Jason's Jive April 2025

Welcome again my dear readers. Let’s get straight into things. In 2023, Bola Aduwo, a course mate from University days, was on the phone with me. We had connected via phone --- I was in Dallas, and she was in Houston. She talked me into helping with some media work for the inaugural film festival, Africuff – an effort to promote films from Nigeria and beyond, in the diaspora. (The Nigerian film industry is a multi-million-dollar industry that is still growing). After some persuasion, she got me to agree to help out. It was a nice opportunity to meet and network. I was more involved, in 2024, working with popular film producer, writer and director, Emem Isong Misodi.

            In February this year, I finally launched the maiden issue of my newsmagazine, THE NAIJA BRIDGE, to provide a platform for players in the industry to promote their work --- film, music and literature. The second issue was released in the middle of March, and I am working on the April issue. It has been a challenge, as always with a new product, pushing hard to get a foot hold and eventually make a mark.

            This Jive however is not about me or my work. Rather, it is about the success of a movie this month. As I said earlier, the Nigerian movie industry (Nollywood) has grown and is the next big thing after Hollywood.

            History was created on March 7 by Omoni Oboli, a Nigerian Canadian actress, film producer, director and more – she is talented. She has her own channel on You Tube where one can subscribe for free and watch her movies as they are released, and she has some very good quality movies there. Back to the story though.  On Friday March 7, she released “Love In Every Word,” and the movie took off like a fighter plane. In its first 48 hours, the movie had reached 3.9 million views. I stayed up to watch the movie and saw the metrics changing. The algorithm bumped it to the #1 trending movie at that time. As the day progressed, the numbers continued to rise. I made contact with Omoni about a feature for my publication I was working on. At that time on Sunday/Monday, it had reached 5 million views. Long and short of it, in less than a week, it was at 12 million views. In 12 days, it topped off at 15 million views.

            It is a movie you must watch. It features a businessman (Odogwu) expressing his love for a young corporate professional (Chioma). He immediately declares to her his intention to marry her. Through twists and turns, the movie progresses, drawing you the viewer, deeper into the story, which predictably ends on a nice note. What this movie does is to show the reality of the resilience of the Igbo man (from the eastern part of Nigeria). He sees something (a person) he wants, and nothing will stop him from getting it (in this case, her heart).

            I do not know Omoni Oboli personally. We have a few mutual acquaintances in the industry, but I am hopeful that one day, our schedules will connect long enough for me to get her to answer a few questions that I can feature here.

            Please, go on You Tube, (Omoni Oboli TV) to watch the movie and kindly leave a comment on her page, and let her know that you first heard about her in Jason’s Jive. She has worked hard and combined this dedication to her craft with being a wife and a mother.  March is International Women’s month, and she rightly showed that women can be strong, resilient and successful.

            As we get ready to wrap up International Women’s month, let us continue to celebrate and appreciate our women and all that they have done and continue to do for us.

            April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month --- the cell phone has changed the way we drive. But it Is not the only element of distraction. We are sometimes distracted by the dynamics around us, music playing on our cars, eating or drinking, thinking about something going on in the life of a person or just good ol’ daydreaming. However, the cell phone is the main culprit, so I will leave you with some information  -- simple and to the point : Sending messages while stopped at a red light, must be avoided; Parents can shut their phones while driving their children, which will enhance their safety; Avoid texting, even when you have brought your vehicle to  a complete stop at an intersection; Texting and using the phone for any purpose should be done when you are safely parked. Help keep the roads safe!