Fame

Encarta Dictionary describes ‘fame’ as the condition of being well known. Some of us are famous amongst our circle of friends, churches, schools and in every other place our network extends to while some of us like the late Jackson are international figures.

My point is I saw the movie “Fame” and although there were no known faces, the movie was a total blast. It is a story about talented young people with dreams of being famous who enroll @ the School of Performing Arts, people from different backgrounds, races, with different talents, faces and style but share one thing in common, do you want to take a guess? Yes Passion. They are passionate enough to go behind their parents to enroll, passionate enough  to try to make their parents see the reason they are doing what they do and passionate enough to get duped by frauds who are eager to teach them a bit of life’s hard experiences.

In the course of their study, some of them leave to go join the movies, “Sesame Street” record labels, or wherever they got lucky. The performances were well orchestrated and rehearsed and the various performances were tight.

One of the students (cant remember her name), said something about success  being doing what makes you happy, according to her success is knowing that u’ve put in your best; it is not about money, riches and fame but about love and in my own words touching lives.

And it got me thinking. In a country like Nigeria where I never did want to be a banker yet ended up in that sector, does it mean I’m not successful? If I don’t love what I do does it make me unsuccessful? There are millions of unemployed people out there who would give anything to be in my shoes and here I am being ungrateful. In a country where “The Arts” is not fully appreciated, what is the hope for the young and upcoming writers, dancers, singers, rappers, theatre performers and what have yous? In a country where you dare not look your folks in the face and say I want to become a professional dancer. Every parent wants a doctor, lawyer, engineer and all them professionals, no one wants to hear “I want to become a model”. Thank God for those that have succeeded so far and have given the younger generation what to look forward to – the likes of Wole Oguntokun, Tolu Ogunlesi, Dbanj, Genevieve Nnaji, Tosyn Bucknor, Chude Jideonwo and his crew, Chinedu Amah, Chimamnda Adichie, Sefi Attah, Oscar of Inspiration Fm, Basketmouth… I could go on and on but we know these people and know what they have done in their various areas of calling.

Nigeria is 49 today and while some of us believe that we are yet to achieve anything and yes our education system is depreciating by the second; what with the strikes, bribery and all? I think we should be thankful for the little blessings we have. Our entertainment industry is growing; people are becoming more aware of the importance of our very own arts and culture; I mean we can see stage plays of Wole Soyinka’s books, Chinua Achebe and other Nigerian Writers, we can listen to poetry that satirize or humour our country and amidst all the suffering, we are smiling (in Fela’s words). We are famous for corrupt practices already and in the past two months, “District 9” and “Sony” have driven that point home. So fellow Nigerians, take up this challenge and let us rebrand our Country. We may not be where we ought to be but I am proud to be a Nigerian and while we scold, rant and rave, let us remember that Nigeria cannot be made better by just the Government but by you and I, after all, we are Nigeria. And as we pray for a better Nigeria, may we always work towards it and never forget to be our neighbour’s keeper and may we also never forget our traditions and values as these are what make us stand out anytime, any day, anywhere. Happy Independence my Homeland.

P.S

I did it right? I digressed from the movie didn’t i? so much for sticking to a plot but I hope I joined it well.