A notable Hausa actor has pitched tent with the president of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Ms Ibinabo Fiberesima, who came under attacks recently, over comments she made during her visit to President Goodluck Jonathan, in Abuja.
Fellow actress, Clarion Chukwurah decried the visit, saying it was politically motivated.
Chukwurah also faulted Ibinabo’s claim that AGN is the only umbrella body for screen actors in Nigeria, saying the statement demeaned the existence of an older association, the Association of National Theatre Practitioners (ANTP).
Ibinabo visited the Villa of February 18, with other members of the guild, where they made the president the Grand Patron of AGN.
Other actors like John Okafor (Mr. Ibu) and Charles Novia had also lashed at Fiberesima at different times, but Chukwura’s onslaught was more pronounced.
In a two-page release titled: IBINABO FIBERESIMA AND THE AGN VISIT TO PRESIDENT GEJ: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT, Chukwura who called for the resignation of the AGN president, said the request by the latter, for an Abuja secretariat for the AGN, as well as political appointments for actors was beggarly.
The issue took another dimension, when the Vice President of AGN for North West zone, Mallam Salihu Othman Isah (Hotman) told Ibinabo’s attackers to hold their peace. According to Hotman, “the visit to Mr. President was well intended, just like other spheres of the society, whose associations or group leaderships have visited Aso Rock on courtesy calls.”
Hotman said Ibinabo’s attackers chose to find fault in the visit, because they were not invited as part of the entourage.
“What is special in our visit to Aso Rock anyway? Other groups have visited without anyone making any fuss out of it. We have seen where the lawyers’ body, journalists, architects, engineers, medical groups and associations, even National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Ja’amatu Nasril Islam (JNI) and other religious bodies have gone there and no one raised an eyebrow. So how is the AGN different?”
He said Ibinabo couldn’t have accommodated everybody on the visit, and that those who didn’t make the list should not take it as disregard for their person or contribution to the film industry. “This could be an oversight too, which is human. So, they should desist from any form of criticisms henceforth.”
He said contrary to Novia’s assertion that the group went to collect handout from the Villa, “I
want to let him and his likes know that the Ibinabo Fiberesima-led National Executive Council (NEC), with all good intention, went to visit Mr. President to request for assistance to build our national headquarters in Abuja, among other things. It was not to beg for any handout or take our share of national cake as being perceived.”
Since the attacks, Ibinabo has not reacted personally to the allegations.
