Nollywood Movies Lack Good Scripts

Veteran actress, Bukky Zainab Ajayi, in this interview with P.M.Entertainment, speaks on her career, the movie industry and other issues

As a veteran with many years of experience in the motion picture industry, can you tell us some of the things to look out for in a good production?

First of all, you need to look at the storyline whether it is good or bad. You don’t say a film is good because you see girls wearing skimpy dresses or so. A good film must teach something that when you get home you sit down and think about it. You see, I don’t believe in us promoting what we already know is bad in the society. What do we get out of that? Nothing. More armed robbers and provocative stuffs; that is what we see everyday happening in our movies.

Have you had reasons to reject scripts at all?

Yes.

Why?

Because some scripts are not just good, so I do not reject them out rightly but I will tell them I’m busy doing something else. That is so as not to sound rude to whoever brings the script. Sometimes, some will contact and never come back, but it doesn’t bother me at all. I believe that no matter what, what is mine will be mine.

You started as a TV presenter in NTA before moving into full time acting. At what point did you discover the potential of acting in you?

I have always had the talent since I was a kid, but may be I never had the chance. It is step by step. Whether I appeared on the television as a presenter or an actress is still the same thing. I wouldn’t let anybody tell me they are not the same thing.

So, did you ever envisage coming this far as an actress?

No, I will not lie. One thing is that when I first started and I looked at Oyinbo films, I always said that I would get there someday, but I never knew I would get this far. But to God be the glory, I am where I am today.

What actually influenced your acting career, because I learnt that as a little girl, you usually went with your father to cinemas and all that?

Cuts in… How did you know?

I have been one of your followers for many years

My father was an instrument. He was the only person who believed in me. He believed I was going to be an artiste. One day, I told him, ‘Daddy, I will be a star one day.’ But unfortunately, he never lived to see me become what I told him that day.

There is no doubt that you have been successful as an actress. But when you look back, is there anything you would have loved to change about yourself, or something you think you should have done better?

None. If I could rewind the time, everything I did would still be the same. I have enjoyed every bit of my life.

You are more than 70 years now and you still move from one movie location to the other actively. What is the secret?

It is the Almighty God. I trust Him, I believe in Him, I lean on Him, and whoever I am today or whatever I’m doing, I give the glory to Allah. He has always been behind me.

You once acted alongside some Hollywood stars in a movie in South Africa. With your experience on both the local and international scenes, how do you rate Nollywood?

I don’t want to answer that question because I might offend a lot of people.

You had said in previous interviews that you don’t believe in Nollywood, and there are many veterans who share the same opinion. So I don’t think you will step on any toe by saying your mind?

I am still telling you that I don’t want to offend some people.

Will you say the industry has come of age?

To some people, yes, and to others, no, and to some, we haven’t even started.

So in your own perspective, are you satisfied with the standard of Nollywood movies?

Of course no! I am definitely not satisfied.

Basically, what are you not satisfied with?

Please, don’t let me offend my people. I am over 70, so I want to go to my grave smiling.

Okay, if you are in a position to make certain changes in the motion picture industry, where will you start from?

Hmmm… I will start from the scripts. We need good scripts. I once asked a producer why some of them can’t come together to write a very good script? Get good actors and actresses. Try as much as possible to produce such film and see what happens. When I went to South Africa to work, people said ‘ha, after all it is an Oyinbo film.’ But the truth is that Oyinbo people started from somewhere. So, why can’t we? If you go to London or America to work, they feed you very well; give you a house, car and a driver. It was the same way I was treated in South Africa and America. And what I don’t take in Nigeria is when everybody would come to me and say ‘hi’. If you want to greet me, greet me properly. And if you don’t want to greet me, don’t say ‘hi’. It could be annoying. If we start with a good script from the scratch, we won’t need to re-work a film that someone has produced in 1841.

You belong to the generation of actors who started their career on stage. Will you say the dominance of home movies has paved way for charlatans and as well diminished stage acting?

No. A lot of people could come into the industry without knowing about how it operates, those are the people who rush in and rush out. When you sit down to think about what these people are getting, I will tell you they are not getting anything, but the fact that they are in the industry is enough for them. They are there because of the name. Those are the people you see in hotels as prostitutes. For God’s sake, why can’t we weed the good from the bad? I know it has to do with three things; the good, the bad and the ugly, but we can sanitise the industry, and it should start from the scripts. Someone brought a script to me some time ago. After reading the script, I rejected it, but the person did not know why I did so till today. I went through the script and realised that it was an English film I had watched that he changed. I had watched the film in London. So how do you expect me to take part in such film? I won’t do that. I may die or live tomorrow, but at least, I have played my own part and I think I enjoyed it.

Apparently, you must have lost count of the movies you starred in, which of them was the most challenging?

‘Widow’s Cot’. I had good time on it. But Nigeria did not want to see that as something great. Widow’s Cot was something I really enjoyed.

Are you fulfilled?

Yes, I am fulfilled. I have done some small roles that I believe are good. I have played my part.

In the next couple of years, where do you see the Nigerian movie industry?

It is going to be greater than this because I believe the next generation will see what we are saying now and say ‘enough is enough’. That is the revolution that will happen in the industry.

—Bayo Adetu