Impregnating my daughter: My ex-wife lied against me–Ernest Obi

Ernest Obi is a household name in Nollywood. As an actor and film director of note, he has seen the good, the bad and the ugly of the film industry and life itself. He has played major roles in many epic home videos and has produced a legion of others.

Being a star, Obi's life is not devoid of controversy, as other people in the entertainment industry. One of the controversies that dogged his life is his crashed marriage, especially when his ex-wife accused him of impregnating his stepdaughter severally and subjecting the girl to several abortions.

Telling what could pass for a story of his life, the actor, who is president of Actors Guild of Nigeria, Lagos chapter, talked about his crashed marriage, sex-for-role and sexual harassment in the movie industry, the re-branding policy of the Federal Government and his most embarrassing moment.

Your face has been scarce on screen. What happened?
Nothing really happened. There is always a stage in life when you need to transit to the next level, and that is what has happened all this while. While in school, I majored in directing but because of the love I have for acting I had to start my career with acting. After a while, I felt that instead of complaining about some of the lapses being experienced in directing,

I should go into that aspect of the industry. I have been directing movies, though, sometimes, I act in movies, especially those I feel have strong character base and good storyline. Beyond that, I am the incumbent chairman of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Lagos chapter. I was elected in 2007. So, it has been a bit hectic trying to balance acting, directing with running the guild, which is probably the largest guild in Africa. And the state chapter is the largest body. That is why I have been on the quiet side.

There is this complaint of lack of professionalism in Nollywood. What is your take on that?
I disagree totally with you. I don't understand what you mean by professionalism. People who started from nothing are now making something out of nothing. I think that is the height of professionalism. Being a professional is not by holding a PhD in a particular field.

It takes dedication and commitment to become a professional. If you have PhD and you are not dedicated to that field, you will fail. Anything artistic, first and foremost, has to be innate. If you don't have something inside, you have nothing to give. I think those who learn on the job are the ones who are professionals, and not those who are carrying all the degrees. I am not saying it is not important to have a degree in a particular field. But beyond the degree, you must be dedicated to what you are doing. And that is what our costume and make-up artists are doing and I give them kudos for that. By so doing, they are professionals.

Talking about costume, a king who is in his palace at night taking dinner is seen putting on his crown and beads. Must it be so?
That is drama and picture for you. Ask yourself from the commercial angle, what does the audience want to see? You must take that into consideration. Do you want to demystify your character by removing all those beads and the crown? The truth about it is what the audience wants to see. The king shouldn't be played as an ordinary man. Whether he is sleeping or not, he should look like a king and that is what makes it original. All those things you think are abnormal are even what make the film worthwhile.

What about having story line that seems the same?
We are coming from a background where everybody knows the other person's story. There is no story I will tell in a home video that has not been experienced in a particular area. Somebody somewhere must have experienced it or heard of a place it has happened or a person it has happened to.

That is what makes it a true life story. It might depict an Igbo cultural life, but in another tribe it may have something to do with an incident that must have happened there. That is why when a story is told, just because you can relate it to another; you say these people are doing the same thing. The truth is, they are not. It is because they are telling your story.

That is what makes it so unique and also why people watch. You can watch American movies where they are shooting guns, people are flying and jumping but at the end of the day, it might not stick at the back of your mind for a very long time because you cannot relate to it. But our people can predict how our movies would end because we are telling our own story.

Again, we are Africans and our stories must end well. It must end with good triumphing over evil. In American films, it is not a rule for them because I have seen movies where somebody killed and walked away as the hero. You don't have to question them because it is their story. They can give it a name and say it is dramatic licence. But here, if you make the valiant the hero, you will lose your audience immediately. So, you must make the hero the good one and not the valiant.

For instance, I can tell a story of a masquerade from 10 different angles but the conclusion will be that they are the same. At a time they said we were showing rituals; yet they were watching it because it captivates. That is the African magic.

Why do the white men call Nigerian movie African magic?
I don't know why they call it African magic, but I think they call it that name because we have achieved a lot from nothing. We have had final year students who came to write their projects from Canada, Holland and France.

We have students in filmmaking who are writing their final projects on how to shoot movies in Nigeria and how to shoot low budget films in Nigeria. As much as they criticize it, they also sympathize with the condition under which we work. They don't believe that it is possible to shoot and get a good product under such conditions. We work and shoot movies under very tedious and bad conditions for peanuts.

That is why they look at us and say with all these stress and troubles; you can still produce something like this? It must be African Magic. Truly, it is the magical thing about Africa. I don't think it was meant to be derogatory.

Where does Nollywood come, as Nigeria is re-branding?
How do you want to re-brand Nigeria? What is re-branding Nigeria? I should tell you that the policemen don't take bribe anymore and that they don't wear slippers on the road? And that would make me a good citizen of the country? That is a lie or I should tell you that dead bodies are not being left in the street corners? Or I should tell you that evil things do not happen in Nigeria, even though they happen in other countries?

We cannot do that because it would amount to telling lies. A film maker is supposed to depict what happens around him. He is the mirror of the society. Whatever you show is supposed to help change the way society sees life. And that is why, at the end of the day, good always triumph over evil. You cannot tell me to lie to the viewing audience because you want me to re-brand Nigeria.

The question is, does Nigeria want to be re-branded? Who is Nigeria? We are Nigerians. We are also the one telling the story that there are ritualists in our society. There are people out there who believe that the only way to become rich in life is to cut people's heads and use it for money rituals. They are there in our midst. You can't tell me not to put it in a movie because we want to re-brand Nigeria. If you toe the line of deceit, then the people who are killing and beheading people would not stop their evil acts.

So, to re-brand Nigeria, we must rise up to tell ourselves the truth. The truth is that high percentage of Nigerians lives under the poverty line. They are poor and starving. Telling ourselves the truth is what I know as re-branding. However, I like the woman who is behind the re-branding thing, Prof. Dora Akunyili. I know what she did with NAFDAC. She is a fire- brand.  Continued    Source: nigeriafilms.com - NigeriaFilms.com