The Entertainment Festival (TEFFEST) held on November 29, 2019 at The Podium Event Center, Lekki, Lagos. Convened by ace Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, the event is aimed at promoting the possibilities in the business of entertainment and featured panel sessions, breakout networking sessions, exhibitions and more.
TEFFEST kicked off with an opening speech by the convener, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, before moving on to the first session of the day – the “Young People’s Conference”. It featured actress and former Big Brother Naija housemate, Bisola Aiyeola; actor Alex Ekubo, singer and producer Captain E and Malik Afegbua, CEO of Slick Media.
Moderated by Omotola, the panel focused mainly on access to the entertainment industry, launching a career, business opportunities and how to get started in the entertainment business. The conversations drew from the personal experiences of Bisola Aiyeola and ALex Ekubo as younger entertainment professionals.
Responding to a question on how to become successful in the Nigerian entertainment industry, Bisola said, “I auditioned for Big Brother just after having my daughter – she was about 9 days old – and I didn’t get into the house until she was 7. So there is no one way to do it, just stay true to yourself.”
A Q&A session followed this panel session with the first breakout networking session of the day, sponsored by Google, following immediately after.
There were two exhibition areas at TEFFEST. An indoor one which featured brands like Toke Makinwa’s TM Luxury and Juliet Ibrahim’s Shades By Juliet. The outdoor area hosted event sponsors AXA Mansard, e-commerce platform Oshedaa, PwC and MTN.
The second panel session of the day was the “Veteran’s Conference”. This session was designed for older entertainment professionals and was moderated by MC and actor Richmond Osuji. On the panel were Abubakar Yakubu, Secretary General of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Efe Omoregbe, CEO of Now Muzik and 2Face’s manager; Idris Olorunnimbe, CEO of Temple Management Company and lawyer, Simeon Okoduwa.
As the name implies, this session focused on the older professionals in the industry and explored current, ongoing issues plaguing the various professional bodies, welfare of entertainment professionals and royalty collection. The Q&A session also allowed for comments from some industry veterans like Zeb Ejiro.
The last session of the day was the “Industry Conference” moderated by Frank Edoho. The panelist where Chijioke Uwagbofe, Head, Entertainment desk, PwC; pioneer comedian Alibaba; Ayo Subair, Chairperson of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS); Uzoma Onwuchukwa, Executive Director at EbonyLife; Jude Odinkonigbo, Partner at Alliance Firm and Okechukwu Madu, who was representing Uche Nwuka, Head of the Creative Department at the Bank of Industry.
The session focused on the opportunities in the entertainment industry, the factors that could limit earning potential and other sub-markets of the entertainment industry that are yet to be explored. It looked at tax rebates and issues around tax payments, the many aspects of putting together a show or event.
The day ended with a silent disco party featuring Captain E, Sandra DJ Casper and Benie Macaulay. To cap off the programme, there was a ceremonial closing and fireworks display before the conveners closing speech. Omotola promised the event will return next year.