The highly anticipated series produced by MTV Staying Alive Foundation – MTV Shuga Naija has premiered its new season (Season 5) at an exclusive event in Lagos.
The event included a press conference focused on the topics covered in the series, followed by a private screening of the new season.
The event was attended by notable personalities from Nigeria’s corporate, medical, defense and entertainment spheres, including the Director General of the National Agency for AIDS Control (NACA), Gambo Aliyu; Director of the Youth and Adolescent Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Folashade Oludara; CEO, Lagos State Agency for AIDS Control (LSACA), Dr. Monsurat Adeleke and more.
One of the highlights of the premiere was the track listening session hosted by Chocolate City. one of the most
MTV Shuga Naija season 5 premiere in Lagos.
successful urban indigenous record labels in Africa, Chocolate City partnered with the MTV Staying Alive Foundation to exclusively select the track listing for the new season of MTV Shuga Naija.
The eight-part series is produced in association with 1Pod Pictures, a female-led production company in Nigeria.
The new season follows the story of Moh (Gbubemi), a bright young woman who must make a difficult decision when her parents force her into an arranged marriage with an older man and her family’s benefactor.
The impressive cast features superstars and rising stars such as Adesua Etomi-Wellington, John Njamah, Tomiwa Tegbe, Maggie Osuome, Okey Uzoeshi, Gbubemi Ejeye, Genoveva Umeh, Ilooise Omohimin, Sharon Jatto, Lexan Peters, Bolaji Ogunmola, and Susan Pwajok.
Big Brother Titans star Kanaga Jr. Eme will also be playing the lead alongside Chioma Edak as a supporting act, having passed through the MTV Shuga Naija public auditions last year.
Building better societies
Speaking about the social issues that the series focuses on and champions, Country Manager, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Anita Adesiyan, said they have partnered with Unitaid, the Global Innovation Fund and Paramount to address issues of gender-based violence, COVID -19 confidence in vaccines, women’s empowerment and modern contraception, as well as creating demand for the HIV self-test kits now available in Nigeria.
“True to our spirit of promoting safer lifestyle choices and fighting harmful cultural practices through entertaining drama, MTV’s new season Shuga Naija will provide our viewers with a broader perspective on everyday issues affecting young people as they try to find their place in the world. Adesiyan added.
Bada Akintunde-Johnson, Country Manager, Paramount expressed his excitement to show the highly anticipated new season of MTV Shuga Naija on the Paramount, MTV Base and BET channels.
He said: “As a network committed to engaging and empowering youth, we recognize the immense impact this series has in promoting positive behavior change and sparking important conversations about social issues. With a compelling story and relatable characters, we can’t wait for our audience to tune in and experience the magic of this new season.”
address the issues
Speaking about Unitaid’s role in supporting initiatives such as MTV Shuga Naija and the key role of partnerships in accelerating progress towards eradicating HIV/AIDS, Philippe Duneton, Unitaid’s Chief Executive, said that new developments in health can generate a real change in people’s lives. young, but only if they know what the risks are and how to protect and treat themselves.
Rachna Nag Chowdhuri, Senior Vice President of Impact at Global Innovation Fund, also expressed the importance of social innovations in improving the lives of millions of people across the continent, saying:
“At GIF we believe that women and girls should be the protagonists of their own lives. Our work, focused on Innovating for Gender Equality, supports social innovations with the greatest impact on changing gender norms.” She said
He went on to highlight that the MTV series Shuga Naija is a fantastic example of tackling difficult issues like gender-based violence and gender equality, backed by a great track record and strong evidence of impact.
“In addition, the series not only promotes gender equality through its content, but also in the media industry by partnering with local female-led production companies and creating opportunities for female talent throughout the production,” she said.
One of the underlying goals of the MTV Shuga Naija Season 5 project was to invest in creative women in the Nigerian media market.
This, the campaign underlined through its Talent Accelerator Program, a social media campaign through which 11 interns were selected to work in different departments on set. The MTV team Shuga Naija Season 5 also had an overall female representation of 80%.
The series will kick off on May 7 with an African premiere on MTV Base (DStv Ch. 322 and GOtv Ch. 72) at 21:00 WAT (9 PM)
Additionally, the show will simulcast on MTV Base in South Africa and will debut on BET Africa (DStv Ch. 129 and GOtv Ch. 21) at 21:00 WAT (9pm) starting Wednesday, May 10.
Reruns of MTV Shuga Naija Season 5 will air on Wednesdays on BET Africa (DStv Ch. 129 & GOtv Ch. 21) at 21:00 WAT (9 PM) and Thursdays on MTV Base (DStv Ch. 322 & GOtv Ch. 72) at 22:00 WAT (22:00).
The series will also stream on a free platform later this year. All episodes of the season will also be available on Netflix and YouTube.
