Peter Obi: AGN slams el-Rufai over Nollywood remarks, demands unreserved apology

Says Nollywood gave Nigeria positive image

El-Rufai and cohorts gave Nigeria Negative perception

 

Admin l Saturday, February 4, 2023

 

LAGOS, Nigeria – The Actors Guild of Nigeria(AGN) is angry with the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai for describing the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi as a Nollywood actor.

The governor, who has demonstrated his hatred for Peter Obi, calling him a “clown, your little god’ and that he will not get 200 people as followers in Kaduna on several occasion as part of his efforts to lower the reputation and popularity  of the LP candidate in the estimation of reasonable people of the public had gone a step further to say that he will not win and that he is not more than a Nollywood actor.

But reacting to his utterance, President of AGN, Chief Emeka Rollas said the utterance of the governor is both offensive and demeaning to Actors Guild of Nigeria and Nollywood as a whole, adding that the statement was purely intended to deride the acting profession.

He called on el-Rufai to withdraw his statement  and tender an unreserved apology to Nollywood in general.

“The statement is intended to belittle and demean the intellectual capacity of an actor”, the AGN said in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Kate Henshaw.

The AGN added that  Nollywood actors  have in no small way projected the image of Nigeria “positively from the negative perception  the likes of El-Rufai and his cohorts have portrayed us to be”.

It added that  the guild is utterly bewildered that this kind of statement is coming from a sitting governor  who claims to be educated and intelligent  demeaning a noble profession of intelligentsia  endowed with uncommon talents.

In the statement, Rollas, added that the statement portrays el-Rufai’s ignorance of the pivotal role of the actor in  the emerging global economy after many years of his checkered sojourn in government.

“Little wonder that Nigeria is battling with serious economic quagmire after many years of clueless leadership who depend solely on the oil industry  as they are bereft of ideas to grow and develop the country”, he said.

The AGN noted that contrary to the understanding of the Mallam, actors are intelligent, educated, creative  and highly endowed  with ingenuous capacity to lead and develop Nigeria more than some average leaders in government house today.