Entertainment
How Night Life Thrives In PH
Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital is a bubbling city where night life and entertainment thrive. The city was founded by Lord Frederick Lugard in 1912 and named after the then Secretary of State for the colonies, Sir Lewis Viscount Harcourt in 1913. The purpose then was to export the coal that Geologist Albert Ernest Kitson had discovered in Enugu in 1909.
The city was later used as a base for military operations against the central forces in German Kamerun (an area that covers part of modern day Camerooon and Gabon) during the first World War. After the discovery of crude oil in Oloibiri in 1956, Port Harcourt exported the first ship load from Nigeria in 1958.
Today, Port Harcourt is widely known as Nigeria’s Garden City, the pearl of the Niger Delta region and home of the black gold (oil) and gas in the country.
It is the third most developed and flourishing metropolis in Nigeria after Lagos and Abuja and arguably, the hub of oil and gas in Africa.
Apart from oil and gas, the city is also popular for her vibrant entertainment industry and late night activities. Port Harcourt has one of the best night life in the country from sophisticated hot spots that attract a celebrity clientele to small after hour bars where fun seekers go to enjoy undiluted fun and entertainment. The diverse night clubs, dancing bars and other hangouts, give you a taste of what the city’s night life offers.
The city bubbles from Monday to Sunday from 9.00pm till dawn; there is no doubt that Port Harcourt residents love fun as the clubs are always filled to the brim and the best Deejays (DJs) in town thrill their customers with various genres of music. The customers are also entertained with exotic wines and alchoholic beverages while the operators smile to the banks at the end of the day.
Most of the popular night clubs are located at the GRA axis of the city. Among these banging clubs are Play House, Liquid Lounge, Ediz Wine Bar and Champaign Lounge, Cassablanca, and Grendale. Others include X Lounge, Night Box, Boomerang, etc. There are also the dancing bars and other swinging hangouts with their cosy environment and mesmerizing lightening.
Comedy shows are also held in the night hours to provide all round fun as most of the fun seekers look out for such events where they listen to rib cracking jokes from seasoned humour merchants. On such events, there are no dull moments.
Another boost to night life in the city are the cinema houses. Due to the return of the cinema culture to the city which suffered decline decade ago, watching movies on Television is now regarded as old school. The big screen now trends. Apart from watching foreign soap operas such as Zee World and Telemundo Channels that hold most ladies captive, movie buffs prefer the big screen. Apart from entertainment, going to the cinema for most young people has become a life style and with movie premiers becoming a major item on the events calendar. It also afford them the opportunity to relax and in most cases make new friends as well as business contacts.
Among the popular cinemas in the city are I Cinema, Stadium Road, Silverbird Cinema at Abonnema Wharf Road, Genesis Deluxe Cinema located at Tombia Street, GRA Phase 2, Port Harcourt, Film house Cinemas and Pepperoni Cinemas at Azikiwe Road and Eliozu, Port Harcourt respectively.
The hustle and bustle of the Port Harcourt City night life make the city the darling of all fun lovers in Nigeria who troop into the city on daily basis, foreigners inclusive. The bubbling and vibrant city life has indeed endured in Port Harcourt, especially for those who regard the city as Nigeria’s entertainment haven and a city to beat if you are looking for the good things of life.
R&B star, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has recounted the early-career challenges she faced, revealing that she was once booed out of the stage while performing at a school event.
Speaking in an interview with Newsmen, the Crazy Tings crooner shared that she wasn’t only booed but was also harassed with plastic bottles.
“I remember one time I was going to perform at my school as an up-and-coming singer and I thought I was going to receiving a standing ovation.
“But I got booed. They even threw plastic bottles at me,” she recalled.
Tems explained that despite the embarrassing incident and other such rejections, she remained determined to pursue a career in music.
The Tide Entertainment reports that Tems admitted that some of the initial rejections she faced could be due to her conviction to stick to her originality instead of doing covers or familiar sounds like most of her peers.
The Grammy-winning singer said looking back now, she is glad that she didn’t compromise her style despite the initial pressures.
A close associate of late singer Mohbad, Primeboy, has appealed for the artiste’s burial nearly three years after his death.
According to him, Mohbad’s body remains in the mortuary since September 12, 2023, pending burial arrangements.
The Tide Entertainment reports that in a statement Primeboy urged the family, public, and government to permit the burial, stating, “It’s been almost three years since Mohbad left us. His body is still in the mortuary. I’m begging the family, I’m begging the public, I’m begging the government, please let’s bury our brother. He deserves a befitting burial.”
It would be recalled that Mohbad’s death sparked public outrage, protests, and investigations. Ongoing autopsy examinations, police inquiries, and legal proceedings have delayed burial arrangements amid family disagreements and public scrutiny.