Femi Durojaiye, convener Pan-Yoruba AGN
Another chapter of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) has surfaced. It’s structured to have a Yoruba dominated control. This is borne out of the need of actors of Yoruba extraction to have a Pan-Yoruba actors’ forum where the interest of all other persons and tribes would be sacrosanct.
According to the National Secretary of the Emeka Ike-led-AGN, Femi Durojaiye, “Lagos is a Yoruba state and should be controlled by the Yorubas. As it is with political offices, despite the cosmopolitan nature of the Lagos state, only Yorubas should lead the Lagos state chapter of the Actors Guild of Nigeria.
No Yoruba man can be the head of AGN anywhere outside a Yoruba state. Only Ibos can be chairmen in Enugu, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi and Anambra states’ chapters of the AGN. It’s the reason we are saying that only Yoruba born actors should be in charge of the affairs of the guild in Lagos.”
Photos of AGN's power brokers below:
The Queen Mother, President of AGN, Ibinabo Fiberisima
Ibinabo's archenemy, AGN Factional President Emeka Ike,
The man in the middle of the storm, newly crowned Chairman, united Lagos AGN, Don Pedro Aganbi
To buttress their actions and garner support, the emerging group, mainly made up of Yoruba Nollywood actors, led by Femi, on Tuesday paid a courtesy visit to Honorable Desmond Elliot who also is an actor representing Surulere West Constituency in the Lagos state House of Assembly.
Femi said the visit to Desmond was to initiate him of their plan and the motives behind it.
“This marginalization of Yoruba actors in Lagos has been on for over twenty years and it must stop now. We can’t let this continue. We also expect all that have the interest of the Yoruba race at heart to align with us. It is not a fight against non-Yoruba speaking actors. It’s only a voice clamouring for the right thing should be done. We want Yoruba actors to be at the helm of affairs of the guild in all Yoruba speaking states of Nigeria.”
Read Letter Circulated By The Group:
A SUMMARY OF WHY WE ARE HERE AND WHERE WE ARE GOING.
- For actors of Yoruba descent to capture the Executive Council of AGN Lagos Chapter.
Why?
(A). Because Lagos State political and traditional power structure is firmly in the hands of the Yorubas. The Lagos power base does not look favourably on non Yorubas officially representing Yorubas in Yoruba land. And past non Yoruba Chairmen of AGN Lagos Chapter have not been able to penetrate the Lagos State Government to access funds needed for film production because of this problem.
(B). With a mostly Yoruba Exco, it will be easier for Government to listen to us and funds can be accessed at different levels of Government to start film production in English language so all actors can be regularly employed and well paid, no matter their tribes, as long as they are actors plying their trade in Lagos & belong to AGN whose control is firmly in the hands of actors of Yoruba descent in Lagos State, in order to ensure continuity. This indeed is a matter of common sense.
- With the Igbo Film Marketers moving their production out of Lagos to the South East (which is perfectly within their rights to do so), actors in Lagos no matter the tribe, suffer the attendant consequence of job loss. Actors cannot continue to wallow in poverty and therefore the process of filling this void must commence. I am persuaded that considering the political and traditional power structure of Lagos State, it's a Yoruba dominated Exco that is most suited to access huge funds from Government to jump-start the production of English Films not only in Lagos but the entire South West. And the brilliant model posited by the Administrator Yinka Aiyelokun of making actors millionaires through Film Production is simply a masterpiece. We should have started this process 10 years ago.
In order to protect our objectives from the problems that bedeviled ANTP, it is important that we remain within the structure of AGN. In future and with the benefit of our collective experiences within the AGN fold, we may decide to stay within AGN or opt out to form another national body.
I wish to make it categorically clear that this is not a tribalistic movement but a commonsense approach whose time has come and whose model is advantageous and workable.
When this model and identified techniques of working it succeeds in the South West then it will be easy to replicate it in all the geopolitical zones of AGN to create prosperity and respect for actors.
My responsibility as the National Secretary of AGN is to help berth these objectives by keeping us focused until we achieve it.
Thank you for being here. I need every one of you
Femi Durojaiye
Interim Admin
(National Secretary AGN)