He has been regarded as a rebel in different
quarters for his supposed anti-progressive
stand on the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria, but in
this interview, the Imo state born actor talks
extensively about Nollywood, why he feels
misunderstood by colleagues, and his plans
for the guild.
Let’s start with your chieftaincy title. Why do
you think you were made Ezekwesili in
Anambra state, far from your home state of
Imo?
I don’t know exactly what it is but perhaps it is
in recognition of my efforts to make things
better. It was not until I took the title home that
I discovered I’m from a royal family too,
although I didn’t get the title from my place.
My father is the Opara-di-Opara (the man that
gets to have the first anything in that
community) of my village in Imo state.
What are the effects having this title has had
on you?
Nothing has changed. I have just become more
socially responsible and responsive to the
society, humanity. It also gave me a
leadership frame and helped me see myself as
someone with a class of respect.
What is your take on traditional rulers in
Nigeria?
I don’t have anything against traditional
authority in any way. Whatever promotes
humanity and redefines life are the things I
want to be part of and support. If being a king
will add value to humanity, I think it is my
passion.
Away from that, why are you yet to return to
the movies?
I’m not the only one who is missing in action. A
lot of us are but perhaps I get noticed more
because maybe I am most loved. We all
parade ourselves as stars but we know stars
have levels. Away from that, I am not the only
one involved. Have you bothered to ask when
last you heard of Oba Iweka road or of Idumota
or Pound road in Aba? That was the last time
we stopped being paid.
How do you mean?
As you can see, the investors in the movie
industry (Bayowa Films, Remmy Jes, Kas Vid)
have been run over by the TV houses, no
thanks to some of my colleagues. Nollywood
has been taken over and it is evident.
Did some players in the movie industry know
about this alleged takeover?
Of course they did. They sold out to the TV
houses and that has become the Nollywood
we now talk about. Nollywood now exists only
on Africa Magic, owned by South Africans.
Meanwhile, while we were struggling to put the
industry together, they (South African
investors) were not around, but now they
show our Nollywood movies and play their
country’s soundtrack.
They go as far as try to bring up their new
faces and play him up with a stupid star and
try to create a somebody out of him. That way
they are building their stars, Jacob’s Cross,
Tinsel and so on.
What efforts were made to preserve
Nollywood’s integrity?
At a time, Charles Novia came boldly to say
that very soon all the stars would be gone.
This was because he knew what they had
done. They had mortgaged the future of the
industry making cheap benefits. There was a
time we attended a conference in South Africa
and these people (South Africans) were
inquisitive, probing and wanting to know about
how we make our movies. While I was
speaking like a patriotic Nigerian, arguing
against letting our strategies out, some of my
colleagues quietly sold out, exchanging cards
and numbers with them.
Unknown to them, they were selling out. When
I said then that Africa Magic was ripping actors
and producers off, people said I was crazy,
some of my colleagues were paid to put up
words against my claim. Now, plenty of them
have been forced out of the job, because
people who pay and invest in the movies are
no longer in business.
Were the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Association
of Movie Producers and Directors Guild of
Nigeria not aware of these developments?
It got to a point all efforts to salvage the
situation became impossible because there
was so much politicking going on. First, their
content provider, Emeka Mba was lobbied to
becoming the DG of the Censorship board, not
forgetting he was one of those who brought
them into Nigeria. Mba’s position paved the
way for them and made their business
smooth.
They needed to close down Nollywood to
make TV more viable than it was, and that was
when Emeka came up with the idea of every
producer paying a sum of five million naira
before their movies could get to the market.
That was how it started and gradually some
started falling off and a lot more were arrested
for defaulting.
Till tomorrow, I will keep calling Emeka Mba a
criminal and I’ll never forgive [him] because he
destroyed the interest of the industry for
personal reasons. He was one of those who
owned HITV, but shame on him.
Apart from job loss, what other impact has this
alleged invasion caused Nollywood?
A lot, and most are negative. Now there is no
more Infinity Merchandise, P. Collins, O.C
Affassons and other big names we knew in
those days. Places where Nollywood movies
were readily available, like Idumota, Oba Iweka
road, and Pound road, Aba have been shut
down, leaving only Alaba in existence. Alaba; a
place we all, as an industry, tried to close
down. The invasion has been on for a long
time, it has put the industry in a state of coma,
and has finally killed it.
Nollywood is dead and this is so because we
are never going to have a big producer roll out
money anymore or visioneers bring out money
to invest.
What we are going to keep having are
scallywags and cheap production assistants
running around to see how to put ten faces
together and see if they can make at least
fifteen thousand jacket sales.
But some of your colleagues seem to be
enjoying the industry despite the challenges
you have mentioned. Where does this place
you?
They are not asking the right questions. I
stood as Emeka Ike and made over a million
jacket sales, only me, without putting twenty
actors on one jacket. The cheap illiterates
amongst my colleagues antagonize me, and I
don’t blame them; I blame myself for mingling
with them. I look at most of them (colleagues)
and I begin to imagine the content in most of
them.
Most of them wear dark shades and parade
themselves like they are more than they are.
What are they worth when they don’t even
know their rights in the industry, but go about
posing on red carpets with dark shades and
speak [with] some accent that was never
properly learnt? All those are cheap ways of
life.
These guys don’t ask questions about what
we are doing as a guild or an industry, and the
few that do are labelled troublemakers. That is
the mentality in Nigeria. Gani Fawehinmi was
seen as a trouble maker till he died, same as
Fela. These are the people who bring about
change in their communities.
You vied to become president of AGN, but lost.
If you had won, what would have been your
focal point?
I am still the president of AGN, the legal
president, but because of my stand, it is
difficult to let men like me survive it, because
if we do, we will destroy these evil men who
run the system. The same thing is applicable
in the wider world; responsible men are
running away from politics, which is why a lot
of riff-raffs are making headway in it.
We need to redefine what value is to us. It’s
not the dark shades and the glittering dresses
but what adds to humanity, and we should be
able to draw the line between what is value
and what is not.
What is your take on Ibinabo Fiberisima as
president of the guild?
Her swearing in was illegal. How can she be
president? Please tell me. There is a court
case yet to be settled involving myself and
Segun Arinze. How then can he conduct an
election? Again, Ibinabo has not been cleared
with the police.
I don’t know what is happening. Are these
things supposed to be? The president ordered
that all recipients of national honours that have
criminal records should be stri*ped of them,
and that is how it should be. We should run
things right, at least for the sake of our
children and ones yet unborn.
What would you say the guild is lacking?
Leadership. We have everything right now, and
the few idiots that discovered this have
quickly gone to register the guild as their
personal companies. Do you even know that
the AGN was originally registered as a
company for individuals with just five board of
trustee members? Most people don’t know
this fact, including my colleagues. These are
the things we are fighting against.
While fighting to remove these guys, they
appointed Segun (Arinze) as their president. I
challenged this and took them to court but they
broke the court’s injunction and conducted
another election. You see the gimmicking of old
politicians? That is what we are fighting, not
Segun Arinze. He is my friend, so is Ibinabo,
but we have to do right thing in this country;
that is the only way a future can be built.
When did these problems begin for Nollywood?
It [has been] from the beginning. I’m sure not
many know that the first president of AGN,
Remmy Jes, was flogged out of office by the
board of trustees. They used cultism and all
other means. This is painful for me because I
am one of those that fought for the name.
When you say Nollywood, you can’t leave
Emeka Ike out of it. I can’t keep quiet, although
a lot of people may because they are scared
for their careers, but I am a leader and will be
their spokesman. People like me, who have the
goodwill of the country at heart should not be
afraid of coming out.
On a final note, Nollywood will be 21 this year.
What do you think about its’ direction?
Nollywood is not going in the right direction,
People saying that are people who are just
happy that they have benefited from it. How
can you say an industry that has its structure
destroyed is in the right direction? We already
made an impression on the world.
All that was left was the technical know-how
and government empowering us. We couldn’t
get that, but rather got big foreigners who
hijacked the gold from us.
quarters for his supposed anti-progressive
stand on the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria, but in
this interview, the Imo state born actor talks
extensively about Nollywood, why he feels
misunderstood by colleagues, and his plans
for the guild.
Let’s start with your chieftaincy title. Why do
you think you were made Ezekwesili in
Anambra state, far from your home state of
Imo?
I don’t know exactly what it is but perhaps it is
in recognition of my efforts to make things
better. It was not until I took the title home that
I discovered I’m from a royal family too,
although I didn’t get the title from my place.
My father is the Opara-di-Opara (the man that
gets to have the first anything in that
community) of my village in Imo state.
What are the effects having this title has had
on you?
Nothing has changed. I have just become more
socially responsible and responsive to the
society, humanity. It also gave me a
leadership frame and helped me see myself as
someone with a class of respect.
What is your take on traditional rulers in
Nigeria?
I don’t have anything against traditional
authority in any way. Whatever promotes
humanity and redefines life are the things I
want to be part of and support. If being a king
will add value to humanity, I think it is my
passion.
Away from that, why are you yet to return to
the movies?
I’m not the only one who is missing in action. A
lot of us are but perhaps I get noticed more
because maybe I am most loved. We all
parade ourselves as stars but we know stars
have levels. Away from that, I am not the only
one involved. Have you bothered to ask when
last you heard of Oba Iweka road or of Idumota
or Pound road in Aba? That was the last time
we stopped being paid.
How do you mean?
As you can see, the investors in the movie
industry (Bayowa Films, Remmy Jes, Kas Vid)
have been run over by the TV houses, no
thanks to some of my colleagues. Nollywood
has been taken over and it is evident.
Did some players in the movie industry know
about this alleged takeover?
Of course they did. They sold out to the TV
houses and that has become the Nollywood
we now talk about. Nollywood now exists only
on Africa Magic, owned by South Africans.
Meanwhile, while we were struggling to put the
industry together, they (South African
investors) were not around, but now they
show our Nollywood movies and play their
country’s soundtrack.
They go as far as try to bring up their new
faces and play him up with a stupid star and
try to create a somebody out of him. That way
they are building their stars, Jacob’s Cross,
Tinsel and so on.
What efforts were made to preserve
Nollywood’s integrity?
At a time, Charles Novia came boldly to say
that very soon all the stars would be gone.
This was because he knew what they had
done. They had mortgaged the future of the
industry making cheap benefits. There was a
time we attended a conference in South Africa
and these people (South Africans) were
inquisitive, probing and wanting to know about
how we make our movies. While I was
speaking like a patriotic Nigerian, arguing
against letting our strategies out, some of my
colleagues quietly sold out, exchanging cards
and numbers with them.
Unknown to them, they were selling out. When
I said then that Africa Magic was ripping actors
and producers off, people said I was crazy,
some of my colleagues were paid to put up
words against my claim. Now, plenty of them
have been forced out of the job, because
people who pay and invest in the movies are
no longer in business.
Were the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Association
of Movie Producers and Directors Guild of
Nigeria not aware of these developments?
It got to a point all efforts to salvage the
situation became impossible because there
was so much politicking going on. First, their
content provider, Emeka Mba was lobbied to
becoming the DG of the Censorship board, not
forgetting he was one of those who brought
them into Nigeria. Mba’s position paved the
way for them and made their business
smooth.
They needed to close down Nollywood to
make TV more viable than it was, and that was
when Emeka came up with the idea of every
producer paying a sum of five million naira
before their movies could get to the market.
That was how it started and gradually some
started falling off and a lot more were arrested
for defaulting.
Till tomorrow, I will keep calling Emeka Mba a
criminal and I’ll never forgive [him] because he
destroyed the interest of the industry for
personal reasons. He was one of those who
owned HITV, but shame on him.
Apart from job loss, what other impact has this
alleged invasion caused Nollywood?
A lot, and most are negative. Now there is no
more Infinity Merchandise, P. Collins, O.C
Affassons and other big names we knew in
those days. Places where Nollywood movies
were readily available, like Idumota, Oba Iweka
road, and Pound road, Aba have been shut
down, leaving only Alaba in existence. Alaba; a
place we all, as an industry, tried to close
down. The invasion has been on for a long
time, it has put the industry in a state of coma,
and has finally killed it.
Nollywood is dead and this is so because we
are never going to have a big producer roll out
money anymore or visioneers bring out money
to invest.
What we are going to keep having are
scallywags and cheap production assistants
running around to see how to put ten faces
together and see if they can make at least
fifteen thousand jacket sales.
But some of your colleagues seem to be
enjoying the industry despite the challenges
you have mentioned. Where does this place
you?
They are not asking the right questions. I
stood as Emeka Ike and made over a million
jacket sales, only me, without putting twenty
actors on one jacket. The cheap illiterates
amongst my colleagues antagonize me, and I
don’t blame them; I blame myself for mingling
with them. I look at most of them (colleagues)
and I begin to imagine the content in most of
them.
Most of them wear dark shades and parade
themselves like they are more than they are.
What are they worth when they don’t even
know their rights in the industry, but go about
posing on red carpets with dark shades and
speak [with] some accent that was never
properly learnt? All those are cheap ways of
life.
These guys don’t ask questions about what
we are doing as a guild or an industry, and the
few that do are labelled troublemakers. That is
the mentality in Nigeria. Gani Fawehinmi was
seen as a trouble maker till he died, same as
Fela. These are the people who bring about
change in their communities.
You vied to become president of AGN, but lost.
If you had won, what would have been your
focal point?
I am still the president of AGN, the legal
president, but because of my stand, it is
difficult to let men like me survive it, because
if we do, we will destroy these evil men who
run the system. The same thing is applicable
in the wider world; responsible men are
running away from politics, which is why a lot
of riff-raffs are making headway in it.
We need to redefine what value is to us. It’s
not the dark shades and the glittering dresses
but what adds to humanity, and we should be
able to draw the line between what is value
and what is not.
What is your take on Ibinabo Fiberisima as
president of the guild?
Her swearing in was illegal. How can she be
president? Please tell me. There is a court
case yet to be settled involving myself and
Segun Arinze. How then can he conduct an
election? Again, Ibinabo has not been cleared
with the police.
I don’t know what is happening. Are these
things supposed to be? The president ordered
that all recipients of national honours that have
criminal records should be stri*ped of them,
and that is how it should be. We should run
things right, at least for the sake of our
children and ones yet unborn.
What would you say the guild is lacking?
Leadership. We have everything right now, and
the few idiots that discovered this have
quickly gone to register the guild as their
personal companies. Do you even know that
the AGN was originally registered as a
company for individuals with just five board of
trustee members? Most people don’t know
this fact, including my colleagues. These are
the things we are fighting against.
While fighting to remove these guys, they
appointed Segun (Arinze) as their president. I
challenged this and took them to court but they
broke the court’s injunction and conducted
another election. You see the gimmicking of old
politicians? That is what we are fighting, not
Segun Arinze. He is my friend, so is Ibinabo,
but we have to do right thing in this country;
that is the only way a future can be built.
When did these problems begin for Nollywood?
It [has been] from the beginning. I’m sure not
many know that the first president of AGN,
Remmy Jes, was flogged out of office by the
board of trustees. They used cultism and all
other means. This is painful for me because I
am one of those that fought for the name.
When you say Nollywood, you can’t leave
Emeka Ike out of it. I can’t keep quiet, although
a lot of people may because they are scared
for their careers, but I am a leader and will be
their spokesman. People like me, who have the
goodwill of the country at heart should not be
afraid of coming out.
On a final note, Nollywood will be 21 this year.
What do you think about its’ direction?
Nollywood is not going in the right direction,
People saying that are people who are just
happy that they have benefited from it. How
can you say an industry that has its structure
destroyed is in the right direction? We already
made an impression on the world.
All that was left was the technical know-how
and government empowering us. We couldn’t
get that, but rather got big foreigners who
hijacked the gold from us.
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