Adesuwa Omoruan is dubbed the "queen of selfies" by her siblings. She confesses to taking more selfies than regulars photographs. When Adesuwa Omoruan was a child, she never thought or imagined herself becoming a broadcaster; it was the last thing she ever thought of becoming. As far as she was concerned, the lifestyle of reporters was not up to par with the kind of life she wanted, as the young dreamer that she was at the time. She wanted a life that was rich and full of the best life could offer, although she wasn't seeking a life that was necessarily flamboyant. "I just felt that journalist were not paid enough... My idea of a journalist wasn't just working at that time. Sometimes they looked very stressed, very few of them had cars... Growing up, I had this picture of what I wanted to be in life..." She had wanted to become a banker! As a child, she had taken trips to the bank with her mother on several occasions to cash-in her moth
In 2012, while I was in filmmaking diapers, Fiyin Gambo was carving a niché for himself. Little did he know of what awaited him in the future.
This prodigious and groundbreaking filmmaker was born Fiyin Joshua Gambo in Lagos, Nigeria on the 22nd of February, in the nineties.
At a time in his life, Fiyin Gambo had wanted to be an Aeronautic Engineer. He had even gone as far as being awarded a scholarship from Bristol Helicopter to study PPL- Private Piloting when he was sixteen and in his final year in high school, but his destiny was tied somewhere else entirely- the world of moving pictures.
This architecturally savvy youngster was on his way to changing the face of Nollywood.
In his high school days at the Murtala Muhammad Airport Secondary School, Gambo and his friends had experimented with photography, but never took it seriously. He had started Cliq Photos with his friends back then. It was as a freshman in college that his journey into filmmaking took concrete shape.
Gambo enrolled into Covenant University to study Civil Engineering. There he met his high school senior, Osaze MacPeters who had taught him photography. He had always had a passion for it. Gambo spent his 100L summer holiday studying about animation. He quickly recognized a void he wanted to fill."I had a problem to solve in films."
That problem was the lackluster quality of Nigerian movies. So as a freshman in college, Gambo reinvented himself. He got together with some friends and started to make movies. He started his company Cliq Media to address the gap in the Nigerian Film Industry
His first major hit was a campaign video for the last election, titled "Rise up". Two weeks after the video went live on YouTube, it recorded 3000 views. That was a motivating factor for Gambo.
"I spent close to three years of my life learning to be a director."
With the success of Rise up, Gambo decided to go further. He did a short film on child trafficking. Then in his 200L, he studied 3D animation. He felt good animation good be done in Africa. So, he partnered with a friend to do a live action commercial which they showed to large audience.
"People reacted to what we wanted them to react to... We just wanted to showcase technology."
Gambo spoke of studying directing online. He had armed himself by watching numerous YouTube videos, honing his talent for photography. He had always had an inclination for art but his passion for architecture helped suppress that, until he found his true calling. Here is how he described it, "what God has called me to do is to fuse science and art".
"To be successful, you need to invest (in) capacity".
Gambo's first two CG (computer generated) films, Chase Down and Project Caesar were monumental flops in his eyes. Rather than let that dampen his zeal, he went back to the drawing board.
However, Chase Down was spectacular in the sense that it was, according to him, the first ever photorealistic CG integration made by Africans. It involved a 3D model of a Lamborghini racing through Covenant University. It was a delight to behold. It was a turning point for VFX in Nigeria. He was invited to speak at TECHplus that year.
"I want to spend my life inspiring people".
In March 2015, the production for his short movie, Intercept, began. (See trailer https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TvysDpVrBPo)
Fiyin Gambo has carved a niché for himself. He has blazed new trails. Little wonder, he has been sought after for interviews. He has been interviewed by Television Continental, Channels Television, Newspapers, Magazines and a host of others. He has inspired many youths. He has met industry giants and he is on to do even bigger things.Already, Gambo is building a partnership with the Lagos State Government and key agencies in his quest to film his first full length feature film. Fiyin Gambo is going to take over the Nollywood Industry I have no doubt about it. He is bringing about a revolution the world would notice.
"I want to go abroad and see people queuing for a Nigerian film...We've not scratched the surface yet".
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