Some years ago, it was unthinkable that a Nigerian artiste would be
given the opportunity to serve in any official capacity in government.
In those days, it did not matter if an artiste had a good educational
background or not. As long as he had chosen to earn his living as
musician or actor over 'real' professions, he was regarded as no better
than a dreg of the human society and treated as such.
But over
the years, the artist managed to win some respect from the same people
that had despised and treated him like an outcast. Nowadays, he is at
times not only seen as a role model, he is also accepted as an important
member of the society.
Some popular actors and actresses, as
well as music stars, have been privileged to strut the corridors of
power with a pronounced swagger. Within the last few years, a few
artistes have been appointed to strategic positions in government, with
most of them coming from Nollywood.
For some of these people,
all that matters is the opportunity to serve their country or respective
states in a different capacity, while the lure of power and a rare
opportunity to line their pockets with stolen funds might be the driving
factor for the others.
But the compelling question is: how well
have these 'privileged' movie and music stars fared in their
appointments? How much have they impacted on the lives of the same that
they have set out to serve? Perhaps a glance at the profiles of a few,
such as Sam Dede, Hilda Dokubo, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Nkiru Sylvanus,
Ejike Asiegbu and Tony Muonagor, aka Tony One-Week, will provide the
answers.
Sam Dede
Sometime in May, 2012, when he was
appointed Director General of the Rivers State Tourism Development
Agency, the news was well received among his numerous fans across the
country. Uncle Sam's colleagues at the University of Port Hacourt, where
he has taught drama for many years and raised many fellow Thespians to
stardom, and the ones in Nollywood had rejoiced with him. At the time,
the general feeling was that the appointment was well earned.
In
an interview published in a national newspaper (not PUNCH), Dede
himself had speedily declared his 'manifesto'. Among other things, he
had pledged to bring the tourism potentials of Rivers State to
limelight.
The actor had given the assurance that within a few
months of his appointment, there would be changes. Perhaps to prove that
he was not mincing words, he chose the annual carnival, which is a
major cultural and tourism event in the state, as a referent point and
promised the people that the next edition of the event would be an
“experience of a lifetime”.
So far, some observers have
expressed the opinion that the seasoned actor has not done badly in his
new appointment, though it might take a while to fully realise his goals
for tourism in Rivers. But there is still this fear that the trappings
of power may lure him to embrace politics fully. Only time will tell.
Hilda Dokubo
Apart
from being a pioneer of what is now known as the Nigerian movie
industry, Hilda Dokubo's fierce advocacy for the less privileged and her
penchant to stand up against social injustice is well known among her
fans. So when she was named as a Special Adviser on Youth Matters to
former Governor Peter Odili a few years ago, many people were not
surprised.
The job had expectedly taken away the Nollywood diva
from her fans for a while. But within that period, she worked hard to
make a difference in the lives of the youths of the state. One of her
notable achievements was the extension of the perks of the Niger Delta
Amnesty Programme to about 50 women whom she identified as ex-militants.
With
support from the Special Adviser to the President on Amnesty Programme,
Kingsley Kuku, the women were made to undergo a 12-month training and
skills acquisition programme at the Centre for Creativity Arts Education
in Port Harcourt. Dokubo is the Director of the Centre.
Richard Mofe-Damijo
Popularly
known as RMD, Mofe-Damijo's appointment, first as a Special Adviser on
Culture and Tourism to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, and
later, as Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, did not come as a
surprise to stakeholders in that sector. Many of them actually felt the
appointments were overdue at the time because he had already
distinguished himself as an A-list actor and an activist committed to
the development of the arts, culture and tourism sector in the state.
One
of RMD's contributions to this sector, even before his admission to
Government House in Asaba, was his brave effort to draw attention to the
flourishing comedy industry in the state. Of course, only a few people
will forget 'Warri go bow', an annual carnival-like comedy event that
featured performances by both established and aspiring stand-up
comedians of Delta origin drawn from different parts of the country.
But
the actor's image suffered a serious dent, not too long ago, when a
report published online by a popular Internet portal allegedly named him
as an accomplice in a N50m fraud discovered in the ministry headed by
him.
The allegation went viral on the Internet and an additional
rumour that he was wanted by the EFCC circulated widely. After a long
silence. The actor, however, declared the allegation was untrue.
Nkiru Sylvanus
Ever
since Governor Rochas Okorocha appointed her his Special Adviser on
Public Affairs, this pretty and soft-spoken Nollywood actress seems to
have been busy jumping from one trouble to another. First, shortly after
she had settled to her new job, she was kidnapped and kept
incommunicado for a while until she regained her freedom.
Next,
after she was released by the kidnappers, it was rumoured that she
secretly married one Umar Sani, alleged to be an aide to Vice President
Namadi Sambo. But both of them separately denied the rumour.
Since
both events have served as distractions to the actress, it is doubtful
if she has had a chance to make any impact in the lives of the people.
Ejike Asiegbu
Ejike
Asiegbu was appointed Special Assistant on Entertainment to Governor
Theodore Orji of Abia State. For the actor, who had previously served as
the President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, it was a welcome
diversion. With a successful career that spanned more than two decades,
the appointment was seen at the time as deserving, too.
However,
it is not known if his tenure yielded any notable results in terms of
the development of the Abia entertainment industry.
-CHUX OHAI
Sam Dede
Sometime
in May, 2012, when he was appointed Director General of the Rivers
State Tourism Development Agency, the news was well received among his
numerous fans across the country. Uncle Sam's colleagues at the
University of Port Hacourt, where he has taught drama for many years and
raised many fellow Thespians to stardom, and the ones in Nollywood had
rejoiced with him. At the time, the general feeling was that the
appointment was well earned.
In an interview published in a
national newspaper (not PUNCH), Dede himself had speedily declared his
'manifesto'. Among other things, he had pledged to bring the tourism
potentials of Rivers State to limelight.
The actor had given
the assurance that within a few months of his appointment, there would
be changes. Perhaps to prove that he was not mincing words, he chose the
annual carnival, which is a major cultural and tourism event in the
state, as a referent point and promised the people that the next edition
of the event would be an “experience of a lifetime”.
So far,
some observers have expressed the opinion that the seasoned actor has
not done badly in his new appointment, though it might take a while to
fully realise his goals for tourism in Rivers. But there is still this
fear that the trappings of power may lure him to embrace politics fully.
Only time will tell.
Hilda Dokubo
Apart
from being a pioneer of what is now known as the Nigerian movie
industry, Hilda Dokubo's fierce advocacy for the less privileged and her
penchant to stand up against social injustice is well known among her
fans. So when she was named as a Special Adviser on Youth Matters to
former Governor Peter Odili a few years ago, many people were not
surprised.
The job had expectedly taken away the Nollywood diva
from her fans for a while. But within that period, she worked hard to
make a difference in the lives of the youths of the state. One of her
notable achievements was the extension of the perks of the Niger Delta
Amnesty Programme to about 50 women whom she identified as ex-militants.
With
support from the Special Adviser to the President on Amnesty Programme,
Kingsley Kuku, the women were made to undergo a 12-month training and
skills acquisition programme at the Centre for Creativity Arts Education
in Port Harcourt. Dokubo is the Director of the Centre
Richard Mofe-Damijo
Popularly
known as RMD, Mofe-Damijo's appointment, first as a Special Adviser on
Culture and Tourism to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, and
later, as Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, did not come as a
surprise to stakeholders in that sector. Many of them actually felt the
appointments were overdue at the time because he had already
distinguished himself as an A-list actor and an activist committed to
the development of the arts, culture and tourism sector in the state.
One
of RMD's contributions to this sector, even before his admission to
Government House in Asaba, was his brave effort to draw attention to the
flourishing comedy industry in the state. Of course, only a few people
will forget 'Warri go bow', an annual carnival-like comedy event that
featured performances by both established and aspiring stand-up
comedians of Delta origin drawn from different parts of the country.
But
the actor's image suffered a serious dent, not too long ago, when a
report published online by a popular Internet portal allegedly named him
as an accomplice in a N50m fraud discovered in the ministry headed by
him.
The allegation went viral on the Internet and an additional
rumour that he was wanted by the EFCC circulated widely. After a long
silence. The actor, however, declared the allegation was untrue.
Nkiru Sylvanus
Ever
since Governor Rochas Okorocha appointed her his Special Adviser on
Public Affairs, this pretty and soft-spoken Nollywood actress seems to
have been busy jumping from one trouble to another. First, shortly after
she had settled to her new job, she was kidnapped and kept
incommunicado for a while until she regained her freedom.
Next,
after she was released by the kidnappers, it was rumoured that she
secretly married one Umar Sani, alleged to be an aide to Vice President
Namadi Sambo. But both of them separately denied the rumour.
Since
both events have served as distractions to the actress, it is doubtful
if she has had a chance to make any impact in the lives of the people.
Ejike Asiegbu
Ejike
Asiegbu was appointed Special Assistant on Entertainment to Governor
Theodore Orji of Abia State. For the actor, who had previously served as
the President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, it was a welcome
diversion. With a successful career that spanned more than two decades,
the appointment was seen at the time as deserving, too.
However,
it is not known if his tenure yielded any notable results in terms of
the development of the Abia entertainment industry.
