in 2005 and made a debut with Emem Isong’s For Real, Darkest Night and Fragile Pain for which he was nominated for best upcoming actor at the 2006 AMAA.
He has gone on to feature in numerous and memorable movies and television series, where he has shown his ability to play a wide range of characters.

Kunle Afolayan
He is the son of the famous theater and film director and producer Ade Love.  Since his active foray into the movie industry in 2005 Kunle has only been greeted with awards. His latest films ‘Figurine’ and ‘Phone Swap’ have won many awards.
Lizzy Anjorin
Liz Anjorin is one of the glamour girls running the show in the Youba sector of the Industry. She hit stardom with her sterling role in ‘Iyawo Ojokan’ and she has seen featured in many high budget Yoruba films. Her work ‘Kofo Tinubu’ rocked the industry and won her several awards.
Mike Ezuruonye
His first movie was titled ‘Broken Marriage’. He became a household name with the movie ‘Critical Decision’ which was not only a huge commercial success but also revealed his talent home and abroad. Though he started his professional career in December 2003, now he has over 80 movies to his credit.
Nse Ikpe-Etim
Nse shook the movie world when she was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the African Movie Academy Awards in 2009.  That was after her role in ‘Reloaded’, a film that shot her into super-star stardom. She has since done several hits. She got married recently to Clifford Sule
Queen Nwokoye
She came into the industry in 2004 and her first movie was a comedy titled ‘Nna Meen’. She has featured in over ninety Movies which includes: Evil Queen, Heart of a slave, Millionaires widow ,Ladies men, Hurricane babes, Hottest boys and many others.
Ronke Odusanya
Known simply as Flakky Ididowo for her role in the movie ‘Ididiwo’ some years back. She relaunched her image again in the award-winning movie ‘Jenifa’ playing Beccky. She has since starred in many movies.
Rykardo Agbor
Rykardo Agbor has been in Nollywood for close to 20 years. Despite being from Cross Rivers State, Rycardo, a model cum actor acts Yoruba films and also has a number of English-speaking ones on his enviable profile.
Uche Jombo
Multiple award-winning actress/producer and Glo Ambassador has got so much to flaunt as an accomplished actress. The actress who recently married a Puerto Rican, Kenney Rodriguez, premiered her latest work ‘My Life My Damage’.
Kelvin Ikedugba
Kelvin has been called the bad boy of Nollywood because of his  natural affinity for the “Bad Boy” roles which he interprets with smugness and ease. Though he started with English movies but his foray into the Yoruba genre of films has been greeted with enormous success.

Why I left Tinsel – Damilola Adegbite

By Yemisi Suleiman
Over the past few years, Damilola Adegbite has become one of the most recognizable actresses in Africa.  She plays the role of ‘Thelma Duke’, the gorgeous actress in the day time soap, Tinsel on Africa Magic; a role which has seen her become a favourite of soap lovers. Damilola, who recently left the set of Tinsel to explore the film industry, during a courtesy visit to Vanguard, spoke on why she left the soap, life outside Tinsel, her relationship and more. Enjoy!
You left Tinsel. Why?
Well, it was… as much as people don’t believe me, it was a personal decision. I just wanted to experience more of the movie world. It really wasn’t an easy decision to make because Tinsel has been part of my life for a while and we are family. But the only thing constant is change; basically every human being should re-evaluate their lives more often and make decisions.
I wanted to experience film. I wanted to experience movie-making and that is what I am doing now. And, I am pleased with it.
Can you describe your experience on Tinsel? You were one of the first on Tinsel?
I will say I am one of the few that had it luckily. Tinsel is a very pretty platform. I didn’t have to deal with the exploitation that other actors go through for getting script and all that. I had a proper platform and it was a worthwhile experience and one I will always be grateful for. I enjoyed it while it lasted.
What is your relationship with Gbenro Ajibade?
Laughs.  We are ex-colleagues.  We are just friends.
For four years, you played Thelma in Tinsel. How did that role influence your life?
Definitely not negatively! Well, do you mean affecting my personal life or my career?
I mean both.
Well, personally, no. I learnt to detach myself from the characters of the roles that I play. Career wise, it gave me a beautiful platform that I am building on today.

*Damilola

What other movies are you doing now?
Beside the movie I just finished with Michelle, which is premiering on 13th – and I am excited about that, I will be going into production with two Nollywood big names in February. I will rather not expose who they are now so as not to spoil the surprise. But, there other productions lined up as well.
Are you hoping for endorsements from companies?
Well, it depends on the plan that you have for yourself. Like I said, I am not really concentrating on endorsements now. I would like my acting to speak for me and then, from there, if anything else comes up, that’s fine. But I am just breaking off the platforms now and want to continue building something. So, endorsements are welcome, of course. But they are not really my focus right now but they are welcome.
Now that you are in another phase of your career, would you say Tinsel sort of limited you to an extent?
I will say ‘yes’ to a certain extent because of the time. It’s very time consuming working on soaps. Tinsel, I would say is a pretty peculiar production as well, because they emphasise a lot on quality and, you know, all of that is pretty time consuming. No producer would like to work with someone they cannot guaranty would be there. It would give their production as much time and you know effort. So, I would say that it did limit me to a certain extent; which is why I had to come to a decision.
 
Tell us a bit about your background?
Well, Damilola Adegbite was born into a family of four. I was born and raised in Lagos. In Surulere, to be precise, so I grew up in Surulere. I have a degree in Business Administration from Bowen University.
 
What childhood memories do you have of Surulere?
Wow! I had a fun childhood in Surulere; those street carnivals and all that. It was fun. And, the friends I had in that area, which would be exclusive to me. I had a lot of friends in the area, so you could basically just get up and walk into anybody’s house, eat with them and sleep there if you wanted to. Everybody’s door was open to you all the time in my neighbourhood, anyway.
How did you get into acting?
It’s always been a passion for me. Some people, along the course of life, decide to choose certain careers based on wherever life leads them. I am pretty focused and I know what I want and I always try to stick to that. I have always wanted to be in the arts. Even while growing up, everyone around me saw that that was what I wanted to do. I was always in some music or theatre-related issue. I was always doing something that had to do with the arts.
 
So what’s your style like? How will you describe your style?
My style will be: simple, classy, and comfortable. I don’t like discomfort, even if it means looking good. No. I like to be comfortable and relaxed wherever I am; free to move around without being afraid that my skirt is too short or whatever. So, I am just simple but classy.

*Damilola

You are always well put together on the red carpet. Do you have a special designer for your clothes?
Well, I try to patronize as many people as I can in the fashion industry. Especially, if your item or your piece flatters me or something I could rock. I basically source for most of the clothes you see.  They could be something I pick off a designer’s rack or something I put together myself.
 
So, do you have a role model in the industry when it comes to acting? Is there anybody you look up to?
Of course, there are a lot of people I admire in the industry. I learn a lot from them; I probably just watch their movies. A few of my personal favourites: I like Mercy Johnson. I like her acting. I think she is good. I like Mr. Ibu; he makes me laugh. There is something very unique about him. His talent is quite unique. I like Mojid Micheal as well. He is not a Nigerian but I think he is a very good actor. Everybody has something I like.
What would be your greatest fantasy?
I remember that yesterday I was reading a newspaper and it was talking about Mr. Aliko Dangote.  He was referred to as the richest man in Africa and there was a picture of him sitting down, eating a bowl of food.  I remember thinking to myself, to wake up in the morning knowing that you are the richest man in Africa and yet you are dressed in shorts and a tee-shirt!  You are just chilling. There must be a huge amount of self fulfillment in that.
Regardless of what it is, where I am, what I achieved, whenever, wherever, I want to be able to wake up in the morning, look at myself in the mirror and say: “You are not doing badly Damilola”. So, basically, I would want to, at all times, be happy with where I am.
What won’t you wear in the name of fashion?
I wouldn’t wear a loud wig in the name of fashion; a coloured wig.
You have a boyfriend?
Yes
How did you meet?
I saw him. I liked him and we started talking; from there till today.
Tell us what you don’t like about men.
I don’t like men who over-indulge in alcohol. I like men that have regard for themselves and for the people around them. You would have to come across to me as a very serious minded person to be with me.  That’s the honest truth.