Fortune is angry with me - Kanayo O Kanayo

Kanayo O Kanayo, fondly called KOK by friends and fans, is a veteran in Nollywood. With 33 years in the industry, the Imo State- born actor and alumnus of the University of Lagos speaks with Adunola Oladapo on his success story in the movie industry and his new love, politics. Excerpts:

For Nollywood, you have been there all the way. What can you say about the industry? Has it been a success story? What are the challenges and necessary interventions that would move the industry higher?
Nollywood is a sure, definite success story; the only industry in Nigeria that came from nothing to something; never enjoyed any government patronage, yet became a brand. However, Nollywood as presently constituted got to its peak before it started.  I recall with nostalgia the days in Lagos, Enugu etc when production buses moved in different directions for shoot. We were at work, producers generated employment, directors developed technical know-how to those who understudied them, and fledgling actors emerged.

There was passion and practitioners were committed. What you watch on DSTV now is what I would describe creatively as “Operation was successful, but the patient died.” This was how good we were 10 years ago. The grass is no longer green. The days and years of passion, commitment, creative engineering has reduced. I feel very bad to be reporting this very sad commentary. For a clearer understanding of those outside the precincts of Nollywood, the industry was nurtured by the benevolence of traders, who did their best to produce movies in video cassette format.

There was no design to build an industry. Till date also, no design has been made to build an industry, hence, the industry is largely unstructured.
The marketers/distributors as designated also doubled as executive producers (sponsors), they did utmost “miracle” of turning around this video market to a world brand of filmmaking.

What did they get wrong along the line?
They took all the risks but failed to employ the services of experts who could help it transit to the level of sustenance it needed for new trends and challenges that evolved. There is a lot to say but for another day. By intervention, government must buy into the industry and bail it out. If those who laboured and made Nollywood an international brand are finding it difficult benefit from the $200m facility, it is the duty of government to remove whatever obstacles, so that resources can be ploughed into the art and entertainment industry to strengthen it.
There has been absence of institutional funding mechanism. For the survival of Nollywood, the following points are critical: establishment of enabling law for enhancement of professional practice. Creation of synergy between various parastatal agencies for greater efficiency. Promotion of foreign and local investment in the industry; favourable tax laws in form of tax rebates and tax holidays and lastly, practitioners, especially actors, should be sponsored to international festivals.

Can you tell us some of your achievements?
I have received several professional and service awards in Nigeria and abroad including Afro Hollywood Award London 2000, African Actor of the Year 2006, Ambassador Award New York 2009 and Nollywood Award of Excellence.

33 years as an actor, do you feel fulfilled and see your life as a success story worthy of emulation?
This is one area I may not have wanted to comment on. I am constrained for the reasons of evaluation of the years gone by, especially for posterity sake to say that God has been most benevolent to me in terms of my life and talent. If not for artistic and intellectual contentment, I would have left a long time ago. The actor in Nigeria is loved but not respected.

My contemporaries in other disciplines have better stories to tell than I do. My children are expected to go to the best schools, fame has smiled on me, but fortune frowns constantly and threatens my retirement.

What are some of your memorable roles that give you sense of satisfaction and those you really wouldn’t have taken if you had had a choice?
 I do not romanticise over passionate roles or dispassionate ideas. Every role represents a gap between a character and its linkage to other characters. But suffice it to say that “Lost Kingdom,” produced by Infinity Merchants in 1999 presented a glimpse of how people graduate from one crime to the other. It was exhilarating to lead one of the largest casts in a Nigerian movie set to achieve that standard of movie production in 1999.
 I would not have taken those that did not put Nigeria first, those that lacked social relevance to the labours of our heroes’ pasts, those that had strong dictates from executive producers who only thought about profit and not about creative enterprise.

You usually play dignified roles like a rich man, top politician, successful businessman or at times, one who will do money rituals. Has this anything to do with your personality? Can you choose your roles?
Not by design but by casting. The casting directors or panel decide who plays what. The actor has no contribution to this, only his flexibility does

How does your role in movies affect your relationship with the public?
I am at home with the roles I play. I am at peace with the Almighty God for giving me the talent to exhibit what he implanted in me. My fans see my role as close to nature and are proud of me, as I am one of them in their millions. God bless Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike. I say this with every sense of modesty; I am one of the most beloved actors of this generation. I do not know why people love me this much.

If you were not an actor, what would you have been doing?
For me, I would have been a lawyer.

Can you tell us about your family?
I am married to Nneka Onyekwere and we have a family of four. A girl and three boys. They all live with me happily in Lagos.

No doubt you are a veteran in Nollywood and certainly have paid your dues. But with your new interest in politics, do you think you are prepared for politics and do you have the requisite experience in human management?
I have been in several areas in the private sector managing men and resources. My understanding so far has been very intriguing. It’s fascinating. Human capacity development and what you refer to as human management are essentially related. To develop human capacity, people must be given platforms to express their talents in a very friendly environment. That way, the inner capabilities will surface.

No individual is without a talent. I have allowed men, women, boys and girls who have worked under me as Public Relation practitioner, actor, among others, to express themselves without limitations, and to those I have mentored, it has been a rewarding and worthwhile experience. When I am confronted with such statement as ‘do you think you are prepared to play politics,’ it elicits the feeling of treachery. As a Masters Degree holder in Political Science from the University of Lagos, I feel somehow offended by that street definition of politics as simply characterised by thuggery, arson, ballot box snatching, killing, maiming etc. That statement makes me remember what Shirley Maclane said, “It is useless to hold a man to anything he says while he is in love, drunk or running for office. I do not know how to play politics, I know how to serve.”

Specifically, what do you want to achieve in politics, first for yourself and then for the community, the nation?
 It is self evident that politics offers a wider opportunity for effecting change, access to government and the governed, show the light and the people will find the way. For my community, I want to be continuously seen as an asset to the people, development, and standards for measurement of values and creative enterprise.

And for this great country, that has offered me access to harnessing my other talent, I want to be one of the ideological dispatch riders of this nation by imposition of ideological supremacy on the psyche of our people – what the former Senate President, the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, would refer to as Quotable Quotes. With my varied talents, I do not want to be a passerby or an on- looker to the events that shape our nation.

What is your plan for 2015 and which political party would you be considering?
The year 2015 looks far, yet very near. My people will decide. I am in constant touch with my constituency and in regular consultation with the needs, challenges and aspirations of my zone. My membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is by choice, political prostitution is not an option to effective representation. The year 2015 is the bridge, when we get to the bridge, we will cross it. We crawl, walk or run, but surely we will cross it.
SOURCE: TRIBUNE