President, Actors Guild of Nigeria, Ibinabo Fiberesima, tells
Nonye Ben-Nwankwo about her career and how she has coped after her time
in the prisons
When you look back at everything that has happened to you, are you fulfilled?
I
am not fulfilled. I thank God for where I have reached so far in this
short time. But if I can get all I asked from President Goodluck
Jonathan when the Actors Guild of Nigeria visited him, I would be more
fulfilled.
How did you secure audience with the President given his tight schedule?
I
wrote more than 20 letters to the presidency on behalf of the guild. I
got a reply one year after. I didn’t do anything special. It was just
letters that I kept sending. I was just lucky that one eventually came
through and I thank God.
As much as you said the visit to the
Presidency was to solicit support for the guild, but we hear that huge
money also exchanged hands. We learnt you were given N2m while the other
actors that went with you were given N500, 000 each…
Wow! We were
not given any money. We went there for a visit. Amazingly too, most of
the people that went there paid for their transportation. We were not
given any money; I can tell you again and again. We didn’t go there for
that. We didn’t go to ask for money. We went there as a body. We are
only actors. The industry needs money to make us better.
So, where is the story from?
Those
complaining are the selfish ones that usually go there to collect money
and share. In their minds, that was what we went there to do. You can
ask anybody you know that went for the visit. We were not given any
money.
What makes you think you will even get what you asked for from the Presidency?
I
am confident. There are transformations going on in most sectors. It is
just that before now, the Presidency had not heard the truth about what
we needed as a body. People who had gone to represent us had not told
him what we needed. I know he will redeem his promise. Nollywood is an
export item you wouldn’t want to mess with right now. It is not only
about oil anymore. Nollywood has surpassed so many things. We are on the
level that everybody would have to reckon with us. Why can’t we be like
Hollywood?
Is it not amazing that after these decades, Nollywood has not really moved forward?
It
is the truth. It is because we don’t have treaties. Most of our leaders
have not been able to understand what it is to be leaders. I have gone
out of the shores of Nigeria to find out why people can’t come to shoot
films here and why we can’t go there. Treaties ought to be signed so it
would be on paper that they are welcome here. Most other African
countries have treaties and we don’t have, yet we have a bigger film
industry. Now, the President knows about it. He didn’t know before.
Your
tenure hasn’t been devoid of controversies. Some people want you out
and there are some other factions who claim you are not AGN president…
The
factions are irrelevant to me. They come to me and say one thing and
they go behind me and say another thing. At a point, I had to tell them
to stop coming to me because I wanted peace. We were in court and I
thought that was the better place to deal with it. The court threw their
case out because they didn’t have a case. Every leader has critics
attacking him or her. You say something and people would interpret it
wrongly. But I know what I am doing.
Your story is that of grace
to grass and to grace again. Did you ever think you would get over that
terrible period of your life?
No. At that time, I didn’t believe
so. But when I gave my life to Christ, it didn’t matter to me the state I
was. I didn’t care if it was grace or grass. I was just contented and
happy with myself. That was all that mattered to me.
Do you still remember those days you were incarcerated?
My
uncle told me that I should stop going down that path. I can’t go back
there. You get to that point in your life where you just move on.
Nothing matters any more. I am just at peace and that is all that
matters to me.
Do you still have time to feature in movies these days?
It
is time-consuming, I agree. But I still feature in movies. I have a
perfect secretary general. My work is fun. I am even going to Borno
State soon. I will go with some actors and actresses. We want to go to
some of the areas that have been affected by the crisis and see what we
can do to help them. We want to show them love in our own little way. I
don’t want to talk about it now till we have gone and come back.
Is it true that AGN election will not take place this year because you want to continue as president?
I
am a very transparent person. Election will hold. I don’t want anybody
to say I did this or that eventually. If they don’t think I am good for
them, they wouldn’t have suggested this. I am a very simple person. This
is just who I am.
Are you sure you are happy?
I am happy. I
am contented. I am a happy-go-lucky woman. I don’t have stress and I
don’t give anybody stress. Whatever has to be will be.
We learnt you ignored Fred Amata, the father of your child, at an event the other day. Are you having squabbles?
I
can never ignore Fred. Even if he is with a woman, I will go and kiss
him. I will never disrespect him. Even if I am with a man, I must always
walk up to him and greet him. Some people wouldn’t do that. I have seen
people who got separated and divorced and they don’t speak to each
other in public, I will never do that. Even if we had quarrelled before
the event, I would still walk up to him and greet him.
Have you ruled out marriage?
Which marriage? Please I am not marrying Fred.
What of another man?
There
is an opening. When I see a man who wants to marry me, I will marry
him. I want to marry please. All my children are grown-up now. I need my
own company. Even my kids ask me when I am getting married and I keep
telling them I will marry when I find the man. I have not ruled out
marriage at all.
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