A glance behind the glitter usually reveals something more than a colourful paradise. It invalidates the deceptions of fame. It is akin to what Saul Bellow likened to picking up a dangerous wire fatal to ordinary folk or rattlesnakes handled by hillbillies in a state of religious exaltation, in his novel, Humboldt’s Gift. Many who grasped these super-charged wires and serpents have been found to incandesce in acclaim for a little while and then they wink out which leads to a more profound suspicion of celebrity and acclaim, writes OLATUNJI OLOLADE, Assistant Editor…
Everybody knew Joe Layode. Then everybody hated Joe Layode, and loved him, just as his characters demanded. Either as the ambitious upstart alongside American movie greats, Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn in the 1951 epic, The African Queen; or Teacher Garuba, the enfant terrible character in rested family soap, The Village Headmaster, Layode captured the subtleties of fiction effortlessly and quite impressively, thus making his simplest interpretations memorable. Like pieces of a shared life, an intimacy between him and whoever cares to remember and appreciate. No eulogy would perhaps depict the essence of the actor whose latter interpretations coincidentally mirrored his shattered end. Perhaps he dreamt a better fate; that, no one would ever know. Critics and movie enthusiasts can only admire what was seen of him and imagine what might have been of the foremost actor whose existence and demise still implores the passing tribute of a sigh.
Layode, for all his artistry and renown, died wretched at 87. Following a protracted ailment that left him virtually blind and sapped of strength, Layode cut a sorry picture of lack and unappreciated talent often eliciting sympathetic gasps from visitors and neighbours in his Iba Housing Estate neighbourhood. Layode was practically living from hand to mouth as he could barely raise enough money to feed and maintain himself. At his death, he was almost denied a decent burial as he was initially buried in a shallow grave, because there wasn’t enough money to buy him a decent resting place.
Late Dejumo Lewis, one of his colleagues on The Village Headmaster set, was furious over what he termed shabby treatment of Layode’s body at the supposed venue for the lying in state. Layode’s body was allegedly rejected by the National Theatre. It was also reportedly taken to the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) office at the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) but it was also rejected. Eventually, his casket was returned to the ambulance and taken to the Atan Cemetery, Yaba, where he was buried. But for his daughter, Sade Aladejuwon; veteran artistes, Eddie Ugboma, Elsie Olusola, the Late Dejumo Lewis and National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) Lagos chapter, the seasoned actor might have suffered a raw deal, even in death.
And then there was Ahmed Oduola. Popularly known as Dento, Oduola died a few days ago at 66, after suffering a debilitating stroke and tuberculosis. The ailment which left him emaciated inflicted upon him partial paralysis; at some point he was also bedridden and unable to talk. The late actor and his family could not raise the sum of N250, 000 reportedly needed to get him proper medical treatment, thus they had to seek financial assistance from the public.
Expectedly, well-meaning Nigerians responded to calls for assistance for the late actor. He eventually passed away even though his condition was said to be improving steadily.
Oduola hailed from Olusunle compound in the Idi-Arere area of Ibadan in Oyo State. Although he brought smiles and laughter to many homes, courtesy his trademark comic character, Dento, he departed the world in a very sad state, dying impoverished in his father’s house despite his long years of service and devotion to Nigerian television and film acting. Oduola began his acting career performing with Lere Paimo’s Eda Onileola Theatre Group, where he acted the role of Aderinto – from where his popular sobriquet, Dento evolved. However, due to lack of fulfillment and stark impoverishment by his chosen profession, Oduola quit acting in his later years to survive by his other skill: tailoring. Unfortunately, he died just before he could chance on survival. He left behind, six wives and eight children, although none of the wives was living with him at the time of his death.
Although, he passed away before Oduola, the case of James Akwari Iroha a.k.a Gringory, actor and creator of the rested Nigerian Television Authority (N.T.A) family sitcom, The New Masquerade fame, also incites pity and disillusionment in the Nigerian entertainment industry.
Iroha gave 40 years of his life to acting. But at 70, he died with very little to show for years of dedication to the field. Although newspaper reports alleged that he lived and died in penury, his family members have since mounted vehement protests denouncing the reports as untrue and unfair to a man who contributed so much to Nigeria’s entertainment industry.
More saddening, however, was the fact that Iroha battled an affliction of the deadly glaucoma his eyes, for which he had undergone several operations both at home and abroad with no success. He later developed high blood pressure and other undisclosed ailments in the course of treating the ailment.
The 1966 graduate of University of Ibadan spent four days in the hospital in his final battle with an ailment he had been battling for about a decade. No doubt, the fate of Nigeria’s pioneer artistes oftentimes provokes feelings of disillusionment in both the government and the arts industry. A careful perusal of Late Iroha’s disclosure about the state in which they were forced to work emphasizes the desolation that characterizes the world of Nigerian actors, particularly the pioneer generation.
According to the late actor, “Government, ab initio, was projecting us and said we ought to have been paying them. According to them, that they gave us a medium to express ourselves was good enough; so they were even asking us to pay. They were paying us N250 per episode of The New Masquerade. Some of us got N2; others received N10 only, and even at that we kept praying and hoping that we would appear the next week. So unlike now, we were not paid any professional fees.
“A time came when I thought the government discovered that they had skeletons in their cupboard. They thought, perhaps, we were going places and at the end of the day we may end up destroying them, exposing them too much in The New Masquerade.
“That’s why they supported our being yanked off the air. That was how we were rested. I’m sure Nigerians still want the programme, even till tomorrow. If we start it again, it would still be as wholesome and entertaining as it was in the beginning. Even in Nollywood, we have seen all sorts of video productions, but we have not seen anything better than The New Masquerade.”
Despite inspiring reports about the rising fortunes of the Nigerian film industry – according to CNN and industry statistics, the industry is the second highest revenue earner in Nigeria today with a revenue figure of N9 billion – the lives of many Nigerian actors and actresses contrast negatively with any such phenomenon.
Reality unarguably dispels claims to riches and stardom perpetuated by many Nigerian actors according to numerous stakeholders. “Most of them earn far little than they claim to earn. If any actor or actress tells you that he or she earns as much as N1.7 million or N2 million per flick, that person is a liar,” claimed a costumier and make-up artist who simply identified herself as Preye.
Corroborating her, Afolabi Odunjo, a movie producer and editor, disclosed: “Many of them (artistes), in abject desperation to measure up to the hype and expectations of affluence that comes with their fame, influence the media to misinform the public by spreading tales of their mind-blowing salaries and wealth,” he claimed.
The Nation findings revealed that while artistes in hot demand earn between N500,000 and N300,000, seasoned actors earn a paltry N200,000 or thereabouts for appearances in traditional epics and between N100, 000 and N150, 000 for appearances in contemporary-themed movies.
Surprisingly, many notable actors earn between N50, 000 and N100, 000 for movie appearances. That is why many of them seek appearances in as much movies as possible – the idea is to improve their net-income per month. If an artiste features in four movies at N80, 000 per flick, there is the likelihood that he or she would earn as much as N320, 000 in a month. However, despite the likelihood of recording such earnings, not a few artistes groan over inability to receive their fees in full, even after fulfilling their part of the contractual obligation.
Many artistes have been known to storm movie locations to demand their outstanding fees from movie makers. And then many more artistes are forced to barter their appearances in movies for fellow artistes’ appearances in their own movies. This practice is sustained by an unwritten rule of engagement that makes an artiste beholden and morally bound to reciprocate gestures of free appearances in his or her flick by fellow artistes. This professional barter system is blamed for the stark impoverishment of numerous artistes and their inability to measure up to expectations of fame and affluence that they enjoy by their numerous appearances in various movies.
The deceptions and grand delusions of artistes laying indefensible claims to wealth and breathtaking fees is as prevalent in a particular movie sector. Many artistes in that film industry like their other counterparts, derive satisfaction in faking reality. In fact, the delusion is even more prevalent in the sector as not a few artistes have been known to plummet to obscurity in the wake of their crass showiness and desperate claims to affluence.
Many actors, according to movie pundits, have plunged to infamy in their desperate bids to keep up appearances and sustain a larger-than-life reputation. “That is why many of them resort to even more desperate measures like serving as drug mules for crime syndicates. That is why certain artistes who dominated the news in the past have dissolved into obscurity despite their numerous appearances in movies today,” according to movie critic and photo-journalist, Olajumoke Ayinde.
Stories of artistes behaving badly have become almost a sub-field of journalism. However, decorum was preserved by presenting these as having genuine “human interest,” a euphemism for voyeuristic appeal. Till date, many artistes desperately seek to scandalise themselves in a frantic bid to accommodate the demands of fame.
The mission to illuminate and expose the “real self” behind the screen or stage façade, meanwhile, galvanised journalists. One of the effects of the ever-more intrusive media’s reportage of the private lives of the famous was in promoting the notion that success, happiness and self-fulfillment had little to do with material goods or social status – a comforting thought for people to embrace in a society increasingly characterised by stark inequalities of wealth and power.
Poverty and the Nigerian artiste
Some artistes simply choose to remain poor or live within their modest means rather than soil their name and reputation that they have painstakingly built over the years. Think Joe Layode and other pioneers in the field. In fact, the poverty of the Nigerian artiste is an undeniable phenomenon; with numbers increasing dramatically among Nigeria’s surviving generation of pioneer artistes. Those who are not impoverished keep a virtually modest lifestyle. Scared of ending up by their financially disadvantaged predecessors, many contemporary artistes resort to keeping second jobs, particularly those who are too principled to grovel before politicians and criminal masterminds or resort to crime.
In economic terms, this suggests an oversupply of artists, but unlike other sectors of the economy, artistes hardly quit. That they seemingly “cannot do otherwise”, leads to the notion that the economy of the arts is exceptional. In the sector, the usual mechanisms of supply and demand suffer a dysfunction, according Prince Emeka Nnaji, a lecturer in Film Studies and self-acclaimed movie entrepreneur.
The problem
It has become a source of major concern that Nigeria’s artistic heritage is under pressure because most artistes and entertainers end up destitute after they have spent considerable time of their lives entertaining their people. Consequently, many talented artistes are quitting the industry after years of unfulfilled service to practise other vocations as illustrated by the case of Oduola who quit acting to practise tailoring at some point.
This is thus leading to the extinction of African Artistic heritage. Because of the lack suffered by the passing generation of pioneers, many contemporary artistes are today motivated by the commercial gains derivable from the expression of their talents rather than the love it. Moguls and self-styled godfathers of the entertainment industry who have the power and money to make things happen are beginning to influence the message of the African movie or social documentary. And producers, writers, and directors to mention a few are finding themselves in situations where they sacrifice or substitute the true substance of African cultural heritage with commercial and oftentimes, Western-themed messages aimed at appealing to vanities and making quick money. The common excuse for this new age money driven motivation of some African artistes is that they have to make a living and acquire riches in order not to end up destitute after the fame departs and they are left at the mercy of feeble old age and posterity.
Unappreciated old glories
Joe Layode, Hubert Ogunde, Eddie Ugboma, veteran movie maker and one of the first African international actors/directors, among many others helped to put Nigeria and Africa on the world map of artistic reckoning. However, many of these artistic gurus are yet to be appropriately appreciated and institutionalised in the annals of the country’s artistic greats, according to Oliver Mbamara, a United States-based actor/producer and lawyer.
“Worse still, it is very disheartening to note that such great talents like the famous Claude Eke a.k.a. Cief Jegede Shokoya of The New Masquerade fame did not get any befitting assistance from the people and government of the country when they retired or began their descent from the hill of popularity…Entertainers like these invested all their time and life into entertaining their people. They did not have time for a second job. They did not get any endorsements or have enough money to set up major business ventures. Their names were praised but hardly paid for. No brand name companies that brought returns for using their names in businesses like designer shoes, clothing, cologne, etc. Actually, most of these artistes were barely paid their salaries, yet they continued to be in the entertainment world due to their love of it, and when the salaries ended, they found nothing to live upon,” he lamented
Lust for the American dream
“It is no secret that most contemporary Nigerian artistes would die to play the role of a minor or extra in a Hollywood flick. The situation has currently degenerated to the extent star actors and actresses in Nigeria oftentimes reveal, albeit shamelessly, their dreams of acting alongside prominent Hollywood actors. But how would this translate to better fortunes for the Nigerian film industry and better fate for the Nigerian artiste?” wondered Theophilus Onimise, a video store owner and movie enthusiast.
However, Oyindamola Oluyinka, an actress, disagreed with him. According to Oluyinka, acting alongside prominent Hollywood actors will give Nigerian artistes better exposure and favourably position local talents to a greater world audience.
Indeed, the United States of America (USA) remains the dream country mostly because many individuals eventually get to realise their aspirations in the American environment but this is mostly with the help of the socio-cultural and economic structure of the society, which strongly rest on the theories, and practices of capitalism. Successful artistes of Nigerian parenthood currently making waves in US and the United Kingdom include Sophie Okonedo of the Hotel Rwanda fame, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje a.k.a Mr. Eko of the Oz and Lost, H.B.O series fame, Caroline Chikezie of the Supernatural fame, Tunde Adebimpe, Chiwetel Ejiofor of the Amistad, American Gangster and Dirty Pretty Things fame.
Beyond talk…
“We may write as many essays and deliver as many papers, but one sure way to go beyond theory,” according to Mbamara, “is for the heads of African government to appoint ministers and commissioners from established and experienced artistes who have the love of the arts and the interest of the culture at heart”.
Many more pundits have made a case for direct grants to artistes. According to them, such grants must be made truly available to the actual stakeholders in the nation’s film industry – unlike the mythical $200 million largesse President Goodluck Jonathan claimed to have given to the local film industry. According to many artistes, they are yet to receive or benefit from any such money.
Direct grants or subsidies to artistes are expected to make it possible for an artiste, at a particular point in his or her career, to devote every available time to the production of excellent art work. It is expected to remove the necessity to maintain a day job and assist an artiste in acquiring a critical resource or asset that has longer term returns such as a marketable artistic output, knowledge and skills, marketing and promotion, staff, representation, a piece of equipment, a studio, state of the art gadgets, among many other things. And often direct grants, particularly if competitive or associated with awards, send a signal to other gatekeepers, that is, funders, donors, producers, and the press that a particular artiste is worthy of time and support and may result in more resources and attention flowing to that artiste.
It may be worth noting, however, that this ‘signalling’ effect can contribute to the ‘winner-takes-all’ phenomenon that sometimes exists in the arts and entertainment sector and thereby make it even more difficult for new entrants to emerge and find resources.
Notwithstanding its likely gains and demerits, government grants and direct subsidies to artistes simply constitute a measure among many others required to salvage the local film industry and fashion a better fate and work atmosphere for Nigeria’s league of extraordinary artistes. The government and stakeholders need to go back to the drawing board to devise viable and sustainable means to resolve the problems of the local film industry and institutionalise a culture of appreciation of Nigeria’s old glories, stated Idris Shomide, a film critic and script writer.
Until then, Nigeria will continue to rue the disappearance of its league of extraordinary artistes. That has to be saddening. It is. Even at the verge of obscurity and feeble old age, seasoned artistes like Layode and Iroha still managed to skim that dazzling trope of individuality and excellence that is the soul of acting. Whether as minor and major characters, these Nigerian ambassadors of art told the story fluently, sharing different degrees of intimacies with their fans and critics, with numerous beginnings and ends; a sense of birth and death, while their heartfelt interpretations cheat their fast-dwindling fans of a sigh and charm them to a tear.
