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 .
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