Let us admit it – we have never seen
any President so besotted with entertainment like Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,
especially the movie-making sector. And this is not a satire. Yes, his
detractors may point at “weakness” for entertainment as a signpost of an
unserious mind frittering the commonwealth on ‘joli-joli’ matters!
Even the opposition may grumble loudly
that the lively engagement with the Nollywood is essentially exploitative and
window-dressing – to the detriment of more important and critical sectors of
the national economy.
However, no one is in doubt that the
life and essence the Creative wayfarers was initially ignited by Bayelsa
governor, the much maligned Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, immediate boss of GEJ
around year 2000. With dizzying state support and elaborate razzmatazz, the duo
of Alams and GEJ wallowed in the sudden euphoria of showbiz and the attendant
media opulence only comparable to IBB’s romance with PMAN’s ding-a-long of 1989
– 1992 when Tony Okoroji was the majordomo.
It was no surprise GEJ flowed with the
momentum when fortune made him supplant Alams as Gov. of Bayelsa in December
2005. Yet, for all his enthusiasm for professional revelries, the make-believe
could not have believed their luck when good ol’ providence thrusted GEJ,
again, into greater prominence.
In quick succession, he moved from
Vice-President to Acting President and eventually President within years! By
2011 when he assumed office, on his own stamina, the Nollywood romance had
blown out of the creek waters. The two lovebirds were careering giddily on a
thoroughfare peopled with great thespians, gifted producers, immaculate
directors and of course a coterie of charlatans and ‘waka-pass’.
With technocrats within the federal service
and the movie industry, different modules of foundational interventions were
crafted – and cash-backed like never before. Millions of naira were mentioned,
which ballooned, to the consternation of nay-sayers, to billions of naira in
creative “stimulus packages”. In the past ten years of GEJ’s unstinted romance
with a powerful sector of the entertainment community, it is very uncharitable
(even for inveterate detractors) to say that Jonathan has not “performed”. You
may quarrel with the impact or management of his interventions; you may yap him
and his people for mystifying the process and access to the several GEJ
interventions in the Artsworld.
You may claim he has lost similar
interest or attention to details in other critical sectors of the Nigerian
state. However, no ONE can simply dismiss his unprecedented regard, affinity
and seeming devotion to the people, practice and promise of Nigeria’s
movie-making community and allied sectors. In his six years as President, GEJ
has arguably awarded more national honours to our artistes than all the past regimes
rolled together!
So, when you hear and see leading
lights of Nollywood rooting aggressively for GEJ; when you read famed voices
shouting on the roof of their cyper-pages and declaring the ceaseless glory of
GEJ; when you read otherwise quiet prima-donnas spit fire and engage in
internet-‘gra-gra’ with many of their tele-fans…for the sake of their beloved
Moses (Jonathan) – you really must understand and appreciate their position –
enlightened self-interest (a completely natural instinct).
They are not ‘bought’, ‘turn-coats’ or
‘ass-licking’ – against their will or legacy. They simply are paying good back
to the man who has brought them a load of luck – and thus enhancing their means
of livelihood, and embellishing their relevance. No pun intended. This 2015 presidential
election is a watershed for Nollywood. They cannot see anything in the
“Change”-troopers to indicate that their groovy-train will go on; GMB has not
even for once coughed about any plans for Nollywood, one of the major
revelations of the 2014 rebasing parameters! It does appear that GMB does not
even know that Nollywood exists – beyond gyrations at campaign rallies! So,
stop yakking at Nollywooders if they have little or no sympathies for GMB – he
is disconnected from them in the past decade, at least. And within that same
period, GMB’s main opponent has been their God-sent. Most assuredly I say to
you: a good friend is difficult to find – and keep; Nollywood can’t afford to
lose this Goodluck. God forbid!!
