***speaks on award of scholarships to 300 Students, Music concert
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
JUWON Olorunipa, popularly known as JUMABEE, a Performing Artist and Special Adviser on Arts and Culture to Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has solicited collaboration of Media professionals in Kogi to change the negative narratives about the State.
Jumabee, a Singer, Songwriter, Actor, Recording and Performing Artist made the call in a chat with journalists at the Press Center of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Tuesday in Lokoja.
He expressed regrets that 80 per cent of people that talk about Kogi from outside the state have their perception and judgement based on hearsay against the real situation.
Juwon Olorunipa boasted that among states in the North-Central Geo-political zone, Kogi remains the best but the narrative outside the state is negative saying, “You don’t assume what you don’t know until you witness or experience it.”
He commended journalists in the state for believing in Kogi saying, “It is one thing to be in a space to do your job, it is another thing to be in that space and not like what you do.
“I see all the efforts you people have been doing to change the narrative. I see how much you have been writing stories for people to see what we have in Kogi”, he said.
He promised improved Media coverage for Kogi State, expressing excitement about disseminating information and suggesting quarterly meetings to enhance collective efforts with government involvement.
On the Jumabee Concert and achievements in the entertainment industry, Olorunipa said he initiated “Jumabee Inspires” six years ago as an alternative to typical birthday celebrations, aiming to add value to his community.
He explained that the initiative started as a small event but quickly grew adding that a key component of it is the platform that has awarded scholarships to 300 students, across three senatorial districts of the state.
The programme provides 60 annual scholarships, 20 students from the three Senatorial Districts and it is being managed by the National Association of Kogi State Students (NAKOSS) in the bid to ensure a genuine and apolitical process.
So, Jumabee Inspires doesn’t just end with the concerts. It’s usually a three-day event. We do at times charity march, when we have that time, we extend our hands to prisons for reforms, you know.
“We visited over four prisons in the last five years, and we go with our entire team to donate the materials that we can. It doesn’t just end there. We go as far as rehabilitating orphanages.
“We give our own support to orphanages, the little we can, and in five years, we’ve done over six orphanages in Kogi State.
On the final day of the event which is usually June 21st, “we take over 40 to 60 home-based talents from the comedy sector, to the movie sector, to the acting sector, to the music sector, and we bring our colleagues from Lagos to spice up the raw energy.
We’ve been into affiliations, like a partnership deal with one of the biggest TV stations in Nigeria, HIP TV, in the last three years. And last year, they gave us over 15 slots, with over 57 million Nigerians watching us from Kogi State.
By God’s grace, this year, they’ve increased the slots to 30, and I’m happy to announce that over 62 African countries will be watching Kogi from Jumabee Inspires this year. (Ends)