Twenty Years After, Ayefele Commemorates Ghastly Crash

Wahl Clippers to Reward Barbers at LABHCA Barbers
To commemorate its 25th anniversary, Wahl Clippers Corporation USA is set to reward winners at the Lagos State Barbers, Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Association (LABHCA) Barbers competition.

The competition which kicked-off in January will be coming to a climactic end on November 23 at the grand finale where 10 finalists will battle for cash prizes and Wahl clippers at Hi-Tech field, Orisunmbare, Alimosho, Lagos.

Known for its premium quality, Wahl Clippers has over the years supported the barbers association in ensuring that they are celebrated as well as rendering financial support to ease their ways of doing business. In the past 24 years, the brand has also held its own competition where barbers are rewarded with gifts as well as educated on trends and health tips on male grooming.

The clippers were introduced to the Nigerian market by Chief Victor Mbadiwe, through his company J. Green Mbadiwe& Sons Ltd. Since then, the company has continued to dominate the market despite the influx of fake and substandard clippers in the market.
“It’s been an amazing journey for us. We can only be grateful to the barbers who have come to the realisation that nothing comes close to our product because we don’t compromise our quality in any way. Of course, the market has become competitive but we are proud to be a leader in the market,” said Mbadiwe.

Mrs. Ijaoba Oladipupo, LABHCA’s president affirmed the quality of Wahl Clippers in her statement: “Wahl Clippers is a statement of class. Barbers who use Wahl clippers are highly respected. It is affordable and durable and easy to use even for a first-timer.”
Regarding the value of the industry, Mbadiwe stated that the industry has a lot of potentials.

“Male grooming in Nigeria is gradually gaining recognition. Most people limit it to clothes but a man’s fashion goes beyond what he wears. His overall look starts from the head. What hair-cut is he wearing? Is he clean-shaven or not? Remember, the hair needs daily grooming which starts from the barbing salon. If you don’t use the right clipper, you will end up with cuts or bruises that can lead to some skin diseases. All of these we try to highlight in our competitions. Barbers are not mere artisans. They are also stakeholders in the fashion world, because they determine the trends.”

About 10 contestants competed in the monthly contests, out of which four winners emerged. The numbers were further trimmed during the semi-finals. However, only ten finalists made it to the grand finale. The finalists will be judged based on their professionalism, poise, handling of tool, creativity and finishing. The winner and runners-up will be rewarded with cash prizes, wahl clippers and other consolation prizes.

LIFE THROUGH THE EYES OF ZINNO ORARA
Zinno Orara continues to make lemonades out of the lemons life served him three years ago with his upcoming exhibition titled ‘Life is a Journey.’ Having lost his beloved wife to stage 7 cancer in 2014, Orara’s artistic skills took a new dimension as he strives to keep his wife’s legacy through visuals that are as thought provoking as they are artistic. The art world got a taste of his resilient creativity in the 2014 exhibition called Against All Odds which is a thought-provoking body of work that to this day, is still a major point of reference among avid and respectable art lovers and curators.
For ‘Life is a Journey’, the painter will take the viewer on an adventurous journey of the different moments we experience in life. From grief to joy, to love and faith, Orara will showcase various thought-provoking and creative works of his while celebrating the life of his late wife.

“Life’s Journey consists of a series of thought provoking works that depicts our voyage through life as humans, the good, the highs and lows, our opportunities, heartaches and our eventual sojourn to the unknown. This promises to be an exciting exhibition,” he said in a statement.
The exhibition will run for over two weeks, starting from Saturday November 25 to December 4, 2017. This event will hold at Terra Kulture Gallery Plot 1376, Tiamiyu Savage, off Ahmadu Bello way, Victoria Island Lagos,
Zinno Orara has had over 12 solo exhibitions and 25 group exhibitions in Nigeria, South Africa, Sweden, Spain, United States and Canada. His paintings are present in art galleries all over the world; as well as with some of the world’s most dedicated collectors.

Indelibl Art Platorm Launches
An online art platform Indelibl that showcases African arts to worldwide audience recently launched in Lagos. The e-commerce platform dedicated to promoting works by African artists is the latest in the art world that is poised to give African artists more traction on the international scene. Founded by Edwin Otta and Adetayo Jinadu, Indelibl aims to empower African artists from around the world, by allowing their work to be more accessible to audiences of all backgrounds.

“There is a growing demand for works by African arts and creative works. The biggest auction houses, from London to New York, such as Sotheby’s and Bonhams, have units dedicated to developing and promoting both contemporary and antique African art works. Works of artists such as El Anatsui, Ben Enwonwu, amongst several others, are selling at record-breaking prices, paving the way for younger artists to follow. Platforms like Indelibl will avail these artists a worldwide audience and commercial appreciation of their works,” said the founders.

Indelibl features a range of products, from original pieces of art to prints, t-shirts and books. Customers are able to purchase original artworks as well as other related items directly from emerging artists. This range captures Indelibl’s mission to make art more accessible and its vision to promote art as a lifestyle. The platform also gives its users exclusive access to exhibitions, book launches, film-screenings and other creative events.

According to the founders, the value of the online market for works of art will be nearly 1.3trillion (US$6.3billion) by 2019, projects Hiscox Online Art Trade Report 2015. Indelibl aims to be part of this huge market by putting unique African voices on the spotlight and allowing their narratives to reach audiences from all over the world. It will offer its artists the opportunity to sell and promote their pieces to a niche audience while proposing affordable premium quality content to its customers and ensure that they have a personalised experience through a social interaction with the artists and their art works.

“Following the launch of our social commerce platform, our next focus would be on building our offline community. By carefully curating live experiences, we will be launching a fresh and exciting series of events celebrating our community,” says Edwin Otta.
The first in the series of such events was Art the Hague, the international contemporary art fair which took place from the 4th – 8th of October. At an exhibition curated by Indelibl, titled ‘In Transition’, visitors explored the qualities of traditional African art in the contemporary context. The focus was on the influences of migration, globalisation and the African Diaspora.

PJAY Records Signs on Kimono at last
Rub-dub master, Ras kimono who have been on the quite side as a recording act for over four years, is back on the dais and signed on recently by a recording label, PJAY records stationed in Iju area of Lagos State.
The new label owned by Joseph Ighodalo who also pilots PJAY Supermarket and a pal of Kimono for years, pushed out his latest singles –Senseless Killing and Blessed Africa, currently ruling the airwaves.
Kimono according to him, “is one musician whom I have a lot of respect for his creative ability, current affairs and feelings for down toddle persons in the societies. I mean, the people who suffers most any misfortune. For instance, are the unfortunate victims of the Boko Haram sect”.

He maintained that Kimono’s works are vantage collections in all their ramifications, buttressing his stance with his first ever release, “Under pressure” which Ighodalo believes can still grab attention of followers of good reggae music.
Rub-Dub master’s penchant for address societal burning issues like the many killings for Africa, especially Nigerians, with such reckless abandon, lamenting over them and striving to know rationale and justification behind these un ending spillage of innocent blood.
Like somebody who actual known the place of good video in music marketing, Ighodalo pledged to do his best in shooting a video that will tell best the story of Senseless killings and Blessed Africa.

enter Robaz Entertainment
It was indeed a full house at the official launch of Robaz Entertainment, it’s artiste and media parley which took place on Wednesday 8th of November, 2017 at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The event which kicked off in the afternoon had lots of print and electronic journalists in attendance, stakeholders in the industry, comedians, friends and fans of Robor Philip Asiotu, a Dubai-based business mogul and the Chairman/CEO of the brand.

Also, the Manager of the brand, Mong Kalu, fondly known as MONKALS, an actor and a comedian at the press briefing asserted that Robaz Entertainment is set to storm the showbiz world and do great justice to everything entertainment. “Robaz Entertainment is into both music and movie productions as well as glamorous events. We would not leave any stone unturned as far as entertainment is concerned,” he added.

When as this platform of talent discovery in the industry would be able to multi-task or shoulder all the responsibilities as promised, Asiotu a music lover right from his childhood assured that he is equal to the task. “The label is not a jamboree. It is strictly an avenue to carve a niche for talents to shine, as well as raise stars. We are really committed to making our dreams come through, and I want people to be on the lookout for our works. We are one hundred percent ready to deliver because we are focused! Music, movies and events are interwoven remember? So, as long as we know our targets, the sky would not even limit us. I believe that this is not an impossible task because even in the western world, it is done that way, so we can still do the same here,” he noted.

Martinz Ega, an artiste who is of course under the label of Robaz Entertainment had a fantastic performance. That was his first performance and it was awesome. Little wonder the young musician said it would not take him much time to blow not minding that the industry is already saturated. “With God on my side and hard work, I would get there. I’m not going to be intimidated at all,” he said, as a matter of fact.
The unveiling proper was done by Ruth Kadiri, a Nollywood actress, Robor Philip Asiotu and his lovely wife and then of course Egos the prince of Wazobia. Ruth Kadiri said a short prayer for the brand when she unveiled it, “this is the beginning of greater things to come, in Jesus name,” she enthused.