'What XDS is all about'

By Tade Makinde

Ola

Asagba Olatunde, executive head of Xcel Digital Solutions, speaks to RMT on plans to make the outfit a major player in the entertainment industry. Excerpts:

What exactly is your outfit about?
WE are a multi-media organi-sation that’s into brand management, video production, etc. We are basically into entertainment and other allied areas of the industry.

In your company’s profile you promise to affect the entertainment industry positively. How do you plan to do that?
We have the personnel and equipment to carry out our plans for the entertainment industry,be it event organising and other programmes. For example, we have a model’s management outfit and we also handle advertisement. These events on their own are entertaining.

Because you manage a modelling outfit and handle entertainment, you think that makes XDS an entertainment company?
As earlier said, we are a multi-media organisation and the media is all about entertainment. What we do has a direct bearing on entertainment. We have equipment that ’ll make the dreams of scriptwriters, movie directors, etc, real. You can dream up a brilliant advert copy, its of no use if it can’t be visually translated. We deal with lots of entertainment buffs,so we are involved in entertainment somehow.

From Lagos to Ibadan, why this city?
Our investigation showed that Ibadan is very ripe to receive what we have to offer. It’s not only an historical city, but its fast growing and the market is there. There’s a lot we can do in providing digital solutions to its residents.

You say your vision is to be the best in Africa, how do you intend to carry that out?
Our first cardinal point is to enforce excellence. Once we are, the need to do better will make us rise faster, taking us to that regional level we hope to reach under a decade.

What’s your studio worth ?
Millions of course. We’ve expended that much because we believe in it. All high - tech too, but the exact amount wouldn't be disclosed.

Should we expect celebrities at the official opening next Saturday?
Well, what we have in mind for the opening is something formal, though not totally. It’ll be more of a homely event as we want all our guests to have fun while we exhibit the studio. There’ll also be an interactive guided tours of our office.

How old are you in the business?
Our Lagos office in Ogba will be three years soon. We started small but we intend to increase our coverage in terms of equipment procurement. We also plan to open at least two more branches before the end of this year.

Monye ready for monthly gigs in Ibadan

Stella

A new dawn has begun for Stella Ada Monye as she begins regular gigs at Options Centre, Ibadan, last Friday of every month. In a release sent to RMT, the singer would pay courtesy visits to the Olubadan of Ibadan, the governor of the state, and the Oluyole Hospital where she was born.

Since her emergence on the music scene in 1984, Monye has maintained a steady career that’s had its share of hot moments, though she’s never gone cold. At the Horizonte World Festival of Arts and Culture in Switzerland, she played the role of Oya, Sango’s wife ,in a Nigerian drama.

She came back from the tour to start a career in music and released an album titled "Mr. Wright". Her innocence, infections smile, and vocal ability, placed “Oko Mi Ye,” the hit single, on radio rotation, announcing her arrival to Nigerians.

In 2004, Stella took a break from music to join a Foundation to do social service. The Foundation gave her an opportunity to engage in human rights activities via music. Three years later, she quit to release another album. “This album is a complete labour of love,” says Monye.