Listen To The People’s Cry, Actors Urge Jonathan

As the heat and controversy generated by the removal of fuel subsidy lingers, Nigerian actors have advised President Goodluck Jonathan to drop his ego and listen to the cry of the masses.

Speaking on behalf of the thespians, National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Segun Arinze, dismissed the rumour making the rounds that some actors are in support of fuel subsidy removal because they have benefited from Jonathan’s largesse.

According to Arinze, Nigerian actors are appealing to President Goodluck Jonathan to listen to the cries of the masses over the removal of oil subsidy and revert to the old price of N65. He opined that much as Nigerians believe in the total deregulation of the downstream sector, the timing of the removal of the subsidy was wrong.

According to Arinze, “over the years successive administrations have been engaged in a war of words, or even protests, by Nigerians over the vexed issue of deregulation or removal of oil subsidy. This is one thing that affects everybody —unions, market women, transporters, students, workers, the ordinary Nigerian on the street and we the Nollywood practitioners.

“We recently had a round table on the 30 December, 2011, to be precise with the theme: Understanding Deregulation. It was an AGN initiative and had panelists made up of industry practitioners where this issue was discussed extensively.

“We as an industry are part of Nigeria’s economy and have nothing against deregulation of the downstream sector. However, can we trust the government on the implementation? We at AGN appeal to the Federal Government to listen to the masses, revert to N65 and put new plans in place.

The AGN also urged the President and members of his cabinet to make more pay cuts immediately, and that includes the National Assembly, Ministers, Governors and even Council Chairmen.

The AGN added that the cost of governance should be reduced because there are too many personnel in the system and this is a sheer waste of tax payers’ money.

The body of actors added that palliative measures be put in place as soon as possible before deregulation to help cushion the effects on the masses (electricity, healthcare, transportation, education).

The AGN urged government to take the issue of security very seriously, as the current suituation is scary and embarrassing. That body urged government to be transparent and honest in the management of monies realised from the deregulation, and that a turn around maintenance (TAM) be embarked upon to make our refineries function at optimal range.

“This we believe will make Nigerians build trust and begin the process of true transformation,” Arinze added.

When asked why Nollywood was poorly represented at the Save Nigeria rally convened by Pastor Tunde Bakare at Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos, Arinze claimed that he and other actors including Kate Henshaw, Charles Inojie, Steph Nora and Abubakar Yakub were more or less the conveners of the Falomo protest, “so there is no way we can be in two places at the same time.”