Entertainment

Showcasing Rivers Tourist Destinations

Published

10 years ago

February 5, 2016

Rivers State the Treasure
Base of Nigeria’s located in South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, Rivers State was created out of the Old Eastern Region in 1967 with its capital in Port Harcourt.
The state is divided into twenty-three local government areas and several ethnic nationalities.
The state was created out of the Old Eastern Region of Nigeria on May 27,1967 before Bayelsa State was later carved out of it in 1996. Rivers State, named after the many rivers that border its territory, was part of the oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 till 1893, when it became part of the Niger Coast Protectorate. In 1900 the region was merged with the chartered territories of the Royal Niger Company to form the colony of Southern Nigeria, while the major cities and towns include Port Harcourt City, Bonny, Degema, Ahoada, Isiokpo, Okrika, Opobo, Gokana e.t.c. The state boasts of various tourists attractions such as:
Beaches
Port Harcourt Tourist Beach: This beach is located on an artificial sand beach along Kolabi Creek east of the old township, this leisure hub has bush-bar, restaurants which offer palmwine, local dishes and entertainment. With a jetty, a restaurant, a wildlife display museum and games room. Other beaches include:
Finima Beach
Finima is a small town in Bonny Island surrounded on the West and South by long stretches of beaches. The beautiful beaches attract tourists and fun seeking inhabitants alike on sunny days and festive periods like Christmas and Easter. As well as Isaka Beach, in Walga, Agaja Beach in Bonny LGA, Elem Ifoko glass sand beach in Delga, Ogbogene beach in Ogba/Egbema LGA, Kono beach in Khalga, Onne beach in Eleme LGA, etc.
Natural Confluences
The natural confluences include Mgbuitanwo salt/fresh water confluence at Emohua LGA, Akuku Toru salt/fresh water confluence in AKULGA and Akpajo salt/fresh water confluence in ELELGA.
Forests
The forests which are also tourist delight are:
Upper Orashi Forest Reserve.
Upper Orashi forests are one of the major forest reserves around the Niger Delta area as Bird watching spot of the country. The forest is located near Ikodi Village in Ahoada Local Government Area. The reserve is a freshwater Swamp Forest. Wildlife found in the forest include Scalater’s guenonsi white throated monkeys, red colobus monkeys. Heslop’s pygmy hippopotamus (Hexaprotodeon liberiensis), yellow backed duiker (Sephalophus Sylvicutitor), and Giant forest hogs. Nationally uncommon birds in the forests are Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacas), Estrilda poliopareia, Hartlaub’s duck (pteronetta hartlaubi), Serpent eagle (Dryotrlorchis Spectabilis), Spizactus Africanus, blue- headed dove Cturtur Brehmen, Brehmen, Black throated Coucal (centropus leucogaster), Black-Casqued Hornbill (Ceratogymna atrata), Black-Casqued Hornbill (Ceratogymna atrata), Red-rumped tinker bird (Pogoniulus atroflavus), Lesser Honey Guide (Indicator Conirostris).
Gabon Woodpecker (Dendropicos gabonensis), Blacked-caped Yellow warbler (Apalis nigriceps), Yellow-chined sunbird (Anthreptes rectirostris) and white-breasted Negro Finch (Nigrita Fusconota). To date 91 species of birds have been recorded. The reserve has an area of 25,165 hectares.
Biseni Forest
Biseni forests is also one of the bird watching sites in Nigeria which is located North-West of Ahoada, just west of the Upper Orashi Forest in the Taylor Creek flood plain of the Niger Delta. The forest which covers a land area of 21,900 hectares, is seasonally flooded during the rains, but dry out during the dry season leaving some numerous small forest lakes Raphia palms and some broad-leafed species such as symphonia gllobulifera and ficus spp are common trees found in the forest. Mammals include white throated monkey (Cercopithecus erythrogaster), pygmy hippopotamus and Yellow backed duiker. Although the forest is yet little explored, 96 species of birds have been recorded. Nationally uncommon species include Sjostedt’s Honey Guide Bulbul )Baeo Pogon Clamans), Trochocercus nigromitratus, parmoptila wood housei and purple headed glossy starling (Lamprotornic purpueiceps. Estrilda poliopareic is a common bird found in the area. Others include Elephant colony in Andoni LGA, Onura forest at Alesa in Eleme LGA.
Parks And Gardens
Isaac Boro Garden Park
Facing the flyover above the main motorpark at the South end of Aba Road, this park was named after Major Isaac Boro who was killed in the Biafran War. The tomb of the unknown soldier here mark’s those who fell in the world wars. The park is a popular venue for live music and other events including trade fairs.
Isaka Holiday Resort
This is a resort on a twenty three hectare Island about a mile from Port Harcourt.
Rivers State Museum
The museum is in the secretariat complex of Rivers State Government. The museum contains artifact related to ethnic groups in the state including masks and carvings.
Zoological Garden, Port Harcourt
Located at Trans-Amadi, the zoo is the home for localized species of animals which include gorilla, drill, chimpanzee, an gwantibo or golden potto forest elephant, Saleginella Species etc.
Cultural Centre, Port Harcourt
Located on Bonny Street has a stage and auditorium for plays, dancing and there are shops where visitors can go and purchase local hand crafts.
Statute Of King Jaja Of Opobo
This beautiful edifice is the statute of King Jaja who founded Opobo land.
Hospitality Industry
These include Hotels, Restaurants and Eateries such as:
Mr Biggs
This eatery is located on Aba Road near the Shell residential complex and other parts of the state capital. It serves local and continental dishes. The restaurant also offers take away services.
Eastern Gardens Chinese Restaurant
Eastern Garden provides a complete taste of Chinese dishes, pork, chicken, chow mein, tofu and many other Chinese delicacies. You will also have the chance to use chopsticks while eating your food.
Chicken Calypos Fast Food And Restaurant
This fast food restaurant offers a wide variety of chicken menu such as fried chicken, grilled chicken, chili chicken and roast chicken with various accompaniments. They have many types of refresh and desserts are also available. The atmosphere is serene and the setting is comfortable.

Le Meridien Ogeyi Place Hotel
Located in the GRA Phase 2 area, this hotel has a restaurant which offers international catering services. The staff are very friendly and ready to assist you. The place is also clean and with a unique setting. The meals are prepared by a renown chef.
Kilimanjaro
Offering a wide range of Nigerian dishes such as amala, soups, pounded yam, rice and stew all at affordable prices. The restaurant is modern, clean and popular among office workers and students.
Pizza
This is a top pizza shop in the city as it offers a complete taste of authentic Italian-menu that offers a wide range of salads, large burgers, sandwiches and others.
Park ‘N’ Shop
This is a popular brand in the country and it offers a wide selection of imported goods and caters for both expatriates and well-to-do locals. The shop also features a bakery and extensive wine selection with items such as furniture, electrical goods, computers, gift items, cosmetics etc.
Everyday Emporium
This is a popular superstore that stocks a huge range of tinned and packet foods, wines and spirits, household items and toiletries. Located on the second floor are shops selling electrical items, mobile phone repair and unlocking service and many others.
Hotel Presidential
Hotel Presidential has a total of 251 rooms and 49 suites, situated in the two wings of the building. Wing I consists of 100 rooms and wing II consists of 200 rooms. All rooms have air conditioners, television with cable TV, fridge, telephone with Idd access, small coffee table with chairman, toilet desk with mirror, bathroom with shower over bath, washing basin toilet, full size wardrobe in the entrance with full length mirror and balcony. The Garden Bar is the place to have a meal while enjoying the cool surroundings.
The Novotel
Located in the heart of the city in a serene and secured environment, Novotel Port Harcourt offer, 2 suites, 117 apartments, 29 non smoking rooms, 2 accessible rooms, internet access, restaurant with terrace area and outdoor swimming pool. The hotel is 5 minutes drive from the Nigerian Air Force base and 20 minutes from the International Airport among numerous others.
Apart from this, there are other areas of interest for both foreigners and locals such as the cinema houses popular among which are the Silverbird Cinemas located at former Obiwali Cultural Centre along Abonnema Wharf Road, Genesis Deluxe Cinemas, Tombia Street GRA and the film house located at the Port Harcourt Mall Azikwe Road, Port Harcourt as well Nite clubs such as Boomarang, Oxygen, Casablanca, Afrik Nite Club etc, amongst others

Entertainment

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

Published

3 days 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

3 days 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

1 month 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.