Entertainment

Why Night Life Still Bubbles In PH

Published

9 years ago

September 16, 2016

Port Harcourt widely
known as Nigeria’s Garden City is a vibrant and bubbling city in the country. It is a place every Nigerian with taste for good things of life want to visit and spend their vacations. At a time, it was common gossip that the most fashionable, hospitable and beautiful women in Africa were in Port Harcourt. The emergence of Agbani Darego from the Riverine speaking area of the state as the first African to clinch the coveted Crown of Miss World reinforced the talk that the most beautiful queens were found in the trendy city of oil and gas, hospitality and entertainment as well as home away from home for all classes of visitors and investors to the state.
However, it is a common knowledge that life is not cheap in Port Harcourt, especially in this period of economic recession in Nigeria, but this has not affected the night life scenario in the state capital as the city still bubbles with fun and relaxation made possible by the relative peace and security that exist in the state today.
Some of the elements that have made nigh life vibrant and amazing in the city include the cinemas and movies that help the individuals to relax and leave behind their troubles for a while. They are made to entertain and teach different moral lessons that we could apply in our daily lives.
The movies provide good past time for our ever growing population of fun lovers in the state as they show the latest Nollywood and blockbuster international films. The popular movie houses include Genesis Delux cinemas Tombia Street, GRA Phase 2, Silverbird ‘Showtime’ Cinemas at former Obi-Wali Cultural Centre Abonnema Wharf Road, Port Harcourt, Icinema Xscape Centre, Stadium Road, Port Harcourt.
Others include Enterprise Talent Nigeri, Oroworukwo Port Harcourt, Eja Montage Movie theatre among others.
There are also over 297 popular hotels in the state that provide standard hospitality services with conducive accommodation, choice, assorted local and international cuisines, exotic drinks, live dance bands, etc.
Apart from the movie houses and hotels, there are wide variety of night clubs scattered around the city where fun seekers go to enjoy unadulterated fun, socialise, dance, wine and dine. In virtually all major streets of Port Harcourt, there are also drinking spots, blaring naija jamz from giant speakers from 8pm and sometimes till dawn. They also offer assorted drinks to their customers and some even have dance floors with mesmerising lightning which make it difficult to differentiate them from night clubs.
Investigations show that most of these entertainment outlets thrive in the state because of the activities of call girls, strip dancers and prostitutes who partronise these hangouts. You see some of them in their radiance and beauty at red light districts in the New GRA axis of Port Harcourt where most of the night clubs are located. It is not unusual that most guys begin their evenings with their lady friends at the cinema houses from where they besiege the drinking bars, hotels and clubs.
At these joints, you see all manners of charming babes of different ages, shapes and sizes who are out for ‘business’ mostly at the weekends. Guys on their part have categorized these girls, for instance there are those nicknamed 100 level (those between 18 and 21 years) and they are the ones most patronised. The girls prefer to spend the night at the hotels where the guys shield them away from harassment and embarrassment from their girlfriends and wives.
Interesting enough, sex workers are essential for the survival of these joints, especially in large metropolitan cities such as Port Harcourt as they provide opportunity for unfaithful husbands, flirting bachelors and playboys who need the prostitutes to satisfy their sexual urges in exchange for money.
Fast food business and suya sellers also see the night life as a lucrative business opportunity as the night crawlers also buy their goods, the taxi drivers who hang around the cinema houses, hotels, clubs and bars to take passengers home after a night full of fun also earn their pay, even security operatives are not left out as they are hired by the operators to provide security at their various joints and they pay handsomely for the services rendered. It therefore seems that almost everybody enjoys a piece of the action.
This development makes it difficult for the society to checkmate the nefarious activities of some of the operators and their patrons; which explains why night life thrives in the state despite the economic meltdown facing the country as their activities continue to dominate the entertainment climate in the city.

Jacob Obinna

Entertainment

‘Lie From The Pit Of Hell,’ Family Debunks Pete Edochie’s death Rumours

Published

1 week ago

February 13, 2026

The Tide

The family of veteran Nollywood actor, Pete Edochie, has dismissed viral rumours circulating on social media claiming that the film icon is dead.

Reacting to the reports in a video shared on his Instagram page on Tuesday, the actor’s eldest son, Leo Edochie, described the claim as false and malicious.

“I’ve been receiving text messages and calls over the nonsense post by some people that our father, Chief Pete Edochie, is dead. It is a lie from the pit of hell,” he said.

Leo added that the actor is alive and in good health, condemning those responsible for spreading the rumour.

“Our father is alive, hale and hearty. And if you wish someone dead, two things usually happen. The person will live very long and you will die before him. Shame to all of you,” he said.

The rumour had sparked concern among fans before the family’s clarification.

Entertainment

‘Mother’s Love’ Challenges Nigerian’s Film Portray Of Motherhood

Published

1 week ago

February 13, 2026

The Tide

Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde critiques Nollywood’s lack of mother-daughter stories ahead of her directorial debut, ‘Mother’s Love.’ See the cast and 2026 release date.

Nollywood veteran actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde is making her directorial debut with a different and sharper focus. Speaking recently with Newsmen,, the screen icon highlighted a glaring void in the industry’s catalogue, which is the authentic reality of mother-daughter relationships.

“We don’t have too many films that explore or showcase the relationship between mothers and daughters,” Omotola said during the interview, describing the subject as something deeply personal to her.

Speaking honestly about raising her first daughter, she admitted she had only one mode at the time, which was discipline. “I didn’t do a good job,” she said plainly, explaining that she understood motherhood strictly through control, not softness or emotional openness.

At the centre of Mother’s Love is Adebisi, a sheltered young woman from a wealthy home whose life is shaped by her father’s rigid control. Her first taste of freedom comes through NYSC, where distance from home allows her to begin discovering who she is outside her family’s expectations. She forms a friendship with a young man from a more modest background, and through him, starts to see the world and herself differently.

But the emotional core of the film isn’t Adebisi’s rebellion. It’s her mother. Long after being presented as quiet and compliant, she slowly reveals a resolve when her daughter’s safety and future are threatened. As secrets surface and buried grief comes into view, Mother’s Love becomes less about youthful independence and more about maternal sacrifice, unspoken trauma, and the emotional costs of survival inside a patriarchal home.

The Tide Entertainment reports that the film doesn’t shy away from weighty themes by including PTSD, unresolved grief, and social inequality at the centre of the story. It is far removed from the soft-focus sentimentality that often defines Mother’s Day-style narratives.

It also marks Omotola’s directorial debut, a significant moment considering how long she has shaped Nollywood from the front of the camera. She stars in the film alongside a mix of familiar faces and newer talent, including Ifeanyi Kalu, Olumide Oworu, and Noray Nehita.

Beyond the film itself, Omotola’s interview touched on a tension that has been simmering in Nollywood for a while now: how movies are marketed in the age of TikTok. Addressing the growing expectation for actors and filmmakers to create viral dance content to promote their work, she didn’t mince words. The pressure, she said, is exhausting and unnatural.

For her, the industry wasn’t meant to function this way. Still, she was careful not to judge anyone else’s approach. Everyone invests differently, carries different risks, and should be allowed to promote their films however they see fit.

“Do whatever you can do. It’s exhausting, it’s not natural. For me, the film industry is not supposed to be like that. We are encouraging nonsense if we are doing that. It doesn’t mean that whoever is doing it is wrong.”

Her comments arrive not long after the public back-and-forth between Kunle Afolayan and Funke Akindele over marketing styles, a debate that quickly turned into a proxy war between prestige storytelling and viral strategy. Omotola’s stance sits somewhere calmer. She understands the shift social media has brought, but she’s also clear about her own boundaries.

Omotola’s critique about the lack of mother-daughter stories isn’t unfounded. In Nollywood, mothers often exist as symbols rather than people. They’re either saintly figures who pray endlessly for their children or villains whose cruelty drives the plot forward. What’s missing is intimacy, the negotiations, and the regrets. The love that exists alongside resentment and misunderstanding.

Films rarely sit with the emotional complexity of women raising daughters in systems that also failed them. There’s little room for mothers who made mistakes but are still trying, or daughters who love their mothers while questioning the damage they inherited. Mother’s Love attempts to occupy that space, offering a more grounded portrayal that reflects lived experience rather than archetypes.

That’s where the film’s potential impact lies, in the decision to centre a relationship that Nollywood has largely flattened. If it works, it could open the door for more stories that treat motherhood as a lived, evolving reality rather than a fixed moral position.

Mother’s Love, directed by and starring Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, had its world premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2025. The film is set for a nationwide cinema release in Nigeria on March 6, 2026.

Entertainment

Funke Akindele’s Behind The Scenes Crosses ?1.77bn

Published

2 months ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

Funke Akindele’s Behind The Scenes becomes Nollywood’s highest-grossing film of 2025, earning ?1.77bn in under four weeks.

Multi-award-winning actress and producer Funke Akindele has done it again, and this time, the numbers speak louder than applause.

Her latest film, Behind The Scenes, has officially emerged as the highest-grossing Nollywood film of 2025, pulling in an astonishing ?1.767 billion in less than four weeks.

The Tide Entertainment reports that Funke Akindele Makes Box Office History as Behind The Scenes Crosses ?1.77bn
Earlier in its release cycle, the film’s distributor, FilmOne Entertainment, revealed that Behind The Scenes smashed five opening-weekend records, including the highest single-day gross ever recorded on Boxing Day, with ?129.5 million in one day. That announcement already hinted that something unusual was unfolding.

Reacting to the milestone, FilmOne described the moment as both surreal and communal, crediting audience loyalty for pushing the film to the top spot once again as the number-one movie of the weekend. And that sentiment feels accurate. This wasn’t just ticket sales; it was momentum.

What makes this achievement even more striking is that Behind The Scenes is Funke Akindele’s third film to cross the ?1 billion mark. Before now, there was A Tribe Called Judah, and then Everybody Loves Jenifa, a film that didn’t just open big, but went on to become the highest-grossing Nollywood film of all time. At this point, it’s no longer a fluke. It’s a pattern.

Part of Behind The Scenes’ success lies in strategy. The film enjoyed advanced screenings on December 10 and 11, quietly building curiosity and conversation before its nationwide release on December 12. By the time it officially hit cinemas, audiences already felt like they needed to see it.

Then there’s the cast. The film brings together a lineup that feels deliberately stacked: Scarlet Gomez, Iyabo Ojo, Destiny Etiko, Tobi Bakre, Uche Montana, and several others. Familiar faces, strong fan bases, and performances that kept word-of-mouth alive long after opening weekend.

Still, beyond timing and casting, there’s something else at work here. Funke Akindele understands Nigerian audiences. Their humour, their pacing, their emotional buttons. She doesn’t guess, she calculates, experiments, listens, and refines. That understanding has slowly turned into box-office dominance.

Behind The Scenes crossing ?1.77 billion isn’t just another headline; it’s confirmation. Funke Akindele has moved from being a successful actress to becoming one of the most reliable commercial forces Nollywood has ever produced. Three-billion-naira films don’t happen by luck. They happen when storytelling, business sense, and audience trust align.

And right now, that alignment seems firmly in her hands.