First Bank pledges support for creative industry development

First Bank has committed to developing the creative industry and youth employment by sponsoring Kurunmi, a stage play, written by renowned author, Ola Rotimi.

The Executive Director of Retail Banking South Directorate, Oluseyi Oyefeso, revealed this at the showing of Kurunmi, a stage play, on Sunday at Terra Kulture, in Lagos.

Oyefeso, who spoke after the stage play, said, “The play is very exciting, it tells the story of the culture of our people for posterity. Why are we doing this? The elephant around you is to ensure that we preserve the culture of Nigeria. If we don’t tell and document our story, our history will be lost. The bank is there to help the art world to document this story for the younger generation.

“Look at the cast and crew of this play, those on the stage are a fraction of those behind, who have earned out of this. When you talk arts, a lot of people are involved. What we need to be thinking about in Nigeria is how to productively engage our youths.

“You can see the energy and the choreography that they displayed, amazing dance steps. We have to find a way to keep them engaged positively. This is to promote job creation, develop our economy, preserve our economy and tell our own stories. By facilitating this, the creative industry grows and as they grow, we are building our economy and that’s what this is about.”

The director of the stage play, Muyideen Oladapo, popularly known as Lala, said, “This is the story of our people and it is important that we tell it especially now that history is no longer being taught in schools. Telling this kind of story will help them connect to their roots.

“We all know what the economy is talking about and the level of productivity in the creative industry. We all know that theatre is doing a lot in people’s lives. It emulates our daily lives. Theatre is dying and in need of funding so what FirstBank has done is good.

“Some people don’t have jobs but are part of this production. It can help the economy to grow. If you look at the stage, you will see that about 80 per cent of them are youths, so if FirstBank and others are supporting the youth through the theatre, I think it is a good idea. We appreciate FirstBank and pray that they can continue doing something like this.”

The play was attended by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide  Sanwo-Olu.

The Executive Director of the play, Gboyega Akosile, who is also the Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to the Lagos State governor, in his comments at the end of the play said that the motivation for the show was to preserve culture and history for the younger generation.

“What we are doing is to continue to promote our culture via the arts because we found out that the art is really going down.  When we met in school, we had a group and said we needed to do something. For some of us, it was no longer a case of what we want to eat but what we want to contribute, what we want the future to be, especially for those coming behind us,” he said.

Kurunmi is a play written by Ola Rotimi and set in the Yoruba kingdom of Oyo.

It follows Kurunmi, a military leader and war general facing internal strife and external threats from imperial powers, Kurunmi, known for his martial prowess, becomes a central figure in the conflict, exploring themes of loyalty, betrayal and the clash between tradition and change.

The play was produced by Stage Crafts Studios and Film Production Limited, a theatre and film production company committed to fusing the boundaries of theatre and cinema and directed by Muyideen Oladipupo “Lala”, with a stellar cast including talented actors like Olawale Lampejo and Tunji Sotimirin.