Versatile Nollywood actor,the man known as
the black arrow and President of The Actors Guild of Nigeria,Lagos indigene
Segun Arinze few hours ago resigned his Presidency of Africa’s largest Actors Guild
after serving for two years.
An attempt to hold an AGM to elect a new
executive in Benin was marred by violence.CKN Nigeria got in touch with the
well known actor to get a first hand information on what transpired and why the
Guild is finding it difficult to elect his successor..Segun spoke in a No Hold
Barred Interview, the first interview he granted any online medium in Nigeria
and abroad after his resignation..Read onThe time was 8..56pm on thursady 3rd May 2012 when a call was made to Segun’s phone from Abuja..
After ringing for about 20 seconds,his unmistakenable baritone voice came on..
Segun: Hei: CKN ,how far.how you dey,where you dey.
CKN Nigeria..I dey
fine bro,how u dey..where you sef dey.
Segun..Am
driving,on my way home.
CKN:Ok,Na true say
u don resign?
Segun..Yes o,I have
,did you see my resignation letter
CKN Nigeria.No ,I
haven’t,
Segun:Ok I ll mail
it to you when I get home. I have your email address
CKN Nigeria, that
will be fine, but I want you to grant me an interview now, probably the first
to any media house in Nigeria after your recognition.
Segun..Bros,you
know I ll do anything for you CKN,we have come a long way together..i seem to
be the hottest commodity in town now, everyone wants to interview me. I ve
heard so much about your blog..I am impressed by what I have seen and read.
This is what a blog should look like, but you l l have to call me on my other line,
because the battery of this phone will soon go off and let me park while we
talk.
CKN Nigeria..I ll
call you back in 5 minutes time.
Segun: That will
be ok with me.
Seven minutes time, we called back on the
alternative line and he picked immediately.
CKN Nigeria...Can
we talk now?.
Segun...Why not,
fire on.
CKN Nigeria...Why
did you resign As President, Actors Guild of Nigeria, the biggest association
of actors and actresses in Africa ?
Segun..I resigned
because my tenure has expired. it ran between 2009 -2011,two years. Am not a
sit tight President.
CKN Nigeria..What was
the highest point of your tenure?.
Segun…..First and
foremost .the Guild under our leadership for the first time in the history of
Nollywood was able to get affiliated to such international movie industries and
Associations in USA like Federation Of International Actors (FIA),Twinning
process with Screen Actors Guild US ,collaboration and MOU
with fellow African Actors Guild like that of Ghana etc.Our tenure was
also devoid of any rancor with any member or group of people It is also to our
credit that throughout our tenure, we didn’t for a single day have problem with
members of the Board Of trustees of the guild, which has always been the norm.
CKN Nigeria..And
your lowest moment?
Segun…My lowest
moment is now
CKN Nigeria…Why?
Segun..Well, what
happened at the cancelled Guilds AGM in Benin was unprecedented in the life of
our Association. Could you believe that charms, juju and eggs were freely used
by the actors and actresses, made up of the contestants and delegates..There
was a free for all. Everyone took to their heels.I have never seen anything
like that in my life.
The election was
to be a family affair. We are not a political party but rather an association
of professions..To say i was disappointed is just putting it mildly.
CKN Nigeria..So
what really led to the mayhem?
Segun..The
chairman of the electoral committee.AGNEC ,Sunny Macdonald went beyond his
mandate..I was the one that appointed them with a full term of reference and code
of conduct for the election.
But for selfish in
defendable reasons, he went beyond his mandate and that led to the fracas..Some
State delegates said no State election was conducted to elect their delegate as
enshrined in our constitution.
CKN Nigeria:So
when will this be resolved.?
Segun,,,The Board
of trustees will get it sorted out and election will be held soon.
CKN Nigeria….We
were made to understand that your effort to impose certain candidates led to
the problem.
Segun...That’s a
lie from the pit of hell. I have no preferred candidate..All we want is the
best candidate that will continue with the legacies and foundations we have
laid. Down. Talks were making the rounds that I didn’t want to resign, but I
have been vindicated now.
CKN Nigeria..So
what’s next with the Guild?
Segun…:I advice
that all culprits that disrupted that convention should be brought to book as a
deterrent to others who may want to repeat same act next time..I also want to
use this opportunity on behalf of my former executive to apologise to all the delegates
and stake holders on the incident. I want to assure them that we ll surely get
it right because we ought to be seen as role models. In every election, there
must be a winner and loser; it should be in the spirit of sportsmanship.
CKN Nigeria..What
has happened to the lifeline $250m lifeline given the entertainment industry by
the President Goodluck Jonathan..How well have you people utilized that money?
Segun……That is
news to me..Till today i can tell you without any contraction that we have not
seen a dime from that so called fund..We are yet to draw from it..Maybe the
relevant agencies should help us on this.
CKN Nigeria..It
has been said that a lot of mediocrity abound in the industry,Nollywood is now
an all comers affair..Standard has been sacrificed on the altar of
professionalism..What’s your Association doing about this?.
Segun…..Mediocrity
is not a birth right of Nollywood alone, you see it in all other professions
including yours, journalism. Law, Medicine etc. It’s not the fight for only
actors.The Marketers, Directors etc also have a larger share of the blame.I
believe with time, we will be able to separate the men from the boys..
CKN Nigeria..Thanks
Segun for given us over two hours of your time on this unscheduled interview.
Segun..Thanks CKN
Nigeria..Keep up the good work. God bless…..CKN
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