Controversy over Kasimu Yero after senator’s visit
On Sunday, June 11th, 2017, the Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone, Shehu Sani paid a visit to the residence of Alhaji Kasimu Yero, a famous Nigerian actor who made his name playing iconic characters, mainly villains. The controversy that followed saw attacks and accusations trending on social media, where it was alleged that the […]
On Sunday, June 11th, 2017, the Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone, Shehu Sani paid a visit to the residence of Alhaji Kasimu Yero, a famous Nigerian actor who made his name playing iconic characters, mainly villains. The controversy that followed saw attacks and accusations trending on social media, where it was alleged that the senator tried to smear the image of Yero’s family by posting unfavourable pictures of the elderly veteran actor.
Fans rained abuse on Senator Sani on social media, after he posted the picture of himself visiting Yero, who was recovering from an ailment. The pictures showed the actor sitting on a mattress, half-covered with a blanket, in shorts and a t-shirt, looking ill, in his living room.
Now over 70 years of age, Yero in the original story was quoted as having thanked the politician for his visit. He reportedly pleaded with the senator to sponsor a ‘Magana Jari Ce’ remake to meet international standard.
After the furore, Senator Sani apologised to the family and explained that his visit was innocent. “I just thought about him and decided to check up on him. When we entered his sitting room, he was asleep on a mattress in his living room wearing shorts and a t shirt. His daughter was in the room and the veteran asked her to leave the place but I insisted she stayed because I felt she would gain from what he will tell me, so at least I have a witness on his side as to what happened.”
In their discussions, the film icon frowned at the poor productions in the country and lamented that the Nigerian government is not bothered about the well-being of people who made an impact in the development of the country through films. “In our day, our productions were meant for the whole nation, young or old, and for all tribes. In most cases today, you will find that most of the programmes are biased. Take a good look and you will find that we have categorised them as Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba films and not Nigerian films,” he said.
“During our time, good and evil in the society is what we talked about, not the manner and attitude of a particular tribe, people or religion. We made sure that all our viewers enjoyed the programme without having the feeling that they are watching a film made by Muslims or Christians. I have always wished that somebody in the North will invest in a film that will last a lifetime, just like the books of William Shakespeare. It would be great to have someone bring all the writers and actors together to produce a Northern Nigerian film, an epic based on ‘Magana Jari Ce’, with lavish, accurate costumes and beautiful locations. It will be great for our grandchildren to see what the culture of their people in days past looked like. All the films made today don’t do that.”
Yero added that he only wants to be remembered for what he has been able to do. “It is only natural that what people would remember you for is what you have been doing and how successful that thing was. Whatever you desire to do as your profession, when you do it well, you will be happy with yourself and people will definitely appreciate that you have done it to the best of your ability. Sometimes, when I sit back and reflect on all I have put in all these years and the reputation it has earned me, I realise that it was worth the effort. That makes me happy. Like I said earlier, to walk on the street and see children pointing and saying, ‘there goes Kasimu Yero’, is satisfying enough.”