Sunday, July 13, 2008

All praise Nduka

The New York Times pays homage to Nigeria's most glamorous media baron - here. I'll leave you lot to comment as I'm speechless.

25 comments:

Beneath my feet 5:42 pm  

he's fronting not fronting for someone else

Anonymous,  5:56 pm  

The photographer who persuaded him to strike that pose is a wicked, wicked soul!!

The photo has got to be pay back for the loss of reputation the journalist will have suffered for accepting a brown envelope to write such crap.

Anonymous,  6:29 pm  

This weekend, thousands will pay millions to lend credibilityto his laundry business.

Enough said.

Anonymous,  6:55 pm  

Speechless?...with admiration I guess.

Anonymous,  6:59 pm  

Its a complete puff piece. More a paid advertorial than anything else.

Its possible even in the NYtimes when you have the likes of Begala, Howard on your payroll

Loomnie 7:59 am  

I leave speechless.

N.A.M,  8:00 am  

personally,Nduka is a nuisance,but you have to admit that he is changing the way people look at Nigeria in his own way, he may have the morals and character of an ally cat,but how else would he have risen to where he is now in a country like this????

Akin,  9:34 am  

Like him or hate him, you cant ignore him. When will we really appreciate our own? Did Nduka also pay the board of the World Economic Forum for him to be a member of the nomination board? Did Nduka also pay Time Magazine for him to be there representative for English sub saharan Africa as far back as the 80s?

Lets appreciate our own.You may hate thisday style or the concerts etc but really until you have a credible alternative newspaper, you shouldnt diss someone else's efforts.

Brooklyn,  9:52 am  

Yet again Akin, you show that you have been away for too long. Ask yourself simply this: do you really believe that the festival is paid for by sales of newspapers? If not, who paid for it? Its an open secret where the money is coming from. Nduka leading a crusade against corruption in Nigeria is a sick joke.

Mr C 9:53 am  

lol. anonymous 5.56 pm, I totally agree with you. That was article was definitely in the joke section of the paper.

But really, I am trying to figure out the link between Piddy, Naomi Campbell, Jay Z and the African culture?

This country really is a joke.

Anonymous,  10:38 am  

We should wonder why would give a newspaper man $20m. you heard $20m not N20m naira. why would he be on the payccheck of a Dangote and many others. as well as many government. Everyone knows that one of the best ways to launder money is through concert and foreign artist. Guiness Nigeria has been doing it for years. I should know I was involved in the racket when I worked there. consulted for the likes of Nduka.

Nduka is no more corrupt than Dangote, Guiness nigeria or MTN. but it is a sad when even western media falls for his PR.

internationalhome 2:34 pm  

once again, we look to the western media for credibility and truth! Sigh. Once again, a clear example of the disconnect between western society and the "developing" world...and how its media is completely clueless in its reporting of issues surrounding this!

ababoypart2 3:54 pm  

I saw this piece a number of days ago and a touch of speed reading got me thru. I didnt make much of it, but I said good on him. I have just had another look at the same article again, and for some reason, I just cant seem to read every single word, but I still say good on him. Nduka just appears to me to be the modern day Ben Bruce. They all brought top R&B artists to Nigeria, and then what. Still, I cant hate the man. I don't see why Nigerians shouldn't be entertained, even if its just rich Nigerians :-( I only wonder how much this whole thing must cost to put together.

omidanbellafricaine 7:25 pm  

“I like to live modestly and discreetly,” said Mr. Obaigbena, with no trace of irony.
LOL

Anonymous,  9:14 pm  

A prophet is never accepted in his own home. Some positivity for Nigeria and I thought most will be glad..lol. If e de pain una like dat go do your own!!!

Anonymous,  9:18 pm  

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous,  9:37 pm  

Check this: http://gawker.com/tag/Nduka-Obaigbena/?i=5023771&t=naomi-campbell-wealthy-mogul-save-nigeria-by-partying

controversial anon,  6:50 am  

I wonder how much of his wealth has gone into improving the lot of the poverty-stricken peeps from his neck of the wood (I assume he is from the Jungle-Delta...I mean Niger Delta).

imnakoya,  6:01 am  

It is very easy to see how vain Nduka is. Yes, he could have used his money/connection to help the poor, or even use the concert to showcase local artists more than those American 'Hip-hop-oray' guys.

Akin conveyed my message in his comment. But I will add more:

What is Nduka's motive? Does any of the dissenters know?

What many are not seeing is the entrepreneurial zeal of this man. Nduka is creating a global media brand for himself/ThisDay. To do this would you rely on the local media and local artists only? No!

Not everyone can be Mother Theresa or Bill Gates. Nduka is a business man who found a niche on which to build a castle. And some are angry. Why?

I remember Nduka in the late 80s, during Abacha regime: he was one the few that spoke up, even when in exile. He has paid his dues.

How many of the critics on this thread, hiding behind the shroud of anonymity, can do that? How many of can command their brain-cells to implement on the same level as Nduka? It is way too easy to be an armchair critic in Nigeria! And a lousy one for that matter.

Controversial Anon,  5:33 pm  

Someone is 'impersonating' me in this thread! Why do that?

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but unfortunately your comment is not as intelligent nor as witty as the comments for which I am known.

Grow Up! Stop trying to be me!

ha ha ha

Akin,  8:30 pm  

@ Brooklyn - I have not been away at all. I was born and bred in lagos and I still am in Lagos.

I have not met the Nduka man. The closest I got to him was when the financial institution I work for helped to package the financing for thisday's foray into South Africa.

I cant comment on the revenue claims but even at that time. Leaders & Company had its turnover in billions of naira. What most dont understand is that thisdayonline makes so much money for them based on the traffic and the google/yahoo pay per click ad model it utilises.

Olawunmi 2:42 am  

what nonsense. that article is evidence that noone is above sacrificing truth and their journalistic integrity on the altar of self-interest. i'm glad to see that the new york times is not immune to publishing tripe. this article could not have been further from reality, and i feel insulted on behalf of everyone who will read this article.

to quote one of our popular tv characters, "nonsense and ingridence"

Olawunmi 3:00 am  

here i go again. i respect nduka obaigbena, i truly do. i see what he's trying to do, in terms of building a global media brand. but i can't stand the lies that the NY Times dressed up as fact. lets call this business, and not pretend that there's some higher altruistic motive.

are we laundering nigeria's image? perhaps, but in whose eyes? the rappers and musical stars who visit our shores leave nothing behind, and do nothing of substance for the impoverished, battered people of nigeria.

how are we helping to feed the poor? to bring light to the ills which still plague our society? and how are we challenging our leaders to shun corruption? what is the net gain from the this day fiesta, and how do they tally with the "facts" stated in the article?

this article had very little substance, and that grieves me. let nduka do what he does, as long as noone is in any illusions as to what his motives and rewards are.

Anonymous,  8:39 am  

If you go to pm news http://thepmnews.com/2008/07/22/thisdays-attack-borne-out-of-malice-—lasg

THISDAY Music Fashion Festival 2008
Nduka Obaigbena paid out the following sums to the artists to perform in Lagos and Abuja Nigeria.
Jay Z was paid US$1,000,050.00
Rihanna was paid US$650,000.00
Usher was paid US$1,000,050.00
Chris Brown was paid US$560,000.00
Mary J Blige was paid US$475,000.00
In the UK at the Royal Albert Hall for Africa Rising:
Christina Aguilera was paid US$1,500,000.00 plus an additional 17.5%VAT on top of that

For the Fashion Show:
Nduka Obaigbena paid out the following sum:
Naomi Campbell was paid €110,000.00 + €30,000.00 (filming fee) + 20% agency fee for each appearance so she was paid €220,000 for appearing in both Lagos and Abuja.

This doesn't include the £700,000 he paid for production and even more for crew fees. The newspaper makes money from bribes, paid for editorial and being paid to keep stories out of the paper.

Angelo Regaza who wrote the article in the New York Times is a freelance journalist, he also writes for THISDAY Newspaper, so its not rocket science really.

Foreigners are happy to deliver whatever you ask as long as you are paying. They will do the job. To create an international brand the way Nduka Obaigbena is doing is real easy as long as you have the money!!! Not one person that has worked on his events have done so without being paid huge sums of money so why is everyone pretending he has done great things!!! He has bought his way into the media, simple.

Anonymous,  6:33 pm  

hes a fucking wanker with dirty ugly daughters

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