Kunle Afolayan pleads with pirates not to feast on 'The CEO'

Sunday last week witnessed another huge convergence of Nigeria’s finest entertainment personalities, as Nollywood filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan held the Lagos leg of the premiere of his latest flick, ‘The CEO’  at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island.

The event flagged off  with  a posh red carpet show as it evolved into a music-filled cocktail frenzy  as the sold out show showcased the filmmaker and the cast of the movie.

For ‘The CEO’, it is the filmmaker’s first shot at the pan-African market, which further explains the robust size of attendees which included Nigerian and foreign cast members, corporate sponsors, government officials, stakeholders in the film industry, friends, colleagues and fans of the filmmaker.

Among them are Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed: Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde and Lagos State House of Assembly member, Desmond Elliot.

Others included officials of sponsor companies such as Bank of Industry, from which Afolayan took a loan of N50 million; Air France, Peugeot Nigeria; Africa Magic, Adron Homes and Properties Ltd; Inagbe Grand Resorts and Leisure and K Square Security outfit.

The Lagos premiere which followed the first-of-its-kind premiere on the Air France Flight AF0149 from Lagos to Paris on June 1 provided the desirable ‘noise’ ahead of the cinema release this weekend.

Some of the cast in attendance included lead character Wale Ojo, Hilda Dokubo, Kemi Lala-Akindoju, Haitian actor and model, Jimmy Jean-Louis and Kenyan actor, Peter King.

The filmmaker used the opportunity to plead with pirates not to feast on the film as they did with ‘October 1,’ saying: “I borrowed N50million from Bank of Industry to produce this film.”

“Please do not pirate the film. I beg you o. I need to pay back the money.  I think I have 13 months left. Please help o.”