Why some Nollywood veterans are impoverished in old age – Segun Arinze

Concerned about the numerous cases of aged Nollywood veterans seeking financial assistance, actor Segun Arinze has proffered a solution while addressing the cause.

At a media briefing organised by the Actors Guild of Nigeria on Tuesday in Lagos, the actor exonerated the actor’s body of any blame.

He said, “In Nollywood, there are people who just want to be acting without belonging anywhere, but when they fall sick, they go on social media to beg for money, and people come back to blast the guild for not supporting its members, yet when you check their records, you would see that in their almost 20 years of acting practice, they never belonged to any guild.”

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“It is time we ask our favourite actors, ‘What guild do you belong to?’ It would create that awareness in them. As we speak, no actor in Hollywood is not a member of SAG-AFTRA.”

SAG-AFTRA is the collaboration of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). It is the umbrella body for all American actors and media practitioners.

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Segun, who shot into the limelight as Black Arrow in Chico Ejiro’s 1996 classic, ‘Silent Night’, also said the National Film and Video Censors Board DG, Adedayo Thomas, has requested the statistics of every Nollywood practitioner in their various associations.

Worrisome

Recently, many famous Nollywood veterans have not had it so good, especially in their old age, and the once reserved and glamorous celebrities are now turning to social media begging for aid, leaving fans and critics intrigued and concerned.

In July 2023, veteran Yoruba actor and producer Dayo Adewunmi, popularly known as Baba Sule Suebebe, appealed to Nigerians for financial assistance on social media to foot his medical bills.

In February 2023, another veteran Yoruba actor Ojo Arowosafe, popularly known as Fadeyi Oloro, was in dire straits as his landlord served him an eviction notice for failing to pay his rent.

Mr Arowosafe, who played Fadeyi Oloro in a Yoruba TV series titled ‘Arelu’ in the 80s, has been ill for over three years. In December 2021, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the actor cried out to Nigerians seeking financial assistance amidst health challenges.

However, he later died in March 2023.

AGN Intervention

To change the narrative, the AGN says it has created a pension account and health insurance initiatives for members to leverage when needed.

Speaking about some of these initiatives, the AGN president, Emeka Rollas, encouraged actors to identify with the guild to enable them to access these welfare packages.

Mr Rollas said, “Recently, we have also introduced on-the-spot accident insurance during shooting, which is keyed into the identity card you see any member carrying. This on-spot insurance is for an actor who gets injured on set.

“There is also a Stanbic IBTC pension scheme which a member ought to join. If you don’t join, it is pay-as-you-go, and if, after 20 years of practising, you fall sick, you should blame yourself. We also have health insurance.”