First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced its sponsorship of ‘A Deep Dive Into History’, a theatre production from the Duke of Shomolu (DOS) Production House, spearheaded by Joseph Edgar. A deep dive into history comprises two exciting stage plays – Aremu and Awo, showing from the 22nd of August and will run every Sunday till the 12th of September 2021 at the legendary Glover Memorial Hall, Marina, Lagos.
Aremu is a powerful depiction of the life and times of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR. The play takes us through his birth, the errant stages of his adulthood, exploring his peasant background, his travails as a freedom and human rights crusader and other milestones. Aremu is a rich cultural play that preaches hope to the audience, that they can be whoever they want to be. The play was written by Prof. Ahmed Yerima, the former DG of the National theatre and National Troupe.
Awo on the other hand is a play that
seeks to reintroduce the dying values of loyalty, integrity, vision building
amongst others to the modern-day audience who seem to have lost their way in
the fast and seedy lifestyle of modern-day Nigeria. This play is set to be
directed by Mr. Makinde Adeniran FTA - Lagos State Chairman of the National
Association of Nigerian Theatre Practitioners and is bringing 26 years of local
and international experience to the play.
With the sponsorship of similar
socio-cultural plays in the creative arts industry such as Ayinla, Moremi,
Makaliki, Duke of Shomolu Production’s Play (Emotan and Oba Esugbayi), October 1st
(a movie) and the Calabar Festival, FirstBank’s sponsorship of ‘Duke of Shomolu
Productions’ affirms the bank’s continued support for the development of arts
in Nigeria under its First@arts initiative.
First@arts is FirstBank’s platform for
consolidating all its efforts in the arts, supporting the entire value chain of
the creative arts, providing much-needed financing and advisory support,
showcasing and facilitating the successes of the industry, and enabling
customers to explore and access the wealth of opportunities the creative
industry has to offer.
Achieving these and a host of many
others have been implemented through strategic partnerships with organisations
like the British Council, Live Theatre Lagos, Freedom Park, Terra Kulture, and
the Cross Rivers State Government (Calabar Festival), among others.
Expressing her delight on the plays, Folake
Ani-Mumuney, GH, Marketing & Corporate Communications, First Bank of
Nigeria Limited said, “For over 127 years, FirstBank has been at the forefront of
nation-building; enabling Nigeria and Nigerians through resourceful
partnerships to build the Nigerian creative industry value chain, especially
the arts and entertainment sub-sectors. We remain proud of this sponsorship
that creates an excellent platform to showcase Nigeria to the world as being
part of a collective goal to continually keep dreams and hope alive; holding
strong to our commitment to reignite cultural heritage.”
“Without a doubt, the theatre remains
part of the creative and entertainment industry value-chain across the globe
and indeed a powerful channel to drive our heritage and culture, which
resonates with our legacy of being woven into the fabric of society.”
The Duke of Shomolu Productions is a
positive disruptive force that has been designed to aggressively push the
agenda of “telling stories through performances”. In the last three years, the
platform has engineered and fostered on Nigerian theatre audiences, some of the
most eponymous works attracting over 50,000 people, attending their
productions. The DOS production is a leading brand in the Performing Arts
sector in Nigeria and was established in 2018.
According to research disclosed in PWC’s
recent Entertainment & Media Outlook report, Nigeria’s entertainment market
is expected to rise from $4.46 billion in 2018 to a $10.5 billion market by the
end of 2023. In addition, with this initiative and other sponsored events,
FirstBank is committed to strengthening its contribution to the development of
the entertainment industry in the country.
About FirstBank
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in
West Africa and the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria
for over 125 years.
With over 750 business locations and over 76,000 Banking Agents
spread across 99% of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, FirstBank
provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to
serve its over 15 million customers. The Bank has international presence
through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in
the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as
well as a Representative Office in Beijing.
The Bank has been nimble at promoting digital payment in the
country and has issued over 10million cards, the first bank to achieve such milestone
in the country. FirstBank’s cashless transaction drive extends to having more
than 9million people on its USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally
renowned *894# Banking code and over 3 million people on FirstMobile platform.
Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built
relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate
governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership. Over
the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in
infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the
Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes. With its
global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the
vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally
competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner.
FirstBank has been named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” six
times in a row (2011 – 2016) by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of
the Financial Times Group; “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” for seven consecutive
years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail
Financial Services Awards and “Best Bank in Nigeria” by Global Finance for 15
years. Our brand purpose is to always put customers, partners and stakeholders
at the heart of our business, even as we standardise customer experience and
excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with
our brand vision “To be the partner of first choice in building your future”.
Our brand promise is to always deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value
and excellence. This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion,
partnership and people, to position You First in every respect.
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