He is quite refined and more media-friendly than a host of his other colleagues in the Nigerian entertainment industry, with a phobia for scandals. Despite the hype that trailed his broken relationship with a fellow Nollywood actor, Binta Ayo Mogaji, some years back, talented Nigerian actor, Prince Ajibola Dabo, would, at no time, show reluctance in granting requests for a chat. In his usual civility, the middle-aged actor has boldly opened up on the role he played in Dirty Secret, an unusually erotic Nigerian movie, now circulating in the movie market across the country.
He seems to be speaking about it for the first time since the movie got into circulation. But the Colombia State University, US-trained theatre practitioner is in no doubt that the movie is titillating enough to provoke an outrage from the Nigerian audience. “I have not really watched it but I can still remember it is very erotic,” he admits. Yet, he confesses that he is afraid to watch the movie himself, following the reactions he has been getting from people, since the movie hit the shelves.
The Ondo-born movie star, however, has some clarifications to make on the provocative content of the movie. Already, his ears are filled with a deluge of complaints from fans and friends across the country, even as he has also got applause over the brilliant manner he interprets his roles in the movie. He agrees it was such a huge issue, upon which he must reach the public through a press conference. “This is something I would not really want to grant a casual interview on. I’ll like to call a press conference on it because I have quite a lot of message to send to both the public and our industry,” he says.
Blame the producer
If you have actors and actresses on set and you want them to do what they feel and you say you would correct some of the scenes in the post-production exercise but at the end of the day, everything is thrown out, that is a breach of contract. We were of this understanding that as Africans, there are some roles that must be edited out so that some things can just be predicted. But I think they got carried away during post-production and put everything out there.
Justification
Now, the question is, are the stories told in the movies on Nigeria? Yes, the stories are on Nigeria. Nigeria is one of the greatest avalanches in the world. Nigerians are scattered all over the world and they are exposed to some of the vices in Western culture. Now, can we say some of those vices are not being practiced in Nigeria? If things like these are already being practiced in Nigeria, can we say a movie like this should not be shot here? Of course, we can’t.
Fans’ reactions
Although I have not seen the movie, the reaction it has generated from the public has even put the fear of watching it in me. I’m so scared to watch it because since it got into the market, there have been mixed reactions from my fans, some of whom have been calling me, expressing their disappointment, while some were praising me. I have not seen it myself and I am scared of seeing it because I have been lashed, I have been praised, I have been baptised, I have been chastised. Some people called me and said, ‘O boy, you are awesome!’ Before I did the movie, I had come across people that had been involved in homosexuality. I had some as friends and some as boys, sharing their individual experiences with me. So, I was actually well-informed about everything I did in it. It is exactly what obtains in our society.
Self defence
I don’t want to support my fans, but anyone saying that he or she does not like the role I have played in that movie should know that I just exhibited my professionalism by interpreting the role given to me. If there is to be a serial killer, for instance, someone must interpret the character of the serial killer. Even if it is a movie on the life of Jesus, someone must still act the role of Judas.
Getting into the movie
That particular movie, it took them a while to find me because the producer and the director have conditioned about ten actors for that role and realised that I was the only person that could best interpret the role the way they want.
Pay package
The pay for the movie was not so fantastic. It was actually not the pay that made me accept the role. In Nigeria, here, actors are not being paid according to their standards and quality. They are paid according to the demand they command in the market because the producers are mostly in the market. They pay you according to the number of people that come to their market to say, ‘Where is the movie with that man in it?’ So, if you have high quality, you can only tell them I can’t take below this and they will beg you. But if you insist, they will drop you. By the time you lose one to four jobs, you begin to give them a second thought. That is an area we need to develop so that actors can be paid according to their quality.
Collabo with foreign producers
I think the industry has fared quite well in the last one year. Unlike before, we are getting more and more involved in collaboration with foreign producers. Now, banks and governments are beginning to show more interest in the industry. At least now, they know that it could be a money-making tool for the country. It is also bringing a fairly better purse, though not as much, because of the nature of the Nigerian movie market. But the success is actually not in financial rewards. The real success in recent times is the fact that the industry is expanding. Unfortunately, it is not expanding in the areas that are most important right now. The area that is most important is making the actors and actresses comfortable. This is not so because we don’t have a good market strategy. Imagine a country of more than 150 million people, where nobody has ever claimed to have sold up to 500, 000 copies of movies. It is the wrong people that are making money from it. But sincerely speaking, we are growing. I don’t think there is any country in the world where an industry started and grew as fast as Nollywood, in Nigeria. There are good movies in Nollywood but they are not being marketed here. They are being thrown to the world so that they could make money before they get to the Nigerian market, where they can be pirated.
About his son with Ayo Mogaji
His name is Ade. The boy is now going to seven. He is doing quite well. He is quite a brilliant boy. We just finished discussing his school fees and probably changing his school not long before you called. He is going to be a great boy. He is a perfect combination of me and his mother. Although, I have little time for him and his mother too because she too travels once in a while. We have both been doing our best to make him a great boy.
Set to marry soon
I have been single all along, though I have children and grand-children. I remember telling you about two years ago that I was still searching for a woman to marry. Now, I want to tell you that I have found one and very soon, you’d be invited to my first wedding.
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