With Justin Akpovi- Esade
T4T read with so much bemusement, the statement by the Nigeria police authorities claiming the trending ‘ Nor Dey Gree For Anybody’ slang was a call to ‘ rebellion’ against the Nigerian State or something. Really?
For the avoidance of doubt, T4T got to know about the mantra when he saw a video, during the Christmas period, of a little girl who held a firework in her hand with so much fear as it ignited with a loud bang. After the first loud report, she threw it down out of fear and the three other loud reports made her jump a bit to the side, her eyes closed. She then realised that she had achieved a feat most older folks achieve and with so much courage and satisfaction on her face, she faced the camera and declared: “Dis year, we nor go gree for anybody!”
T4T found the video very funny and watched it repeatedly. He never knew it was a trending slang online until he heard people say it repeatedly even offline.
THE battle for Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards ( AMVCA) has begun, as the organisers, MultiChoice Nigeria and Africa Magic called on all film makers from across the African continent to submit their movies and films publicly exhibited or broadcast for the 10th edition of the award ceremony.
Multichoice made the call in a statement on Monday. According to the Head of Content and Channels West Africa, Multichoice, Mrs Busola Tejumola, films and movies to be submitted should be strictly those publicly exhibited or broadcast from December 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023. She added that the entry portal, which opened on January 15, will close on February 14.
According to Tejumola all films
But when the national police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, last week warned against using the phrase, T4T at first thought it was a joke until he saw the video of the police press conference.
“The new slogan for 2023 and 2024 for our young ones is ‘ No dey gree for anybody’. We have been informed by intelligence that this slogan is coming from a revolutionary sector that may likely cause problems across the country,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“No dey gree for anybody is being seen as a normal talk, but in the security community, we have seen it as a very, very dangerous slogan.”
Dear oga Police spokesman, “we nor go gree for anybody dis year” is nothing but a ‘ cruise’ talk online and has nothing to do with any form of irrational and or ‘ rebellious’ action of anybody or group of people. Your ‘ intelligence’ on this failed; the think tank behind your intelligence department should improve and focus on how to find out where kidnappers take their victims to and conveniently collect millions of naira as ransoms almost on a aired in cinemas or otherwise, made- fortelevision movies and television series, as long as they meet the terms and conditions, are eligible. She added that as criteria to enter the awards, all film makers must prepare the movie for consideration with online submission through: https:// www. africamagic. tv/ AMVCA.
Tejumola noted that the performance awards had undergone streamlining and would fall under the categories of ‘ Best Actor’ or ‘ Best Actress’ in leading or supporting roles. “The winners will be determined by the jury, deviating from the previous audience voting system. The jury consists of experienced filmmakers from across the continent and led by a head juror, who will determine the winners in the 16 non- voting categories. daily basis across the country. The police intelligence unit should use the energy it used to swiftly tag what some young people are using to kill time on Social Media as a call to rebellion, to fish out all the dangerous armed robbers terrorising hapless citizens on our highways daily.
If ‘ We nor go gree for anybody dis year’ is a clandestine call to anarchy, this country would have long gone under because every other year, there have been new slogans youths and even the elderly use such as “No Shaking”, “No Kain”, “No Lele”, “No long thing”, “Jump am pass”, “shift”, “Waka” etc etc. The list is endless.
‘ We nor go gree for anybody dis year’ has come, it will go. Anybody that hides under a slogan induced by youthful exuberance to commit any form of crime was a criminal before; his actions ( or inaction) have nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the ‘ We nor go gree for anybody dis year’ slogan.
Come to think of it, this year should be a year of Nigerians not ‘ greeing’ for any form of ignorance, religious and or political manipulation, poverty and hardship.
This year, Nigerians especially the youth should ‘ gree’ for hardwork and a crime free nation.
DURING the week, T4T was watching a Nollywood movie, titled, My Aso Ebi Girls, on Pay TV. Directed by Darlington Ogbodo and featuring Queeneth Hilbert, among others, something told T4T to check the movie information/ synopsis, and this was what he saw. “If only we can learn to sow our coats according to our materials instead of our sizes...”
T4T had to carefully read through the synopsis again and the ‘ sow’ in it stuck out like a sore thumb. How on earth would an adult who no doubt would claim to have attended even a secondary school use ‘ sow’ in a place where he is talking about a coat? Would he or she use ‘ sew’ when he is talking about planting yam then?
T4T had asked this question repeatedly: who writes the synopsis of Nollywood movies on DSTV? The producers or someone working in the Pay TV outfit?