MIMI-LEAVE ME ALONE

It is really exciting, the way she managed to weave controversy around her to become one of the most talked about contestants in the ‘Big Brother Africa House’. In the house, she brought out some of the different characters we all possess but she would never portray them on TV. Yeah, she did not bring home the money but she accomplished her aim. You don’t agree with her? Well she says: just “leave me alone.”
Wilhelmina Abu Adani grew up in the garden city and was named Mimi by her first boyfriend. She says those days it was very cool to be in the most popular school so she pestered her parents to change her schools so she could attend schools like Holy Spirit International and Martyrs of Uganda to finish up her J.S.S education.
She completed her secondary school at Aburi Girls Senior Secondary and then went for a degree in chemistry at University of Cape Coast. She spent a year at the Tema Oil Refinery as a chemist and travelled to France to get a degree but ended up in University of Alicante in Spain to learn Spanish.
Mimi says she has always been a big fan of reality shows and that enabled her to follow Big Brother Brazil and Big Brother UK since they were initiated. It was thus a dream come true when Big Brother was introduced to Africa. She auditioned for the show in 2007; she admits that her contenders at the audition were of high profile but she sailed through to grab the spot for Ghana.
Her modus operandi to win when she entered the house was to be an, “I don’t care” type of person who has no taste of fashion. She thought this tactics would make her the most unnoticed person in the house. She also used the method of playing on the minds of other house mates. “This method I used back fired big time”.
Unknown to her, Africa was getting pissed off by her shabby way of dressing including her always messy hair. Mimi also became a big time gossip in the house and one could never tell who her next informant was going to be and to whom it would be divulged to. Unfortunately for her, her tactics worked for the housemates since it kept them on their toes.
Her relationship with Ricco was never a secret in the house but she insists nothing ever happened between them because their closeness was only for the sake of friendship. In the house she never realized her mistake because she was not being put up for eviction and thought her plans were working out just fine.
“It was quiet challenging to be there since one had to be an all-round person to be able to perform tasks like children’s puzzle which I had always taken for granted”. As to how she felt when she got home, she said, “excitement and disappointment”. “I was excited because I was finally out of the maddening BBF house and disappointed because I did not get my hands on the money”.
Her eviction met some criticisms but she is adamant about her stance regarding her performance. One would therefore see her as arrogant and stubborn but she says that is just because it takes a lot to change her views on an issue. This she said has prevented her from making mistakes in life, “though it has also made me lose some things in life”.
The title of her first single release, “leave me alone”, she says, was for her critics but the message of the song goes for boys who can’t pay for big girls like her: “if you no get dollar, make you no hala”.
She was of the view that the lack of presence of female musicians in Ghana is because all of them are doing sweet flowing love songs the likes of Keisha Cole and Beyonce will do. The irony, she says, is that the female musicians in Ghana do not perform energetically as our male counterparts. She is, however, optimistic that female musicians would eventually catch up since their numbers are increasing gradually. There are quite a few of us like “Mzbel, Irene, Becca and Eazzy”.
Her story as a female musician, she believes, would be different because of the two record labels managing her: Movingui Records and Empire Entertainment. Mimi describes her person as “sporty” and says her performances are going to be filled with energy like Ghanaians have never experienced before. Her Album is expected to hit the music market in the first week of September.
Currently her two latest singles “Tattoo” and “Fama me” (written by Chase) are blazing on the air waves. Though she admits she is no longer in a relationship with her boyfriend, she debunks rumours that the breakup was due to incidents from ‘Big Brother’; “currently am single, mingling and chilling”. Mimi believes, “for someone to believe in you, you must believe in yourself”.

SPIRIT OF PLAYMANSHIP

He is the most unassuming person one could come across and has no form of education in literature, yet plays like, “Confused husbands, Unhappy wives”, “Mr. President Your Move”, “What Dad Left Behind” and “The Devil In The Mirror” were brought to life by him. These productions have been success after success and so What’s On decided to interview the man who is making night-life in the city more entertaining and educative.
Who is Ebo Whyte?
Very typical of him, he says Ebo Whyte is a man with grey hair, two hands and two feet. “We all laugh over that before he continues”: I am James Ebo Whyte, married to Mrs. Florence Whyte for twenty six years. I did statistics at the University of Ghana and taught myself marketing and accounting. I have fathered adopted children to the university level after which they begin life on their own. Because they are not biologically mine, I never name any of them after myself.
How did you start Roverman Production?
I started producing plays in 1975 for ‘Youth for Christ’ where we performed in town halls and community centres. In 2002 I did two productions which did not go too well, one of which was “Mr. President, Your Move”. Then later on, my business partner, Mr. Wireko asked me to do another play because it had been some time since I had done one. We agreed that he takes all the financial risks. We started and it went very well and we did “Mr. President,Your Move” again because the political environment suited the theme.
Are you naturally a skilled Playwright or were you tutored and what made you start writing?
Every playwright is naturally skilled. No school can ever teach that except the basic elements. In the classical play, “Tartuffe”, where the man of God was a villain, I did not like that fact so I decided to write plays that bring out the good in men of God. But now I know even men of God can cheat.
How difficult was it for you to contribute your quota to the facelift of the theatre industry?
Theatre productions have never been dead, in the first place. Every church at least produces two plays in a year. On commercial basis, however, it was basically due to curfews of the military era which resulted in the killing of our night life on the whole. The stable political life, I admit, gave way for some of us to come out this way. The patronage as of now is by a few people because a whole generation lost contact with the theatre and they naturally found other forms of entertainment. So once this political stability is sustained we can have more of this.

There is no doubt themes of your plays are identifiable with the norms of our society; do you think they are impacting well on society or people just watch them for entertainment sake?
Let us not undermine the essence of fun and entertainment. Our work productivity is known to increase when people have fun; people don’t fight in traffic when they identify similar situations in my plays. All the same I believe the plays are impacting quiet well since I have testimonies of a foreigner making up with the wife after watching, “Confused husbands, Unhappy wives”. There is also a top-notch businessman who took a day off to be with the daughter since he realized he had been missing out a lot. This was after watching “the devil in the mirror”.
How different are your directorial concepts from other directors?
I have a different mindset about Ebo Whyte, the playwright and the director. When directing I interpret the characters as individuals and as a team. The cast must also bring out the character well. Again I give my cast the freedom to give their own interpretations which must be consistent with the plot, set, costume and even dialogue delivery. They all write an essay on who they think the character is and the relation to other characters. The first three weeks of our rehearsals are all about creative brainstorming.
How are you coping with the challenges in the industry?
I handle it just as one would cope with challenges in life. You must make up your mind this is what God wants so you do it, no matter what.
How and where do you get your ideas for your plays? Is it from a scene in real life or you pull you curtain and you witness a fight and an idea occurs to you?
For a creative person, it’s difficult to explain but an encounter can play in your mind; you write and rewrite until you think it is practical and well groomed.
What inspires you?
God inspires me.
The rates of your productions make it quiet impossible for some people to watch; since interest in play productions are already on the low side can there be another way to get more people to be drawn in?
I have not met anyone who says the rates are high. The rates have actually compelled other production houses to cut down their prices. If you do not create a value for your show, you attract the wrong crowd.
Which is your favourite production so far?
My favourite is always my next play; one must always look into the future.
Do you ever think of going into movies?
Currently I want to be doing what God has placed in my hands.
Do you see a future for the theatre industry?
I foresee a very huge success.
What next should we expect from Roverman Productions?
We are going to have more efficient and effective productions. We have to find ways of getting better.
What is your philosophy?
We are here for a purpose. It doesn’t matter how long it takes and a person’s richness is defined by the number of people he has made rich.

Kelewele – ‘THE GOLDEN DISH’

About a year ago Kate got a new friend who ate kelewele regularly. Kate personally did not fancy eating kelewele because she was keeping an eye on her diet. The friend brushed her off claiming it would take more than a little kelewele to put on extra weight.
Kate bought some and it tasted good with its hot crispiness blended with groundnuts. She became so glued that she could smell it a mile away. Kate continued in her new addiction and even started preparing the kelewele at home in order to get it in large quantities. From then on it became a desert to every meal Kate could add it to.
She was browsing once and checked the nutritional value of her favourite pastime. Kate could not believe her eyes and as a doubting Thomas she checked another blog to confirm what she had read. My fellow kelewele eaters, this is the news.
Before I go into its nutritional values, however, I would like to let those who are not familiar with kelewele to get acquainted with it. Kelewele is a Ghanaian snack which is called hot plantain crisps in English. They are made from ripe plantains which are normally cut into small chunks and coated with a mixture of spices. The spices could include ginger, onion, garlic, sekoni (aniseed), hwentia (black pepper), salt and pepper. The sweet small chunks of the ripe plantain with the spices are then deep fried in hot oil until it turns golden brown.
This could be served with rice or usually with fried or roasted groundnuts. Kelewele is normally sold at key points by the roadside late afternoons and at night. The next time you happen to be in these areas make sure you get your special kelewele: Tema community 1 at Casino, Community 2 at the BBC area; from the DD base, on the second junction after Adabraka Police Station and in Madina opposite the Methodist church. You do not have to worry at not finding the exact place because the appetizing aroma and the queues would invite you to your delicacy.
Plantain in itself is highly nutritious. It is a good source of potassium, magnesium and phosphate. It is full of vitamin A, C and carbohydrate. Dietary fibre can be found in plantain and that I know sustains and prevents you from eating regularly.
Now to the issue I have been evading all this while. Kate’s research revealed to her that ripe plantain contains sugars which have been broken down hence its sweetness. The softness of the ripe plantain and the deep frying is what results in the crisp, golden brown edges we all love. The groundnut it is served with is rich in protein.
This precious delicacy is a good source of nutrients needed to balance our staple meals. Be sure to wash it down with orange or any vitamin C based fruit. This mops up any harmful effect it might possess. Don’t forget to take as little groundnut as possible; we sure don’t want to be burdened with too much fat. That would be too great a price to pay for eating the sweet kelewele!
What’s On sampled views from the public why they like to eat Kelewele:
Gyamfi, 35: “After your meal it can be served as desert, it helps to make the whole eating process a lot more exciting”
Ellennora, 23: “I just love its crispiness”
Christine, 17: “With all that oil, I don’t venture there. I want to keep my shape”
Prince, 28:“I don’t know why but I like it. I guess it is because it is from plantain which doctors say is very good for us. And with the groundnut! It is sweet, just sweet…!