HOW TO BE A NIGERIAN A-LIST CELEBRITY

In Nigerian celebrity-dom, there's none like Genevieve Nnaji. The woman is not only in a class all by herself, she also can do no wrong both in the eye of the public and even among her fellow celebrities. But what is it exactly that makes Genevieve such a trail blazer and how has she remained unbeatable?

In case you didn't know, the road to celebrity-dom can be filled with brown envelops, hotel room (or even car park)rendezvous and countless bottles of Henne. This is not to take away from the honest, hardworking

folks of the Nigerian entertainment scene who toil hard  to make a difference, but essentially the point is the road to becoming a Nigerian celebrity can be littered with hardship and struggle.

So you finally manage to get your single some airplay or you squander your entire life savings on producing that one movie and all of these efforts pay off in sold-out shows/movie tickets. To even top things off, you take delivery of a clean Tokunbo SUV which is featured on every Nigerian blog. You also begin talks to move into a Lekki home and most importantly, your Instagram followers triple so that you actually have people to show off the goodness of the Lord to. Celebrity status achieved right? Not quite. You still need to earn your way to A-list. Enter Genevieve Nnaji.

Here's how you can become an A-list celebrity like Genevieve Nnaji:

1. The press is NOT your friend: When was the last time you saw/read a Genevieve Nnaji interview? She almost never talks to the press and when she does, its really big (think CNN and Oprah). Let's face it, bad news sells and the more you put your business in the public space, the higher the chances that it could easily be spin out of context and before you know it you're battling a scandal and there goes that juicy endorsement. Need we say more?
2. Attend the right events: Its not enough to put up an appearance at every event in town, show some class and be selective. If you must attend an event, then it better be crawling with all the relevant people.
3. Keep your circle small, tight and elite! Forget the flash and pizazz of the entertainment industry, that's your day job. When the stage lights go off, you want to go home to a trusted circle of friends that include rich kids, politicians, captains of industry and more rich kids!
4. Maintain an air of mystery: Nothing is sexier than a person with an air of mystery and no one understands this better than Miss Nnaji. Since she burst into limelight over 15 years ago, we've known that Genevieve had a child as a teenager, but that's all we know about that. She's been able to keep details of her daughter and private life firmly under a cloak of mystery that is never unveiled.
5. Keep it simple and classy: Style is a very essential tool incelebrity-dom. The more stylish you are, the faster your rise in the celebrity food chain. So take a leaf from Genevieve's flawless style book and keep things simple, effortless and most importantly classy.
6. PR, PR and more PR:  Any A-lister worth their salt knows that a solid Public Relations team can have you smelling like a bunch of roses even when you're waist-deep in a pile of cow dung...and STILL smile all the way to the bank (just ask Jay&Bey...and Genevieve Nnaji). Nuff said.