Friday, 21 March 2014

Government should stop giving actors money - John Okafor

Popular actor, John Okafor, in a
recent chat with Punch,
criticised the recent visit of the
Actors' Guild of Nigeria to
President Jonathan.
Okafor, popularly known as Mr
Ibu, said he had beef with
those who went to visit the
president because the
president is yet to set his
priorities right with regard to
Nollywood.

"The government should
stop giving Actors' Guild
cash, because we don't
know how to handle it.

Some people will go to the
office, process the money
and squander it and we
(actors) never benefit from
such goodwill.

"If they (government) can
give us a structure or land,
we (actors) can go ahead
and secure funds from
investors to build five-star
hotels and other facilities
on it, because it will be a
tourist haven. We can bring
the Nigerian Censor's
board into the same
arena." Okafor tells Punch.

Continue...

"How can we be paying
N50,000 to have one movie
censored and then
generate N5m from over
100 movies produced in a
month and yet there aren't
any structures in place for
Nollywood? "With such
amount of money,
government should be able
to cater for us. If this is
done, the industry will
make a giant stride."

Okafor also talked about
homosexuality in the Nollywood
industry...

"Homosexuality is very
rampant in our industry
and it is one thing that
aggravates my anger many
at times," he reveals.

He talks about fans not taking
him seriously because of the
'unserious roles' he plays in the
movies.

"Many people do not take
me seriously because of
the kind of roles I play in
movies. But the truth is that
those who know me very
well know that I am a very
focused and principled
person.

"In fact, I teach and mentor
many upcoming actors and
also organise workshops
and seminars regularly for
them."

He recalls when he knew he
would be an actor.

"I think I got the gift of
acting from my
grandfather. I discovered
this in the early 70s.

My
grandfather was a
foremost comedian in his
own right. Back in the days,
he would take me to places
where he performed.
Growing up, I realised that
I was going to become an
actor somehow," he
recalled.

Okafor says acting has not
made him rich
"Acting has not made me
rich, but I'm very
comfortable. I am able to
feed and adequately take
care of my family; neither
do I borrow money.

"It has also opened many
doors for me and it has
taken me far and wide
beyond my wildest
imagination. It has
exposed me to certain level
where I can say that God
has done it for me."

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