Does Genevieve Nnaji Know That She Is A Social Icon Or Is She Clueless?

Does Genevieve Nnaji Know That She Is A Social Icon Or Is She Clueless?

The most popular Nigerian actress is Genevieve Nnaji of Nollywood and she knows it.  But I doubt if she knows that she is more than a celebrity, but also a social icon in the Nigerian society.

Genevieve Nnaji has not reached the peak of her illustrious career, but she is already experiencing diminishing returns due to the poor management of her career by incompetent managers.

Many Nigerians love posing and posturing as artiste managers when they have little or no knowledge of artiste management and they will not admit their ignorance.  And it is common knowledge that most Nigerians hide their ignorance in the masquerade of arrogance as Genevieve Nnaji herself discovered that unqualified managers have been mismanaging and shortchanging her.

Genevieve Nnaji has lost millions of dollars due to her ignorance of the fact that she is a social icon and a successful brand.

Nicole Richie who has had a questionable IQ even knows that she is a social icon and her management makes thousands of dollars from selling her photographs alone.  Darling Paris Hilton knows she is a social icon and even though she is a rich heiress, she does not rest on her great Hilton fortune and has managers to manage her career as an actress and social icon.  Beyonce knows she is a social icon and her brands are worth millions of dollars.  But our Nigerian sweetheart, Genevieve Nnaji is left out of the whole business of social marketing her celebrity status.  The Lux Beauty Soap contract was like manna from heaven to her and ordinary N20,000, 000 (twenty million naira) meant a huge fortune to her.  But what did her management do to take advantage of the multiplier effect and spin-offs of her Lux contract?  Nothing.  Why?  They were ignorant of artiste management.  But they would not admit it.  And our sweet baby girl lost more than what she was even paid for being the model for the Lux Beauty Soap.

Poor artiste management can make an artiste to lose great fame and fortune as my friend Veronique Pierre lost the great offer to play the lead role in Faruk Lasaki’s Changing Faces that would have put her on the world stage.  The World Premiere of Changing Faces is taking place at the forthcoming Toronto International Film Festival in Canada where she has been a national figure skating celebrity.  Veronique sacked her managers who were the bad advisers who told her not go to Nigeria.  Faruk Lasaki got a proven British actress to play the role and another proven British actor played the lead actor .  Changing Faces is the most expected Nigerian film of 2007 by the film world.  Veronique Pierre would have been the toast of the film world in 2007.

I am not an artiste manager, even though I do not need a magnifying glass to tell a real artiste manager from a fake one.  As Jesus Christ always said, by their fruits you shall know them and not by their lip service or eye service in posing and posturing without achieving the goals for their artistes.  Artiste management is more than creating some cheap websites with flash intros for the ignorant artistes. 

Most of the actors and actresses in Nollywood are clueless about artiste management.

Three notable Nigerians can boost the career of Genevieve Nnaji.  And they are the following:

Dame Taiwo Ajai-Lycett who created the first artiste management company in Nigeria in 1978 and was my manager when she registered me as a model in my teens.  The publisher of This Day newspaper, Nduka Obiegbena was also a model in the late 70s and early 1980s.

Taiwo Ajai would have taken Genevieve Nnaji to greater heights in acting since she was a successful model and actress among the very best in the UK for so many years.  And she can still help Genevieve Nnaji if she would go and see Taiwo Ajai.

What you know is not enough, because whom you know and who knows you will open doors for you.

Modupe Ozolua can do great things for the career of Genevieve Nnaji, because she knows how to do so and she can pull all the strings from South Africa to the UK to the US.  Modupe knows the key players, since she has been with them in America for many years.  But Modupe may not do it; because the low levels of the IQ of most Nigerian artistes and so called celebrities put her off.  A passionate appeal could persuade her to do her best for Genevieve Nnaji.

The third person is, my darling Linda Ikeji, the publisher of the only glossy fashion, modeling, and beauty magazine, FM&B, in the West Coast of Africa and the CEO of the duly registered Black Doves in Lagos.  Because, Linda Ikeji knows more about artiste management than the last managers of Genevieve Nnaji and the other Nigerians posing and posturing as Artiste managers in Nigeria, the UK and US.

The best of Genevieve Nnaji is yet to come and until it comes, she has not reached the peak of her career.  And it about time that Genevieve Nnaji moves higher up the ladder of fame and fortune in the global stage of the silver screen.  Enough of going round and round in the recycle bin of Nollywood and join the rank and file of the best in Hollywood.
If Aishwarya Rai of Bollywood has made it to Hollywood, then our own Genevieve Nnaji of Nollywood can make it to Hollywood too.


By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
The Publisher/CEO
King of Kings Books International
Nigerian Times International

All rights reserved. No part of this article can be reproduced in any media without the permission of the author.

That Gene is a top artiste is of no doubt whether you are for her or against.
We are praying for her to make the right decisions and become the very best
that the good Lord made her to be in her line of work.

who cares ?

**Passing by**