How Subsidy Largesse Polarised Nollywood

Feelers reaching Showbiz Trends revealed that the New Year eve fuel subsidy removal consultative parley between President Goodluck Jonathan’s team led by Oronto Douglas, Special Adviser to the President on Documentation and Research, and some select Nollywood stars at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, has polarized the industry.

According to an insider who attended the parley, some other notables in the Nigerian movie industry are not happy with the blanket endorsement of the removal without due consultation with all stakeholders in the industry.

It was gathered a cabal, led by various guild heads and leaders, including Segun Arinze, Actors Guild of Nigeria President, Fidelis Duker, Paul Obazele, Zach Orji, Abubakar Yakubu and Charles Novia among others, at the ‘roundtable’ gave their nod to President Jonathan to go ahead to implement the controversial subsidy removal.

A source said Andy Amenechi, President, Directors Guild of Nigeria and notable filmmaker, Mahmod Alli-Balogun, who were expected to play a big role at the parley, declined to attend at the last minute. Others who spoke at the meeting are Zeb Ejiro, Charles Novia, Zik Zulu Okafor and Peace Anyiam-Osigwe.

Reacting to the outcome of the meeting, actor Charles Inojie was miffed. “The meeting was a charade. It is pertinent to put it on record that whereas these so-called self-serving leaders hid under the ambiguous umbrella of Nollywood to carry out their evil agenda, they lack the support and endorsement of core practitioners who labour day and night to sustain the Nollywood brand,” Inojie said.

According to him, some of those at the meeting were “actors and filmmakers most of whom have long lost their credibility…but who make a living from the festering crisis in the industry… They don’t represent the voice of Nollywood and have no right to enter into any far reaching negotiations on behalf of the industry without necessary consultations. Simply put, they are on their own!”

Another actor who pleaded anonymity said: “In other climes, artistes act as activists for change. In Nigeria, they team up with successive governments to further cause pain and suffering to Nigerians after they have been ‘encouraged’ with some stipend. Nigerians’ cries mean nothing to these so-called Nollywood leaders who are always fighting for presidential peanuts,” the actor said.

One angry industry watcher fumed: “Why should Nollywood become a group of sycophants. Do they think they will be exempt from the reality of fuel subsidy removal?”

Showbiz Trends gathered that when the heat generated by their decision became unbearable, movie producer Fidelis Duker had hit the social networking media to defend his support. He has posted on a Blackberry group: “Deregulation has helped the communication, aviation and broadcast industry. That is why you have the likes of Airtel, MTN, Aero, Air Nigeria, Arik and also the likes of AIT, STV etc. 99 per cent of Nigerians want deregulation of the downstream sector, but what they are scared of is the trust of the government. I think our role is to inform Nigeria on the benefits of the policy.

“I support the removal of subsidy and deregulation of the downstream sector. Only an ignorant mind will say it should stay. The intellectual minds of Nollywood were those invited and we debated and offered our suggestions to government. The faceless BlackBerry writer must be confused and among those bounced for their poor intellectual capacity.”

Showbiz Trends learnt that apart from sidelining the Yoruba sector of the industry from the parley because of the fear that they might eventually rock the boat, others are also spoiling for a showdown when the chips are finally down. Some actors are ready to shame their colleagues who they believed have been heavily compromised by the Federal Government team after the parley.

“Ask yourself why none of these people is fighting for the $200million intervention fund Jonathan promised Nollywood since March last year. It is because these guys are content with the periodic peanuts from Jonathan. So other artistes can as well starve to death. Nigerians should not forget these Nollywood ‘leaders’ when they start dying of starvation because they have eaten a plate of ‘pepper soup’ and mortgaged the future of not only artistes, but other Nigerians dependant on them,” a worried senior actor told this publication.

Other players at the meeting include Chico Ejiro, Francis Onwuchei, Emma Ogugua, Rita Dominic, Fred Amata, Monalisa Chinda, Sunny Mcdon, Ifeanyi Dike.

—Funsho Arogundade