He has been regarded as a rebel in different quarters for his supposed
anti-progressive stand on the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria ((AGN), yet Emeka
Ike still stands his ground for what he believes as the truth and best
way to save 'dying Nollywood'
At the second edition of City People's Political Award held in Maryland, Lagos, Nigeriafilms.com
had an extensive interview with the Imo State born Nollywood lover boy
where he declared his plans to go into politics to become a lawmaker.
He also revealed that AGN office has turned into Sodom and Gomorrah centre.
What is really going on with AGN?
There
are five people who have taken the law of Nigerian movie industry into
their hands. They are Emma Ogugua, Murphy Stephen, Sunny McDon, Okey
Bakassi and Ifeanyi Dikeh. These five people registered Actors Guild of
Nigeria as their personal business. No other individual can come in.
Can’t the rest of you do anything about it?
The
idea is money rules the world. Money is the main reason they are there.
There are some people who rejoice whenever Nigeria is losing in a
football match. Some other people make more money when Nigeria loses
match in an international stadium. Some people just sit and wait for
things to go wrong in Nigeria, that’s when they make huge money.
These
people you can’t do anything to them. They are the enemies of the
nation. They are in every sector; banking, oil and gas and even the
entertainment industry is not left out. They make things not to work,
but they are as individuals are going forward. But we have to try to get
these kinds of people off our back to be able to move forward.
We
have had AGN for long, but I can’t remember the last time we had
actors’ congress, where all actors bare their minds on issues bothering
the industry. The last congress was when Vivian Ejike was still here,
Kate Henshaw too was still very much in the business.
How do you
rule a set of people that do not see or know themselves? All the money
you are collecting, how do you account for them? You the press are the
ones that should investigate more on this and tell the whole world the
truth than not dramatize Emeka Ike for being too outspoken.
Cant the rest of you all come together and do something?
We
have to sub-peddled all that and first of all arrange our house. My
first concern is to clean up Nollywood, clean up AGN. Every Nigerian
youth want to act movies now, what future are we living for them. Where
are they going to write their names? The two bedroom in Surulere where
they would ask you to come and grace their beds before they give you
roles? Where they would make you join a gay group or lesbians group
before they talk to you?
The people at the helm of affairs are
the ones killing Nollywood. Some of us the well-known actors don’t even
know their rights. I dare say it again, they don’t. Nobody can come out
to challenge me. Clarion Chukwurah who is one of the intelligent people
we have in the industry has come out to air her views, Charles Okafor
would say the same thing, so with John Okafor.
Don’t you think that at this point, you should play the ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ game?
That saying is definitely not for everybody. People who bring about change don’t join in a complex situation.
You always look so aggressive when addressing this issue, why?
Because
we built this industry with pain. Those who are the helm of affairs
now, people don’t even know them in the movies. They just came in and
messed everything up.
Can you remember what I said sometime go? I had once said very soon Nollywood will die. Painfully Nollywood is dead now.
There
is no more Idumota, Lagos, there is no more Pound Road, Aba or Edidi
Lane. When last did you hear these places mentioned in adverts, all you
hear and see is Alaba International Market and that is where pirates
dwell. Very soon, we are going to storm there and close it down. All the
big producers and marketers have been chased out of the business.
How
many people are making movies now? Desmond Eliot? Yes, he is my boy!
And like a brother to me but his movies are not enough to cover for the
whole industry.
Uche Jumbo too is into movies, but her movies too
can’t sustain the whole industry. We used to make over 100 of movies in
a month, good quantity but not quality. You know why, because we were
trying to use the quantity to build a market where we can later sell
quality.
Now that they have shut down the quantity, yet the
quality they are releasing is sparingly visible. Nollywood that we used
to know has been suppressed down by African Magic.
Are there no written or formal guideless for Nollywood practitioners?
They
are constitutions, but who are those people checking who is following
them or not? They said degree holders and upwards can hold the post of a
president, but Segun Arinze is not a degree holder, yet he was a
president. Have you tried to investigate those who are educated or not
in Nollywood? No, you have not! Have you people (the press) ever
reported that Segun Arinze didn’t go to the university? These people
always look for uneducated people that they can always use and squeeze
around to their taste.
Then comes Ibinabo, you all know her case
and status in Nigeria. With that is she fit to hold a post? No is the
answer. Did she complete her serving term in prison?
Honestly
speaking, I am blaming the press for all the hidden atrocities going on
in AGN. You people have refused to do good research but relying on the
information the opposition party is feeding you with. God bless the
types of Ray Ekpo and Dele Giwa of this world. They always say the
truth.
Nollywood has gotten so bad that you must either strip and grace their beds or join the gay or lesbian group to belong.
That
wasn’t the industry I founded. My daughter will not to go into that
industry tomorrow and they would say she must sleep with one of them to
get a role. Neither would my son be a part of Nollywood that is full of
immoralities.
I know some people would say I am saying all these
because I am not getting part of the money. Excuse me? Do I look hungry
to you? I am going into politics very soon. You would see me in my
convoy then you would know what I am talking about. I am only doing
this for the up and coming ones. We are still in court trying to fight
to get it right.
You are going into House of Representative of your state, Imo State, how are you going to monitor the upcoming election of AGN?
That
election would not hold. The court has ordered that none of the
fractions should have elections. Ibinabo has been acting as the
president of AGN for years now, but with her case as an ex-convict, do
you have any moral justification to recognize her as the president? The
court case is still on and the war continues.
Away from AGN crisis, you haven’t been acting much movies lately, what else have you been doing?
I
stopped acting for a while now because the industry has lost its salt.
The actors were putting some acts that were annoying me. I act in
Nigerian movies with a Nigerian accent, but other countries shouldn’t
come here and try to change our accent. When I see my colleagues
forming fake accents, I would be like, ‘Uh, what’s wrong with this one’?
If you are an Indian, you do it like the Indians, like wise other
countries. I must tell you, I am too busy for that. So I got myself busy
with other better things to do than fake Nollywood lives.
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