The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Entertainment becomes career choice for young Nigerians Posted: 15 Dec 2013 09:25 PM PST "From dancing, I get money to pay my school fees and other bills. I have property and I have helped my parents financially to put up their residential building in Lagos," the 26-year-old told AFP. "I plan to open a dance school in the future. It is a dream and I know it will not die." Adoh's choice of career may seem unusual given that she is also studying for a degree in international relations. But it is a reflection of an increased interest in the performance arts in Nigeria and a sign that the country is getting serious about its entertainment industry. Nigeria is investing heavily in developing the sector, recognising that a more professional approach could make it more internationally successful, providing jobs and — hopefully — prosperity for those that work in it. The World Bank is backing a government drive to boost the sector, which has seen $200 million (RM646.7 million) pledged to help boost the country's popular film industry, Nollywood. It is thought that properly run, Nollywood alone could support an estimated one million new jobs. Rita, who trains with Nigeria's best-known dancer and choreographer, Kafayat Oluwatoyin Ameh or "Kaffy", is part of the process, eyeing a career in entertainment as a viable and potentially money-spinning choice. She admitted, though, that her Roman Catholic parents were strongly against her dancing when she first started, reflecting traditional feelings that study and hard work are the path to secure a steady, well-paying job. "At the beginning, my parents were opposed to it. But today, their attitude has changed towards it when good things started happening to me and they have benefited from the spin-off," she said. Nigerians' new-found interest in entertainment can also be seen in the huge success of a number of television talent shows, which follow the format made popular in places such as Britain and The United States. "I would like to make a lot of money, in fact millions, from dancing," said Victor Okunbor, 19, who has recently left college and started dance lessons. "I would like to be famous like Kaffy," he added at Ameh's Lagos dance school. "I expect dancing to fetch me money and fame," chipped in Chimelie Okeke, a 20-year-old university undergraduate. "I currently generate some little money from dancing and I see my current training under Kaffy as a good platform to realise my dream." Okunbor and Okeke's attitude is a common one, reflecting a desire to show off hidden talents and try to get their name in lights. But in places such as Nigeria, where poverty is widespread, the stakes are a lot higher, with success in such shows a potential escape from the rigours of daily life. Last year, an eight-year-old girl became an instant celebrity after dancing her way to the 10-million-naira (RM200,000) top prize on the first "Nigeria's Got Talent" show, beating a host of older dancers, singers, magicians, comedians and gymnasts. Seven members of the same family meanwhile won six million naira on "Maltina Dance All", while singer Olawale Ayodele Ojo landed five million naira, a car and a recording contract on "MTN Project Fame". The 25-year-old agronomy student was at the time kicking his heels because of a nationwide pay dispute between university lecturers and the government. His three nearest rivals also went home with new cars and cash rewards running into millions of naira. At dance schools like Kaffy's, more young people are seeking tuition, either to help supplement their existing income or win richer glories. But Anna Okorejior, an 18-year-old ICT engineering student, said dancing also has another purpose — keeping young people on the straight and narrow. "More and more youths are going into dancing and other forms of entertainment now because they keep them busy in doing positive things," she said. "For the youths, dancing is better than going into vices such as robbery, drugs, prostitution, fraud and vices." Bosun Adekogbe, a music teacher at the Obafemi Awolowo University in southwest city of Ile-Ife, agreed. He dated the rise in dancing as a career choice back to the 1970s, when musician King Sunny Ade began using dancers in his live shows. "Through this, many people came to see the future prospect of professional dancer. Many youths are making their fortunes through professional dance and dancing competitions," he said. "It is better than armed robbery or joining the 'yahoo boys' (scammers)." - AFP, December 16, 2013. |
| How tiny Singapore became big player in match-fixing Posted: 15 Dec 2013 07:45 PM PST The arrests of two Singaporean men over a scandal in Britain has again thrown a spotlight on the Southeast Asian city-state, known for its cleanliness, strict law and order and high number of millionaires. Despite such advantages, Singapore is continually linked to match-rigging around the world, testament to a network that is proving hard to eradicate — even when leading members are under arrest or police protection. Chann Sankaran, 33, and Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan, 43, were taken in by British police this month after a videotaped sting and accused of rigging lower-tier English games. The arrests come just months after Singapore launched its biggest crackdown on alleged match-fixers and locked up leading suspects, including purported mastermind Dan Tan. Singapore's Wilson Raj Perumal, a notorious fixer who was jailed in Finland and is now under police protection in Hungary, denied any involvement in the English scam after one of the suspects called him his "boss". Reports said Perumal, who says he used to work with Dan Tan and has fixed games around the world, was also named by investigators probing a multi-million dollar fixing ring in Australian state football. The latest developments are part of a chain of events set in motion more than 20 years ago, when Perumal started fixing games in Singapore before moving abroad to escape the attentions of Singaporean police. "These Singaporean criminals recognised that there was money to be made in match-fixing at the low levels, and later translated this national skill, if I could say that, to the global platform," said Chris Eaton, director of the Doha-based International Centre for Sport Security. Eaton, a former Interpol officer and ex-head of security at football's world body Fifa, calls Singapore the "epicentre of gambling in Southeast Asia". Easy international transport, a passport accepted around the world and fluency in English and Mandarin have helped Singaporean fixers spread their influence abroad with the support of external investors, most believed to be from China. According to writer Neil Humphreys, author of the football-based novel, "Match Fixer", Singapore's fixation with gambling makes game-rigging hard, if not impossible, to bring under control. The island off the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia has a popular horse-racing track and its two casinos are among the hottest in the world, raking in a combined total of $5.85 billion (RM18.8 billion) in 2012. The Singapore Totalisator Board, which manages the country's two legal football betting and lottery companies, saw revenues of nearly $800 million in the year to March 2013, from a total population of just 5.4 million. There are also dozens of illegal football betting outfits. Gambling is so entrenched that to keep them away from the casinos, the government has levied an $80 charge on Singapore nationals just to get through the doors. When there is a road accident, locals take note of the stricken cars' licence plates to use them in a four-digit lottery, thinking the numbers have now used up all their bad luck and will bring good fortune to the punter. "No more burying our heads in the sand, Singapore is a nation addicted to gambling, as is much of the region," said writer Neil Humphreys, author of the football novel "Match Fixer". "I no longer tell people that I have written a book on match-fixing or that I regularly write about football," he added. "When I did in the past, the initial response was — without fail — to ask for betting tips on upcoming games. That response is uniquely Singaporean." Humphreys added that given its long association, match-fixing scandals have little "shock factor" in Singapore, meaning there's scant public pressure for action. "Authorities are doing more than ever before when it comes to match-fixing, particularly in Singapore, but the sad reality is... not enough people care," he said. "Match-fixing is just not a national issue that particularly registers with the average Singaporean. It barely registers at all." International police agency Interpol said a "united and global" effort was needed to fight a crime which cuts across borders and jurisdictions. "Each time arrests in connection with match-fixing are made anywhere in the world it makes headline news, but this is probably because they are still too rare an occurrence," a spokeswoman told AFP. Investigative journalist Declan Hill, author of "The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime", said it was a problem that Dan Tan and three associates had been arrested under a law that allows for indefinite detention without trial. "The sad truth is that Singaporean authorities have to man up and do the decent thing: arrest the criminals, put them on public trial — with all the embarrassment that will cause — and stop the fixing," he told AFP. No charges have been filed against businessman Dan Tan, full name Tan Seet Eng, and Singapore police declined to comment on the recent arrests in Britain. "I don't see how government regulation and syndicate busts can change a culture where sporting events, festive occasions, family gatherings are often built around the betting shop, a pack of cards or a mahjong table," added Humphreys. "This is a culture that goes back centuries. Arresting a few match-fixers won't change anything." - AFP, December 16, 2013. |
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