About six years after he emerged first
runner-up in the 2008 Amstel Malt Box Office reality TV show Season
Four, Ajibade Omisade, aka MC Bade Smart, appears to be in dire need of
help.
With considerable grounding in
entertainment business, one would have expected the young man to have
‘arrived’ in the Nigerian sense of the expression. Unfortunately, all he
has been getting for his struggles have been peanuts, as well as a few
verbal recommendations from well-meaning individuals that are impressed
with his work.
Many years after completing the
mandatory national youth service, Omisade is still out in the cold and
barely able to scrape up a living.
“Survival has not been easy at all. It
is still not easy with me at the moment. I manage the peanuts I get from
working at the Internet radio to keep body and soul together.
Sometimes, when I am lucky enough to be engaged as a master of ceremony
at weddings or get a role in a new soap or movie, they help solve just a
fraction of my problems. I’m basically living from hand to mouth at
present,” he says.
Initially, the outcome of AMBO had
opened up doors to the young man and nudged him toward a bright future.
Having appeared in a couple of TV soap operas, such as the popular Fuji
House of Commotion and Living in Lagos, nothing seemed to stand between
him and the fulfilment of his dreams.
Within a short time of hitting the
limelight, Omisade, who is a graduate of Mass Communications at Bowen
University, had blended smoothly into the entertainment scene, anchored a
few shows for Coca-Cola, Eco Bank and a few other corporate
organisations.
On the surface, the going seemed to be
good and there was never a dull moment for the smooth talking ex AMBO
star, who currently works with Concert Radio, an Internet-based radio
station, as an on-air presenter. But the attendant remuneration has
never been commensurate with the amount of effort he has put in to earn a
decent living.
“It is tough paying my bills,” he complains, bitterly.
Somehow, Omisade’s commitment, his
boundless energy and usually busy schedules, have failed to translate
into a fat bank account and an enduring brand.
“Although I am currently looking for
more and tougher challenges that can make me stronger and better, people
always ask me why, despite my exposure and experience. I haven’t broken
into the entertainment industry proper. What they don’t know is that
many of the jobs I have handled in the past are only sacrificial ones
that were meant fetch me a badly needed recognition and to open up more
doors of opportunity for me,” he says.
0 Comments