Korede Bello: How we can fight the Thanos of corruption, poverty in Nigeria

Korede Bello, Mavin Records-signed singer, says the country needs the collaboration of more positive-minded people devoid of self-interest to succeed in the fight against corruption, unemployment and poverty.

The gifted singer said this during the pre-release screening of ‘Avengers Endgame,’ Marvel’s 2019 superhero film, organised by the US consulate general, on Thursday, April 25, 2019.

The final sequel to the 2012’s ‘The Avengers’ film was screened at the Filmhouse cinemas in Oniru, Lagos.

Following the screening, the ‘Godwin’ crooner urged Nigerians to emulate the characters displayed by the Avengers, if “we must fight the Thanos of corruption, poverty and unemployment.”

“I didn’t particularly have expectations of the movie so to say. I was only going to be entertained but I really was impressed by some symbolic points like women empowerment, teamwork, a black Captain America and so on,” said Bello.

“There are just so many symbolic principles we could all learn from, in reality, so much of which I feel we could employ in Nigeria. One Nigeria, one people, we can work together regardless of diversity.

“We’re all extraordinary people and when we come together, we can definitely fight the Thanos of corruption, poverty and unemployment. We can crush these ills. In Nigeria, we need more people who are not thinking about just themselves.”

After Thanos uses his powers to kill half of the living beings on the Marvel Universe, the Avengers assemble once again, with the help of Captain Marvel and their remaining allies, in order to reverse the super villain’s wanton destruction and restore order to the universe.

‘IT MET MY EXPECTATIONS’– OKEY BAKASSI ENDORSES ‘AVENGERS: ENDGAME’

Okey Bakassi, Nigerian actor cum stand-up comedian, also described the long-anticipated movie as one that evokes layers of emotions and satisfied his expectations.

“You know when you’re seeing a movie like this which is the coming together of how many years of work, and you’re finally seeing like the ending, you know different layers of emotions will move in your head. So you probably need to sit down again and see it without expectations to get a clearer picture. But it is a beautiful one,” the comedian said.

“For some people, I’m sure it would meet their expectations. There will always be critics who would always say it could have been like this or like that. But I think for me, they did an awesome job. I’ll still like to see it again to be very honest.”

On movies’ quality obtainable in Nigeria, the actor noted that Nollywood films are great tools for portraying African stories, but it is an unfair comparison to measure its success with Hollywood.

“Nollywood is doing an amazing job of telling African stories, specifically Nigerian stories. Nobody else can tell it better than us. So to draw a comparison won’t be fair on Nollywood… They (Hollywood) themselves had many years of cinematography, advancement in technology.  It’s not a fair comparison,” he said.

“They (Hollywood) are telling their stories the way they want to tell their story. We are here telling our stories. These are two different things. But in technology, they are way ahead. So Nollywood is doing fantastically well, (there’s) a lot of room for improvement.”

‘Avengers: Endgame’, the 22nd film of Marvel Cinematic Universe premiered in Los Angeles on April 22. The film is now available in cinemas across the country.