Actor, presenter, and chairman, Board of Trustees of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Ifeanyi Dike, could best be described as the proverbial cat with nine lives. After surviving two kidney transplants, he has since returned from India and is back to work in the guild. In this interview with MERCY MICHAEL, Prince Dike opens up on his past health challenges and also shares his experience in India as regards their film industry.
NOW that you are back, hale and hearty as you say, what are the things we should be expecting?
I am putting finishing touches to my programme. It will be starting this month. I want to believe that God has shown me the light. It’s a potpourri programme. It’s going to be a Talkshow. Its focus is going to be on sport, business, interviews, national issues. These are things I’m going to be doing on the programme. ‘The Sunday Delight’ is a potpourri Magazine Talkshow, every Sunday on NTA Channel 10 in Lagos. It’s going to be wonderful because I’m bringing some ideas from India and blending them with Nigerian ideas and you are going to see something wonderful. It’s all about entertainment.
Are you still going back to acting?
Of course, I want to start acting. I am now a dreamer (laughs). I want to take up roles people like Ramsey Nouah can do (laugh) but not action movie because I have limitations. There are things I cannot do.
Concerning the Board of Trustees of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, are you still the chairman?
I cannot answer that question. This question is better directed to the members of AGN and they will tell you who their chairman is.
If you look at the industry, you will see it has been going through a lot of changes.
Having spent quite some time in India, how would you rate our kind of production here compared to theirs?
Like in India, I was opportune to meet with some of their big directors. There is this director Harman Baweja. He owns a studio. In fact, I’m a member. I’m a live member of the studio right now. They inaugurated me at the studio and it was wonderful. The thing is that the government of India supports their movie industry so well that you can go and borrow money and shoot your movie. When I got to India, I discovered that the population is very large and that if you bring a movie and convert it to Indie language you are going to make so much money. I’m even planning towards that. In fact, I did some research and some people already have started bringing their movie for me to translate.
I have an India man that does that. They will translate from any language into Indie, then they will now take it to the cinemas. They have over thirty-two thousand cinemas. Imagine where you show your movies in about thirty-two thousand cinemas. When you show your movie in 32,000 cinemas, you will come back to Nigeria and money will be falling from all over your body. You can even charter a private plane and come back to Nigeria. The culture of cinema is lost here. People are afraid of gangsters and the rest of them. It’s only in places like Silverbird that you can go and watch a movie. But you see, the point is we should try as much as possible to guide this industry because it is employing a lot of people.
Nollywood is employing a lot of people, so government should deal with the guild and association in the industry. I learnt that government gave us 3billion naira. It’s only in the papers that we see this money. We have not seen it. And before you know it, one thing about life is that you don’t dangle carrot to people that are desperate. Before the carrot falls they will kill themselves. What you should do is deal with the guilds. They know who to work with. Don’t deal with people that feel they have connection. Because one thing I know in this country is that if I have connection I can work into the presidency and collect something. There are people that are elected. You should deal with the people’s choice. That is why we have election in the Actors Guild of Nigeria, in the association.
Deal with the guild, they will then show you producers you can deal with. They can tell you which producer owes actors. Some producers are owing actors. They are owing them and are not even willing to pay. Unfortunately too, most of the actors don’t sign contracts. They don’t sign contracts because they want to appear in movies. They are so desperate. In fact, they even go to the extent of saying remove so, so and so and put me there, I will do it for free. At the end of the day, they will start to complain, they didn’t pay me. Why would they pay you when you are desperate? People should learn how to sign contracts. There is a written contract paper from the guild that every actor must take to every audition.
If they accept you, you give them the contract papers and ask them to please sign, but most of them (actors) don’t want us to know how much they are being paid. They don’t bother to pick up the contract forms because any money they pay you, you are supposed to pay some to the association. Most of our stars don’t even pay dues, you won’t believe it. So what are we saying?
From what you just said about the association and the N3b, it is obvious that it could lead to quarrel?
It won’t lead to quarrel. I just said something; when you deal with the wrong person, that is when it could lead to quarrel. But if you deal with the right people, the association, they are registered by the government, you minimise the chances of a quarrel. You know the story of tortoise. Tortoise went to an event and said my name is ‘Everybody’ while everybody kept shouting my name is this, my name is that.
They now said everybody come and take. Tortoise now said my name is ‘Everybody’; I’m the one they called. Money that was supposed to be meant for everybody, tortoise now took the money. So, we don’t want ‘Everybody’ in Nollywood (laughs).
You’ve recuperated quite alright, but definitely some of your lifestyle will have to give way…
Everybody is prone to sickness whether you have a lifestyle or not. The issue is that just pray to God that you don’t get sick, because once you get sick a lot of people will attribute that sickness to a lot of things. Those that don’t even know you will say all sorts. Let me tell you my sister, a lot of people created stories around me that at times I wonder if they know me personally; if they have sat with me. They used to say that I drink one bottle of Hennessey and I wondered when I read or heard stuff like this because I don’t even taste hot.
But the point is that when you are sick and have issues, Nigerians will always talk as if they know you but they don’t know you. The point is that whatever lifestyle I’m living now, I think this thing I went through is a way of making me limit some things because there are some food I cannot eat now that I used to enjoy. And now I’m a born again. You have to be. You have no choice because when God has called you back while you were walking through the valley of the shadow of death and says my son come back, you have no choice than to serve Him.
My life is tilted towards that angle now. I talk more of things that will uplift the spirit, you know. And I now appreciate human beings more. I now appreciate life better now. You know in those days, you see somebody eating something and you say, oh boy don’t eat this thing o. The usual response is abeg, something must kill a man. Nobody should say that because if that death comes you will run. For goodness’ sake, the grave yard is not better, be alive.
Is it right to say you are the proverbial cat with nine lives?
If there is something bigger than a ‘cat’, that’s what I am. People look at me and wonder. In fact, I’m a miracle. I’m a working miracle. If you are sick and you touch me you will be healed. I’m serious because at times if I pronounce something it happens. God just loves me in a special way because I don’t deserve His love. I’m humbled with all that has happened to me.
Was there a time you ever thought you won’t survive it?
The advice I have for everybody is that once you are sick, don’t lose hope. The body might be weak but my mind was at its optimal state. I was sick and making plans. When you are sick and you shot your brain from making plans, death is coming close. But if you keep making plans, you are projecting into the future, you want to see tomorrow. And once you project into the future, your mind and soul take you there.
The only thing is that the body is weak, you now pray to God, heal this body so that the soul can be what it is destined to be. Let me tell you one thing, will you take it? If you want to buy a car now, believe that you own a car. Just believe it. It is as simple as ABC; just believe you own a car, even if you don’t have money. Pick your colour and if you see someone driving one, appreciate it, don’t make unpleasant remarks, before you know it, the car is yours. God will be put you in a position to get the car or someone might even dash you. That’s how life is. That is how life is, but the thing is that we are filled with negative thoughts that good things cannot enter.
How active have you been in AGN since your return?
We finished the board meeting the other day and I was briefed on how they’ve been running things and I want to really commend the people I left everything to. They are wonderful. While I was in India they kept praying for me, they kept relating with me, sending text messages of encouragement and that was what I needed. Right now we are moving into the new scheme of things and we are going to bring about some changes.
So much about work, tell us about the home front?
I have a wonderful wife. In fact, if I come again, that’s the wife I want because she’s so wonderful. It’s true. I have a friend of mine that was challenged too, his wife abandoned him and he died. My wife didn’t abandon me. She was there, crying, going to my friends. Not a lot of women will do that and she’s a pretty woman, do you understand what I’m saying? But she stood back and now she’s wearing the crown. Everyone is saying you are a wonderful woman. And that is what every woman should really do because it’s for “better for worse”, not for “better for stay” and for “worse for go.”
