Between sexy looks and Nollywood movies, by Chairman, Actors Guild

Actors’ Guild of Nigeria has been enmeshed in controversies for a while now, a lot of actors don’t want to be associated with the guild, there is dissatisfaction with the leadership structure even at the national level, while some member see you as presiding over a crumbling household. What is really going on? The truth […]

Actors’ Guild of Nigeria has been enmeshed in controversies for a while now, a lot of actors don’t want to be associated with the guild, there is dissatisfaction with the leadership structure even at the national level, while some member see you as presiding over a crumbling household. What is really going on?

The truth about the rancour in AGN is that it is a general phenomenon. In life, there are times when other people want to express their views and if you misunderstand them it will look as if there is a big problem but the truth about life is that we always disagree to agree which makes us all stronger and you discover that by the time you emerge from this phase of life, you become stronger. AGN Abuja chapter also has its own problems. The last election which was conducted here was in 2005 and it brought in Goodluck Vitalis and since he was impeached in 2006, there has never been any elected leader for the guild until this present crop of EXCO. So our own problem started before the national one. But we are very much part of the national body but like the saying goes, charity begins at home so that is why we are trying to put our house together here in Abuja knowing well that if the Abuja chapter is put in order, the problem at the national level could be well tackled. The rancour is not as big as people see it but specifically, the truth about it is that the former president, Ejike Asiegbu, was under our constitution which stipulates two year tenure for the president but by some acts of omission, he stayed beyond his tenure. He was elected in June 2005 and was supposed to conduct an election in 2007 which did not hold until 2009, the board of trustees then wanted him out so that a fresh election would be conducted but he refused on the grounds that he was the president of the actors guild stressing that he would be the one to conduct the election. While some people supported him, others said he should be removed.

So as it stands now, which of the faction does your chapter associate with because just over the weekend, Emeka Ike said he still remains the president of the guild and Segun Arinze too still parades himself as the president?

AGN, Abuja chapter is a law abiding state chapter. Ejike Asiegbu conducted the elections which produced Segun Arinze but the board refused to accept the election and insisted that Kanayo O. Kanayo should conduct the elections and Segun Arinze decided to drop his mandate and opted for peace and there was widespread consultation where it was resolved that Segun Arinze will lead the newly formed executive of national unity. So for now, he is the president of the Actors guild of Nigeria. So we the Abujachapter are under his leadership. I believe that there is no faction, we are one and the head of AGN is Segun Arinze.

With all the problems the Abuja chapter passing through, it is clear that you have taken over a house that is in complete disarray. What are your plans to unify the guild?

Before the elections, I had these doubts but when I sat with the executive members and saw the dreams they have for the guild, I was convinced that it would take us less than one year to bring the house back together.

What are your action plans?

During my campaign period, I promised to rebrand the guild because the Abuja chapter has been in complete disarray since 2006 because of so many things. So we now want to tell people that we are back on our feet as a united front because we are ambassadors and representatives of the industry. We are working on a training workshop for all the actors in the guild which has never happened before in the history of the chapter. We also have a production committee through which we intend to collaborate with movie producers in Abuja.

Are all actors mandated to be members of your group?

The AGN is a professional body. It is like the NBA. You can go to the law school but if you are not a registered member of the body, you cannot be part of its activities; the same thing applies to the accounting profession. So if you are not a registered member of the guild, then you cannot take part in its activities. This is an association that is geared towards protecting the interests of its members. So if you are not a member, then you are on your own.

Recently, your organization decided to clamp down on actors who are not members and then prevent them from being given roles but your sister association, the theatre practitioners disagreed, does it mean that only AGN members can act in movies, what about the theatre practitioners?

The theatre practitioners are known for their stage performances. We have so many of their members who are also members of the guild. So trying to force yourself into what you are not is simply not right. The fact that you have been doing it in the past does not make it right. What I am saying is that they are restricted to live performances and stage plays but if you want to act in home videos, then you have to register with us. Although, we have been collaborating together on how we can partner to make progress. The first thing is that all of us are artistes. Most of us even studied theater arts in school but at a time, we have to make distinctions in what we do.

Recently, big actors and actresses in Nollywood have been accused of charging exorbitant fees before they feature in movies, do your members still demand for millions before they feature in movies?

Let me tell you the truth. If you compare what other actors charge abroad, then you will realize that Nigerian actors really do not charge heavily. We have not been able to manage our entertainment industry that is why we are crying foul. I remember sometimes last year, Tom Cruise demanded about 54 million dollars for featuring in a movie while we here are crying over 1 million naira fees. The truth about it is that the people who handle the affairs are greedy. At times, the marketers shoot movies of say 7 million and they know they will make like 20 million from the venture. Artistes in Nigeria do not collect royalties. It is what you are paid on the set that you get. But abroad, you find out that artistes collect royalties for movies they act ten years ago and even when they die, their children still get paid. But here in Nigeria, you only contend with the peanuts that you are paid on set. So like Segun Arinze said recently, the guild is working to ensure that actors are being paid royalties. Instead of paying me four million, pay me four hundred thousand naira and let me collect rights for the next ten or twenty years. It will pay me more than you paying me one million and then that’s all.

On the average, how much does an artiste collect before featuring in a movie?

It is business. It depends on your bargaining power. If you know what you are worth, you name your price. So there is no fixed price. It all depends on your bargaining power with the producers.

You find that in films produced, there is a recurrent theme of juju and violence which tends to portray the country in bad light abroad. How does your organization intend to work on this in order to ensure that Nigerians are properly projected abroad?

That is part of what we are saying. Our agenda is to launder the country’s image both locally and internationally. You don’t do this by portraying juju or violence. But the truth is that the industry has gone past this trend. That used to be the case in the early days of Nollywood when we were just coming up but now, all that is becoming history because you discover that you cannot keep doing the same thing over and over again, it simply won’t sell.

How do you address the disparity between Abuja based artistes and the Lagos based ones who think Lagos is the center of entertainment?

The thing is that, if you are a member of AGN, you can practice anywhere in Nigeria no matter where you are.  But sometimes, you find  out that the reason why we say I am a member of Abuja AGN or Lagos AGN is that some of them, when the  Lagos producers want to produce in Abuja, they pack all their artistes to Abuja which usually makes  us feel as if we don’t have anything. Like if they want to produce with a cast of twenty people, they will bring like 15 or more artistes from Lagos but the truth is that if you are a member of AGN, you are a member. Your registration here will allow you to act anywhere in Nigeria. It is one body but when somebody is ill treated, there will be emphasis on location. We are also working on that to make sure that our artistes match up with anyone anywhere in the country.

There has been the unsavory issue concerning the demand for sex in exchange for roles in movies, what is your organization doing about this?

The truth is that there are things in life that change with time. Initially when Nollywood started, there was the theme of juju and the rest but now, we are improving on these themes. The same thing with the sex-for-role thing. Before it used to be common where an artiste would not be given roles in movies if they don’t sleep with the producers but all that is changing now. The focus is now on the development of the artistes themselves. Because if you are not good, even if a producer sleeps with you, you will still not get the role because if he signs you on, he would not make his money. So people who tow that kind of line had to drop it. What we have to do is that we should go back to the drawing board and train ourselves to be better artistes to produce better movies.

Some artistes here in Abuja still do not see themselves as members of the guild. What are you doing to bring back these estranged members into your fold?

One thing about the Abuja chapter of the AGN is that since inception, we have been operating like one big family. There is a huge love that we have for ourselves. Since the last election, we have been calling everybody and we have been compiling our names. As at the last time I checked, we are close to four hundred. Even those who stop associating with us probably because they have not been having roles, we have been reaching out to them and telling them that this is a new era and that is why we created so many committees to put so many people at different levels to show that it is not about the executive alone. Specifically, we would be having our inauguration as executive members of the organization on the 15th of April at Nanet suites in Abuja, a day before that; there would be a novelty match between the ladies of the Abuja AGN and the Kaduna chapter at old parade ground. Then in September, we have what we call costume party. It would be to tell us where we came from. It would be a costume about our fathers and older generations which will also tell our story.