By Bukola Kayode
With the rash of declarations for the presidency and other elective positions, veteran actress, Barbara Odoh has called on Nollywod actors consider the economic status of their fans when endorsing candidates for elective offices.
The actress cum gospel artistes urged that her colleagues stay away from endorsing incompetent or corrupt candidates as majority of Nigerians are undergoing hardship. She described Nigeria as being I desperate need of competent and compassionate leadership.
Odoh, who has remains unforgettable for her role in Nollwyood classic ‘Glamour Girls”, said actors who go around endorsing aspirants and candidates for personal reasons and not for the common good, only end up discrediting an industry others struggled to build.
The actress was reacting to a viral video of an unidentified pastor cursing Nollywood actors for allegedly endorsing former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the presidency.
On Tinubu’s aspiration, the veteran actress who contested as the Deputy Governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in 2019 urged that the former governor support a younger candidate with the right qualification and attributes.
The actress in a phone interview acknowledged that though the pastor may have reacted in anger to talks of certain Nollywood actors canvassing for the National Leader of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), he should have chosen his words carefully and restricted his reaction to those involved in the alleged endorsement and not resort to cursing Nollywood as an industry.
“Asiwaju has contributed immensely to entrenching democracy in Nigeria. But it is time for him to handover to the next generation. Nigeria now needs a vibrant, younger, intellectually sound President who can unite, inspire and lead the people.
“As Jagaban of Nigerian politics, Tinubu can pick from the array of persons he has raised as sons to run for President. He can advise such a person as a statesman, but not contest at this advanced age”, she stated.
“If an actor must identify him/herself with a candidate, he should feel the pulse of the candidate or aspirant. The actor should be able to understand the ideology of the candidate. Politics goes beyond elections. Politics and elections are the routes to governance and governance tells on lives and destinies.
“Our film industry was built through the determination and investment of private sector players. It was built and sustained by creatives who toiled to make Nollywood the third largest film industry in the world. Our industry creates jobs almost on a daily basis, we contribute to the country’s GDP, so we must guard our reputation jealously and been seen to only support what is just and good”, she went on to add.
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