CHARLY BOY GIVES BACK TO THE STREET
Charles Oputa, popularly known by many as Charly Boy, has never concealed his feelings on how the street contributed to his self-development. He has never reserved his appreciation, in relation to how he got his breakthrough from the street. He was not born on the street anyway, but it will be important to stress that he saw something in the street that could make something out of him. Then he went for it, grabbed it and became a giant. Since then, he has taken seriously any issues arising from the street.
Charly Boy has taken so personal the plights of the street dwellers, thus believing in the creation of positive concept of self in them as they struggle and battle to survive in the face of the numerous oppressions that face them. He has established in his philosophy and idea of the street university that whoever you might be and no matter the level of shadow that beclouds your existence and your development in the street, you can always get your breakthrough, if you keep the mind, the brain and the eyes at a direction without any form of 'zig' and 'zag,' hence 'focus' and 'tenacity' become the watchwords. His love for the streets had manifested in different forms in the past and that is the major reason he decided to use the okadas as the bridge through which he can reach others in the streets. We have seen today that his link to the people is not limited to just the bridge of the okada people, hence he is not just called the okada man or area fada, but with many other titles, like the people's general and the host of others. His quest to make something out of the streets gave birth to the Charly Boy Foundation, which has been championing and fighting for the cause of the less privileged in the society. Students, orphans, the oppressed, widows pensioners, the deformed and others who are physically and psychological derailed have been saved by the foundation.
Today, the Charly Boy Foundation has taken yet another giant stride by ensuring that the broken hopes and the shattered dreams that walk with their heads bowed are redeemed and rescued from the street. This time, the foundation is bent at helping aspiring musicians, poets, dancers and comedians to realise their artistic dreams. It is embarking on a talent hunt that will give Nigerian youth who know their onions in music, dance, poetry and comedy to showcase what is in them. The show is obviously one of a kind, as the audition process does not, in any way, put the contending artist under any form of pressure, as he or she prepares for the auditions.
It has been gathered reliably that more than one thousand forms have already gone out free of charge, which implies that Charly Boy Foundation has no intension of tasking artistes to pay for what they tend to gain from the Charly Boy show-live.
Potential artistes have been given special opportunity to pick up their forms without any payment, as it's boldly written on the form 'not for sale.' Aside this, the emerging winners shall be smiling home with N300,000.00 with a deal to match in the different categories of the awards. It has been uncovered that the auditions will run for three days at the A-lounge in Abuja from July 27-29 and the main show that will showcase the last 10 and the eventual winners will hold on August 29, 2010. Most upcoming artistes, who have obtained, filled and submitted their forms already could not reserve their appreciation for Charly Boy over this wonderful gesture and have seen this opportunity as a moment of respite for them as they work towards making something out of their artistic dreams.
- Adoyi Abah Ali