Entertainment
MMNI Boss, Nsikak Brendan Speaks on 10th Anniversary, Secrets of His Success
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Renowned heroes maker, Amb Nsikak Brendan, CEO Brendance and Crusader Ltd, and producer of Mr and Miss Nigeria International, the first and only mixed pageant in the country, is the first Black African to be appointed as the Choreographer/Groomer for Ms International World and Ms Latina USA.
He is a man of International repute whose profile has steadily been on the rise, the Publisher of Poise and Class Magazine, a unique African magazine which showcases the beauty of Africa and fashion with a blend of top-notch fashion.
Nsikak’s esteemed annual pageant is known for showcasing positive attributes of Nigerian Men and women. The winner portrays exemplary qualities and serves as a role model for young women in the country. One of the most remarkable aspect of the pageant is it new trend trailing over other pageants with a prime attention to promote African heritage above Western values and ideas.
The role of Nsikak’s Mr and Miss Nigeria International beauty pageant cannot be quantified as several beauty Kings and Queens have gone ahead to hit headlines in politics entertainment etc
His pageant is niched in a way that it promotes societal connections From winning mouth-watering cash prizes to becoming instant car owners, getting sponsored by several prestigious organisations, landing endorsement deals, representing Nigeria at international pageants, working with associated charities and using their status to promote their platforms (also known as ‘pet projects’), the Queens are in fact fruitfully engaged throughout their reign.
His pageant has availed innumerable youths the chance to represent Nigeria at international events among other fantastic prizes. It has become a way of encouraging self-discipline, confidence and charitable works.
Nsikak’s pageant has made today’s youth to find new opportunities locally and internationally. The likes of Big Brother Naija 2021 Housemate, Queen Mercy Atang, a 26yrs old philanthropist and aspiring politician who hails from Akwa Ibom state, currently competing for the grand price of N90 million was the winner of Nsikak’s Miss Nigeria International pageant 2015. The beautiful, gorgeous and fearless queen said to be a highly ambitious person who values everyone around her is considered a true leader and an excellent communicator with a loyal and peaceful attributes was discovered and catapulted to limelight through Mr. Nsikak’s beauty pageant.
Amb. Brendan Nsikak has visibly become an access for the son of a nobody to become somebody without knowing anybody. To say his attainment is a lifetime achievement is simply stating the obvious
His pageant has over the years checkmated and streamlined the activities of all contestants, it is at advanced stage of correcting the negative activities in the industry just as the wind of change is blowing in all the sectors in Nigeria.
Speaking with top journalists about Mr and Miss Nigeria 10th aniversary, Nsikak explained thus;
“For a child to be 10yrs old, healthy, walking stronger and improving we have to thank God.
It has been a sweet journey at the same time any journey without obstacles cannot be successful. It has been a journey with a lot of obstacles but the result is always what makes us happy’.
When asked what fans should expect from Mr and Miss Nigeria 10th anniversary.
He said “I’m expecting something different because I’m a pacesetter when it comes to content, I’m giving something different.
I’m more concerned about human capacity building, I’m not concerned about material things. I combine human capacity building in all my projects”.
Speaking further on the challenges of pageants, he postulates that “10yrs as a brand, 14yrs as a professional. The pageant industry is very sweet but very challenging, full of a lot of temptation. Most brand I have produced for have the issue of sponsorship which I do first, the issue of scandal which I have not been part of any scandal for 10yrs. It’s a plus to me. The Nigeria factor, being that you need to talk and do extra work to convince people to believe in your capacity, talent and ability. I’m of the school of thaught that when your work speaks for you, You don’t need an orator to speak, let it flow without any obstacle”.
Expressig his expectations from sponsors, Nsikak acknowledged that everyone wants to support a unique and consistent brand as he speaks of his brand with an unshakable confidence. His words;
“My brand is such a unique brand that everyone gets value for the money they invest.
This year we are celebrating our 10th anniversary, we are camping for 10 days, it means 10days full of activities and activation using the contestants to activate different values for our sponsors because this year we are going to have not less than 8hrs live streaming on YouTube and other social media and after that we have a repeat of that program that will reach a wider audience.
If you check on our YouTube for last year’s event you will see that because of the pandemic we had a livestream of over 2,000 viewers, it shows that the brand has been accepted.
So any brand coming in have a lot of opportunities to activate because our brand has 5 international Franchise that means the winner represents Miss Nigeria International globally. It means your product is going globally, talking about those in the tourism sector, when you have a national Queen or King carrying your products out of the country and bringing it back you should know the value it adds on your brand, we are talking about a wider community because we are going to have 26 of them representing different region in Nigeria, which will include voting.
Each contestant is expected to have not less than 5,000 votes to enter the house. Right now we have a hundred of them. Imagine the first stage where the 100 contestants have 3,000 audience and in the next phase each of them need to have 5,000 votes to enter the house. 5000 audience multiply by 40 of them and the number of people on social media. It goes a long way wider, wider and wider”.
Speaking on uniqueness Nsikak posits that, “Every brand has its own uniqueness and I personally respect that.
we are always a pacesetter in terms of content.
Being the convener of the first ever mixed pageant in Africa is a great achievement, you know it’s really tasking to manage male and female pageants, two big brands together at the same time. We lead and others follow, 90% of pageants copy what I have done in the last 7yrs. So this year is ‘royalty’. Fans should expect nothing less than Royalty in uniqueness, content, characterization and in molding the contestants because the African value is what we are trying to portray”.
Veteran Nollywood actor, Francis Duru, has died at the age of 57 following a brief illness.
His family announced his death on his official Instagram page in the early hours of Friday, expressing appreciation to fans and well-wishers for their support.
“We, the family of Francis Duru, regret to announce his passing following a brief illness.
“We appreciate your prayers, love, and understanding. May his soul rest in perfect peace. Amen,” the statement read.
Duru’s death comes months after he dismissed reports that he was battling a life-threatening illness.
In June, concern spread among fans and colleagues after a video showing the actor looking frail circulated on social media.
Responding to the reports, Duru shared a video on Instagram in which he described the footage as “fabricated and malicious”.
Born on July 27, 1969, in Cameroon to Nigerian parents from Imo State, Duru completed his primary and secondary education in the country before relocating to Nigeria for university studies.
He gained admission to the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he studied Theatre Arts and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1996.
Duru began his acting career in 1989 with Missing Mark, a film directed by the late Ndubuisi Oko.
However, he gained wider recognition in 1995 after featuring in Rattlesnake, an action-comedy produced by the late filmmaker Amaka Igwe. He played Ahanna in the film.
Throughout his career, Duru received several awards and honours for his contributions to the Nigerian film industry. He was also named a United Nations ambassador of peace in recognition of his influence on young people.
In 2020, he won the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Igbo) award at the Best of Nollywood Awards for his performance in Mboputa.
Duru married his wife, Adokiye, in 2003, and they had four children together. The family lost one of their children, Ifeanyi, in August 2024.
Entertainment
‘Bulaba Never Renew Him Subscription’, Charly Mocks Asari Dokubo for Calling for Tinubu’s ‘Surrender’
A former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, Asari Dokubo, has asked President Bola Tinubu to surrender, saying that the economic situation in Nigeria is unbearable.
Singing a war song, Asari said it was obvious that the President cannot fight and so should step aside.
Meanwhile, a frontline Nigerian entertainer, Charly Boy, also known as the Area Father, has mocked the former militant leader, saying his outcry might be because the presidency has not ‘renewed his subscription.’
Brandishing a sword in a video on social media, Asari says in Pidgin English, “Tinubu, na me dey tell you, you no go fit fight. Tinubu surrender. The country too hard. This country is too hard. We dey vex. Look, out fuel, everything is too expensive in this country.
“Everything is too expensive. We have refineries but they’re not working in this country. Nothing is working in this country and we’ll not continue in this situation. We’re hungry. We’re hungry. We’re hungry and this must stop. It must stop.”
Reposting the video on X, Charly Boy wrote, “Asari say make Tinubu surrender.
Say country too hard. Bulaba never renew him subscription.”
Source: DailyPost
Family, friends and admirers of Calypso King of the World, Slinger Francisco, better known as the Mighty Sparrow, have celebrated the man behind the legend at a memorial service in New York.
His daughter, Gina Francisco, reflected on her father’s final years, recalling how the man who once travelled the globe eventually relied on others to carry him, yet never complained.
The service at Linden Seventh-day Adventist Church drew fellow musicians, politicians, diplomats, clerics and supporters from across the Caribbean diaspora.
Francisco said her father treated those around him warmly and deeply valued his family. She joked that, with 14 children, she could not remember all their names. One of his greatest lessons, she said, was humility.
“The greatest thing that I think that he did, because it was a very humbling experience to watch my father being carried. He couldn’t walk. He had to be carried, and he was very uncomplaining.”
She added: “I’ve seen my father change over the years. He was very uncomplaining, and his world became smaller and smaller and smaller. You’re looking at a man who travelled the world, and then he’s kind of limited to where he is, and he never complained.”
Francisco said sharing her father with the world sometimes frustrated her and her siblings, but she eventually came to appreciate his impact on generations of people.
“He taught me how to be at peace with whatever God gives you,” she said.
Among those paying tribute was New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who described Sparrow as a giant of Caribbean culture whose influence extended far beyond Trinidad and Tobago.
“This is obviously a sad occasion,” Williams said, adding that Sparrow’s death at 91 also provided an opportunity to celebrate a remarkable life.
“I just want to thank the family because I’m honoured to come to speak about a 91-year-old who lived an amazing life.”
He invited mourners to applaud the late calypsonian.
“The Calypso Monarch Emeritus, no one can beat him. What he did for our culture is simply amazing and cannot be overstated.”
Williams recalled that Sparrow’s name was regarded as “royalty” in his household and in countless others across the Caribbean diaspora.
Yves Abel of Haiti’s legendary band Tabou Combo also paid tribute, recalling Sparrow’s support for Caribbean artistes and his commitment to regional unity.
“It is an honour for me to be invited to the celebration of the life of Mr Mighty Sparrow, one of the greatest calypso men in the world,” Abel said.
He recalled that Sparrow had helped the group in its early years by securing performances at major New York venues.
“When we were 22 years old, 19 years old, playing music in Brooklyn, Mighty Sparrow invited us to some of the greatest venues in New York. He took us to Madison Square Garden, he took us to the Lincoln Center, he took us to Carnegie Hall.”
Abel said Sparrow understood that Caribbean people were united by culture despite their linguistic differences.
“Sparrow knew that although we speak different languages based on our colonial backgrounds, we carry one music, and it’s from Africa where we all come from.”
During the service, Brother Don Enoch Mohammed of the Nation of Islam played an audio recording of a conversation between Sparrow and the organisation’s leader, Louis Farrakhan.
In the recording, the two men prayed for each other and exchanged jokes. Farrakhan urged Sparrow to write a song for him, and Sparrow suggested that Farrakhan provide the melody. Farrakhan replied that it would become “the biggest calypso ever”.
“I recall telling my mother that if there is no calypso in heaven, then I don’t want to go,” Farrakhan said in the recording.
Sparrow will be accorded a State-assisted funeral. A date for the ceremony has not yet been announced.
