Asiegbu is completely out of the way, while Segun Arinze emerge the uneasy head that wears the troubled crown. While the care-taker committee, set up by the Board of Trustees, BOT, of the guild and chaired by actor Kanayo .O. Kanayo fine-tune plans to hold a general election that will usher in a new breed of leadership for the guide come this December, embattled Asiegbu, allegedly, penultimate Wednesday in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, organized an election that produced Arinze as president, thus diving the AGN, the Anayo- led interim administration has disowned the election, describing it as “ a sham and unconstitutional’.
He was supported by the chair of actors group in Lagos, Mr. Ernest Obi, who said the election was “null, void and of no effect… a breach of AGN constitution” and that Arinze is not a member of AGN Lagos chapter. But Arinze says he was legitimately elected as the new president of AGN.
As the fire rages on, HVP, which has followed the development keenly, gives you the latest on the matter on who controls the AGN.
Do I say congratulations Mr. President or what?
Anyhow you want to put it is okay by me. If you wish to say congratulations, fine. But if you don’t wish to, it’s all well and good. For everything, I give thanks to God.
You were elected on the platform of Ejike Asiegbu faction as AGN president …..
I was elected constitutionally. I vied for the post constitutionally and as God will have it, I won. That’s the way to look at it.
Who are the people that witnessed this election?
Sam Loco was there as the chairman. He conducted the election. We had the presence of the police, 22 delegates and all the state chairmen and excos were all there. And all these people make up the congress of the Actors Guild of Nigeria.
Was Lagos State represented?
Yes, Lagos State had a representative in the person of Mr. Wisdom. Mr. Ernest Obi was expected but I guess he chose not to come. Kogi and Sokoto states didn’t come also. Akwa Ibom state took permission that they weren’t coming.
Before the election, I thought there was some kind of litigation against Ejike Asiegbu by his former executive?
I must say that you’ve known me since 1992 – 93 till date and you know that I’ll never do anything against the law. Everything I do is within the confines of the constitution. The suit you’re talking about was the one by Steve Eboh, alongside other members of trustees asking the court to grant Ejike leave to step aside and also not to expel him from the guild. And that’s the only suit that I’m aware of.
But you also collected forms to contest from both sides (Ejike’s platform and the caretaker committee’s headed by KOK)?
I did not collect forms from both sides.
But you told us you’re contesting on both sides.
I never did. I said I would like to bring the house together. I have contested under the constitution of AGN and that’s how it will remain..
I thought you also have a relationship with KOK?
This has nothing to do with relationship or no relationship. I’m a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria. I’m not party to any committee and I told Ejike to his face that I’m not on his side. I’ve also told KOK that I’m not on anybody’s side and nobody will use me to pursue any war.
I’m a man of my own. I came into AGN on my own and I took the decision to run for the position of the president of AGN on my own and bring about change. That is what I have said and I’m still standing by that.
So it’s not a question of being on KOK or BOT on Ejike side. As far as I am concerned, we’re all making fools of ourselves before the entire world.
Lagos AGN says you’re not a card carrying member…
I see. If they say so, then they should prove it. If they look for my file and don’t find it then, I’ll know what to do.
There’s a saying in Igbo language that says what a man will do is buried in his heart. So, I’m just keeping quiet and watching them.
Are you suspecting that somebody might toy with it?
I don’t want to suspect anything. I’ve no business suspecting anybody. I see all those things they say as political bullshit. I like it when people talk with correct facts. I am a bonafide member of AGN.
The Actors Guild of Nigeria, Abuja chapter ,gave an award of recognition in 2007 to Segun Arinze. I’m an AGN member from the onset. I contested alongside Emmanuel Ogugua and he won. We shook hands and he promised that we’d work together then.
This same Emmanuel Ogugua campaigned for me to become vice president and today he turns around to say I’m not a member of AGN. I laughed because it’s laughable. I’m too mature for those kinds of dirty politics.
I’ve always said one thing and I’m saying it again-it is the Actors Guild of Nigeria and if we agree to that, we should have a national outlook. The AGN is an association. It’s nobody’s property. It’s above me or any other person.
In fact, no member of AGN is above the guild. And this is a guild that is supposed to help propagate the cause of the Nigerian actor, look into their welfare and sort out the problems facing it. Because we’ve come from diverse backgrounds under one umbrella, which is this guild.
You have a hectic task ahead of you. First, there’s the secretariat unused for months. How do you hope to go about it? Are you going to collapse AGN into one?
We’re not collapsing… (laughing). We will surely come back as one. All these things will soon pass away.
What if they go ahead and hold their election?
Forget, it will pass. Those things are all distractions which will fail. It is only natural for people to have their own grievances. Of course, everybody has a right to be aggrieved. What matters is how you go about telling people of your grief. It is not unusual to see people argue over elections and things like that.
Nearly every association has gone through that. I’m sure you know that the Nigerian Medical Association and even the Nigerian Bar Association went through all that. Even the Nigerian Labour Congress went through things like this.
But you must also put your house in order because if your house is not in order, then who will you follow?
I’d rather fight wars and win without bullets than fight with bullets and everybody is dead and I’m left alone.
Yes, but there is a BOT…
Within the constitution that brought me in, when Mr. Asiegbu, the former president was leaving office, he dissolved all that. So, right now, I’m not going to say anything about BOT because I’ve not had any meetings with the former BOT yet.
I’m afraid because the other body was set up and empowered by the BOT.
I also want you to understand that the role of the BOT is that of advisory and not administrative. They also have their own grievances like anyone else and whether we like it or not, we can’t wish them away. Definitely, we will all sit on a round table and fashion out a way to move this association forward.
What are the things you want to begin with?
I’m not going to start fighting any wars because that energy can be saved to better this association. But I’m not going to stand as a coward. But I’ll stand my ground. All we need now is to sit down and fashion out new ways to move the guild forward because we’ve been so stagnated.
Now that you’re coming in, what are those things you intend to do to fight those who showcase our home movies on cable TV and then piracy?
Now you’re beginning to speak my language. We know there are anomalies but there are other ways of going about these things instead of fighting and those are some of the things I have on my agenda to deal with. If we are a united house, we should come out to say we detest what has happened.
When Enebeli had a recent attack and we tried to get him treated, nobody was ready to support. It was like ‘to your tent O-Isreal’ which should not be because it could have happened to any otherperson.
As a guild we should always think of everybody. I have a lot of things on my agenda which I hope to accomplish. I also have on my agenda, building new state chapters, looking into the welfare of actors, listening to all their cases and opening up more channels of discussion. Talking seriously, ethics conducts and disciplinary issues and contracts so many things that borders on the profession and creating a guild that has quality.
What about the cultural exchange thing?
Yes we are working on the cultural exchange thing with different countries. That is why I think that this industry is actually under the wrong ministry. We should be under the ministry of culture and tourism not information so that we can achieved all these.
There’s nothing wrong with a Nigerian producer going to Burkina Fasso with all his actors and they go there to make all the noise about Nollywood. At the end we benefit.
We’re also going to look at the fact that foreigners come here to make money and go without paying anything to the guild nor are they paying to the government. I don’t have anything against foreigners coming to work here, but I expect that they pay some respect to the king. You don’t walk into a king’s palace and just sit down or stroll around. You must give the king some kind of homage and that’s how it should be.
I think the movie industry hasn’t got the kind of fraternity it should have with the government and that’s why it hasn’t got the kind of support it should get……..
Let me also tell you that the AGN is just one of the necleus part that make up the motion picture industry. We have the directors guild, designers guild, script writers guild, the cinematographers guild and so on. We the actors are like the bride of the industry that attracts corporate bodies to come in.
You are a journalist and people respect you because you respect yourself but if you don’t, nobody will. You are addressed by what you call yourself.
Right now we have made ourselves so unattractive that nobody wants to talk to us. We don’t want a situation where people will continue to look at us as a bunch of irresponsible people. Lets stop fighting. You know sometimes I ask myself what are we fighting for? Is it that AGN is so rich that everybody wants to suck from it?
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