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Funmi Iyanda
Lagos, Nigeria
Funmi Iyanda is a multi award-winning producer and broadcast journalist. She is the CEO of Ignite Media and Executive Director of Creation Television
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Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Hired, Tired or Fired?

I am yet to see Apprentice Africa with Biodun Sobanjo so l don't know what to make of this scathing review. Is this true?

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

well i think the write up is glaring prejudiced with the description of lagos alone. I love watching Apprentice African because the challenges and taske are the usual challenges every business / entrepreneur suffers in aafrica. Biodun Shobanjo is the best boss i've seen so far and being far from arrogant, he acts the way a mentor should. Its advisable for the writer to turn off the television next time on any programme especially nigerian before given an uninformed review that is out off should i say hate. please don't hate the player hate the game!

Anonymous said...

I wish you had watched at least an episode of appretince b4 you gave unnecesary press to this obvously biased and unobjective write up... i cant say that i'm surprised cos what i can read in the tone of the writer is 'oh god, why is it in nigeria instead of S or kenya?'
He says the show is held with contempt by its cntestants? yeah the ones who get booted out!! Mr world bank consultant and actor omar got booted out because he didnt lead by example,,,, u dnt give orders to ur team! u get in the fecking trenches with them!!
then he says it needs to show homegrown capitalism- if selling unecessary items such as football in fast moving traffic is not 'homgrown capitalism' ,i dont know...
what i consider most absurd is that he compares shobanjo and trump and then nails the former for not having a large enough wallet or a golf course... the fact that shobanjo listens to his assistants seems to vex this writer- dude put things in context- shobanjo is very successful in his own right and can give a lesson or 2 on running a business- u cant buy experience or business acumen andany smart contestant will keep an ear to the ground....
i hope this weird writer is not trying to tell us tht he will rather see the ugly cabs in Lagos to feel better about whatever country his from.. cos we all know about the crime rates and hidden poverty some of the eastern and sothern african countries dont want us to see...
he may have made avalid point about the objectives of the show, but it certainly doesnt read like nollywood flick to me nor am i reminded of jerry springer... if anything smacks like a script to me, its testupid shows like the bachelor, temptation island, big brother celebrity and the plethora of MTV 'reality' shows that reads 'scripted' to me...
can only say this after reading that write up-BEEEEEEEEEEF

PS funmi, please try catch an episode or 2 urself b4 giving air to the 'scathing' write up... it didnt read scathing to me so much as 'Bad belle'

cheers

JudithAdeola

Funmi Iyanda said...

@judithadeola anonymous;-), l have been trying to catch Apprentice but not been able to, worse case scenario, l will get the producers (friends of mine) to send me a copy. I do not have to watch the show to post a review on it, it is not my opinion. As a media professional, l know that good reviews do not necessarily equal viewership. Being thin skinned about criticism no matter how unfair is also counter productive. Like you l found the tone of the review "playa hating" and thought posting it will generate conversations on what appears to be barely concealed animosity towards Nigeria on the continent. As they say, all publicity is good publicity, l read this review and all l want to do is watch the show.

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen the apprentice but this review certainly sounds like the writer is simply bitter.
Too bad, Nigeria is the one hosting it, he should jump.
And why does he keep referring to Nollywood, yes most of our movies are cheap flicks, but Nollywood still leads Africa in film.
South Africa is busy shooting films that show Africa as a suffering nation cos they know that's what the Western world wants, I fell asleep watching Tsotsi.
Nollywood tells our stories. Apprentice Africa probably does same.
So dear Mr.reviewer should take a hike or give credible reviews devoid of obvious BEEEEEEEEF as one of the anons put it.

wellsbaba said...

nomatter what comment auntie funmi you gotta see it for urself but well,I think the writer does have some beef though he's got a couple of points but he did exaggerate!

Anonymous said...

you can catch the recaps from the show's website or thru bellanaija's page i think...

i dont think i'm being thin skinned about it, so not sure about the counterproductive-ness angle...i was skeptical about the show myself till i watched a recap(the football selling one) with my husband and we were pleasantly impressed.

u def. hit the nail on the head when u said u cld read the thinly veiled animosity...personally, would read 'A' b4 putting up 'B''s commentary about it or at least having 'C''s take on it... that way we all get a well rounded view

not sure why i left such a long comment tho :@ guess thats what a lunch break at ur desk does to you...

JudithAdeola

p.s. only reason one is 'anon' is because i'm trying to sign in with a google account or the OpenID thing...long tin

cheers
*geez, this is also long*

Anonymous said...

First off, is this a reutable publication? I tried to look up info about TradingMarkets under "About Us", but there's nothing there. Not to mention that the article has no byline. Hmmm. Finally, just as with most if not all Naija publications, i see the copy editor is either lazy, doesnt know what he ought to do, or is simply non-existent.

Having said that, i really can't comment on the review; i haven't seen it, and if i did i wouldn't take it seriously. I am generally not impressed by wholehearted transplanting of 'away-ian" shows, instead of developing local concepts, content, and ideas.

Anonymous said...

I strongly disagree with the writer. I think he is overly and unecessarily critical. I have watched every single episode and I have thoroughly enjoyed them as much as I enjoy watching apprentice with donald trump and alan sugar.

How can he say the contestants do not take the show seriously citing what Omar said as an example? Anyone who watched that episode would know and agree that omar had to be fired and I even thought when he made the comments about his cologne and gender balance he was just joking!

I think the writer has beef for the show - may be he applied and he was not chosen! :).

In my opinion, they have done a good job with the show and I know that it will only get better from here.

if u have not seen the show yet, you berra! NTA 8pm- 9pm on Tuesdays, 9pm- 10pm on Silverbird on Tuesdays. Repeats on Friday NTA 11pm - 12pm. Yes! I am an apprentice addict!

Anonymous said...

The review though thinly veiled in truth is obviously biased. Comparing any African country to the United States is counter-productive and daft, so also comparing the original version of The Apprentice and it's African counterparts. There is NOTHING wrong with having indigenous African elements to the show. That's where I always disagree with my east African brethren, STOP TRYING TO COPY THE WEST EXACTLY. BE WHO YOU ARE, YOU'LL NEVER EVER EVER EVER BE LIKE THEM so be the best "African" you can be.

I could be a lot more politically incorrect than I've already been but I think my anger(not at the criticism but at the blatant anti-Nigerian sentiment) is duly expressed already.

Disorganized metropolis? Well It's a metropolis owned by blacks for blacks. Try that in East African first, and then we can talk. I looked for the writer's name but couldn't find it.

Anonymous said...

The review though thinly veiled in truth is obviously biased. Comparing any African country to the United States is counter-productive and daft, so also comparing the original version of The Apprentice and it's African counterparts. There is NOTHING wrong with having indigenous African elements to the show. That's where I always disagree with my east African brethren, STOP TRYING TO COPY THE WEST EXACTLY. BE WHO YOU ARE, YOU'LL NEVER EVER EVER EVER BE LIKE THEM so be the best "African" you can be.

I could be a lot more politically incorrect than I've already been but I think my anger(not at the criticism but at the blatant anti-Nigerian sentiment) is duly expressed already.

Disorganized metropolis? Well It's a metropolis owned by blacks for blacks. Try that in East African first, and then we can talk. I looked for the writer's name but couldn't find it.

Apmis said...

Hi Funmi,
I read the review the day it was published. First and foremost notice that is done in a trading (investment) magazine. It is really biased! Africa is not america! Simple and short. everyone has his own view about how the program should go but the guys have done a good job. I keep a blog onthe show here Appprentice Africa.
Omar would be given an interview soon on the blog. I find that a lot of people mistook his comments on the show.

Habeeb said...

I only caught the show once or twice and so far so good its not bad.

wellsbaba said...

omo anonymous,u are really taking this issue seriously oo...I think i would reread the article and come back to give an indepth analysis....but one thing for sure is the writer is bais(though I think there's some spec of truth in what he has written)

Anonymous said...

What is he talking about??? Although I haven't watched Apprentice Africa it is so clear to me that he's biased and not well informed. I have been a fan of Donald Trump version of "The Apprentice" since it started showing and I clearly remember that there was an episode meeting "Snoop" - yes "Snoop Doggy Dog" was a reward- so what's wrong with meeting Tuface?

Funmi Iyanda said...

@adeola, a friend once told me never explain, "your friends don't need it, you enemies wont believe you". l believe you;-).

@all, l MUST see the show period.

wellsbaba said...

there are alot of things i would have loved to say but i just changed my mind.anywais I must add trump is a better boss than shobanjo...he does have a commandin fluency n projects more seriousness than shobanjo.He know better how to get the attention of the viewers....all d shots of his symbol of wealth are not for nothing!he's got that charisma n persona but kudos to shobanjo,his tasks are home grown and quite challenging

Sugabelly said...

unfortunately th review is spot on. after watching a fe episodes i got just the same impression. it seemed terribly fake and put on to me

O.A.Eddy said...

The writer of that article seems to have a lot of beef with Nigerians and particularly Nollywood.
Now comparing Tu Face to 50 cents is just a no, no. Tu face is the MAN!!!

Andd I like Shobanjo a LOT, even more than I like Donald Trump.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I couldn't even finish reading the 'review' - it was just so BADLY written. A person who can't even put thoughts down coherently surely can't expect me to take his/her criticisms seriously. Yuck!