Having served the society for about 50
years through the entertainment industry, veteran actors and actresses want to
be appreciated while alive. These nollywood actors spoke recently through Chief
Olusegun Kehinde Olayinka Aderemi, popularly known as Chief Karan. Chief Karan
who spoke in Abeokuta on the proposed programme to commemorate 50 years on
stage, which had been scheduled for next month, said nollywood veterans who had
spent over four decades on stage would be celebrated.
No fewer than 45 veterans in nollywood would be given awards during the
programme while some awards would also be given for best performers. According to him, the day has been was set aside for actors, actresses and other intellectuals in different places that have contributed to the industry. . The flamboyant actor, who was known for playing billionaire roles in Yoruba movies said, most of the time he wore flamboyant clothes to play the role of a billionaire when he might not have more than N500, adding that even after spending five to six days on location, he would be going home with N30,000. He said: “It was a bad experience the days armed robbers came to my house about four times that I should bring the money that I do keep at home whereas I don’t have any money at home. Or the day that my building and office got burnt at Fadeyi.
Or the day that my four cars got burnt in the night, or the
days area boys, I don’t want to call them area boys, will ask you to drop
something and if you don’t answer them they will throw something at you. Or the
day I lost my woman, and there was nobody to write me a letter of condolence or
even say we are sorry apart from my colleagues”.
While recalling the ordeal of
some of the actors and actresses,who have played active roles in entertainment
industry four decades ago, Chief Karan lamented that most of his contemporaries
and seniors died as paupers. He said: “ I want to give kudos to people that
passed through three, four, five decades in this industry. Our Federal and
state governments have never for once appreciated the efforts of actors and
actresses in this country. And I can say that if you ever see an actor that is
buying land at Lekki or Ikoyi and also has seven to eight cars, I can tell you
categorically that he is not into acting only.
“John Ayode died like a pauper, he died like a cockroach,
Ayode was a man that we called Garba in village headmaster. The man worked so
much but you will see him walking in the street on foot and no one came to his
aid, the man was sick at the hospital, and there was nobody to pay his bill and
the man died like a cockroach. “When Bekky Nusa was sick in the 70s and 80s
when she had cancer, it took us two months before we could get the money if not
for the help of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the lady would have died. ‘’Olumide
Bakare is there, the man is dying of kidney and heart diseases.” and up till
now,I have not heard that anybody has come to his aid. Baba Sala that made the
people laugh and happy in the 90s was sick and was rushed from Ilesa to Lagos
State University Teaching Hospital. He could not afford the hospital bill, but
luckily for him, the head of medical personnel saw him and did not take a kobo
from him.
Neither the Federal government nor anybody did anything for him. “But
when politicians want to go on campaign, when they want us to pass the message
to people, when they want to do advert, they will now remember us. All these
baffle me, Baba Ogungbe was going from one place to the other, the man was
depreciating, all these baffle me. I want them to celebrate us when we are
alive and healthy and not when we are dead they will be giving us one stupid
befitting burial.
“I want the Federal
government and the state government to appreciate me and some other icons in
the industry when we are alive. Actors and actresses that make people happy
should be celebrated, they should make us happy.’’ He further explained that he
decided not to pick any interest in sports especially football because , the
government seems to have interest in sports more than Art. He said: “I would
have been a millionaire by now if the same attention is given to us in the
movie industry. We have given so much but we have not seen anything in return.
“Kudos to former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, the man has always been there for actors and actresses, we owe him a
lot. “Apart from campaign, he has tried for the actors and actresses. He has
always been there for us. Kudos to senator Oluremi Tinubu, she has also done
well, kudos to immediate-past governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, these
are the people that know the work of an actor, and they want to know your
problem and help in solving your problem. We appeal to the people to change
their attitude towards actors and actresses”.
While speaking on the programme, Chief Kanran disclosed that
the programme would feature all the 36 states in the country. ‘’We also plan
for a command performance of the icons, actors and actresses that have given so
much to the industry in three, four,five decades. We want to bring them all
together on stage, people that you have not seen for long. “We are going to
invite our governors, ministers to come and honour them in the command
performance. In the command performance, it is not just acting but we also want
to honour them not just putting medal on their neck like we do in Nigeria, we
want something to go with it. It may be small or token but when these people
are being celebrate it gives me peace.
“We have seventy
acres of land at Iseyin in Oyo State six years ago. That place is tagged ‘ART
CITY’, this year we want to take people down to that place and see what we have
in a sketch paper. And they can tell us where and how we could rebuild the place.
“We want a situation where all actors and actresses will have their own estate
and people will not be seeing us roaming the streets… We want to have a place
where we can shoot without begging to use your house, a place that everything
we need will be there,’’ he said .
By Daud Olatunji.
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