Why skitmakers can’t take me off business – Victor Osuagwu

Nollywood comic actor Victor Osuagwu who began his career in 1997 and became famous for his role in Evil Passion 2, has been busy growing his other business ventures.

Oswuagu, 58, a former chairman of the Actor’s Guild of Nigeria, Lagos chapter, has gone on to star in over 100 films, including Agaba, Men on the Run, $1: One Dollar and Onye-Eze.

Recently in an event in Lagos State, PREMIUM TIMES ran into the light skin hilarious actor as he spoke about current engagements, the state of the nation, Nnamdi Kanu and the IPOB lockdown in the South-east.

Mr Oswuagu was the former chairman of the Actor’s Guild of Nigeria, Lagos chapter.

Excerpts
PT: It’s been a while since you starred in movies; what have you been up to lately?

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Victor Osuagwu: Apart from the endorsements engaging me, I have been busy managing my businesses.

PT: What businesses?

Victor: I am into the hospitality business; I distribute drinks too, and I distribute some herbal drugs, so I have shops, and I oversee my companies. I still act, but as an entrepreneur, I am managing my businesses.

PT: Did you chance upon acting?

Victor: Well, growing up, I didn’t plan to be an actor, and I never stumbled into acting, either. From age five, I had already seen myself as an entertainer, and I was praying day and night for an opportunity to make people happy, and here we are.

PT: Are you threatened by the influx of skitmakers in Nollywood?

Victor: I disagree that skitmakers have taken over the comedy industry. There is entertainment everywhere, and skit-making is just part of the entertainment industry. But if skit-making has come to stay, I believe in that.

PT: Why do you believe skit-making has come to stay?

Victor: Skit-making and comedy generally have come to stay because it is a soft entertainment. With the advent of social media and the internet, people turn to comic skits to unwind when they are stressed from their daily routine; even when people are tired and weak, humorous performances provide some laughter, and that is what comedy is all about, that is the heart of entertainment.

It has come to stay because it is easy and convenient for the skitmakers to create content, unlike when you are an actor, you go through extended rigours of filmmaking, how many movies can an actor do in a year. Still, it is a different narrative for a skit maker who consistently makes short skits almost daily. People look forward to seeing such comic content to relax and get their minds off their problems, especially in a country with many issues like ours.

PT: But some skitmakers are going overboard with their skits; recently, the police arrested a skit maker for pulling expensive and insensitive pranks. Thoughts?

Victor: One of the biggest problems we have in this part of the world is a lack of regulation; there is no basis for operation, neither is there a standard, so everyone and anyone feels like they have the autonomy to behave as they please in the name of creating skits and content. Suppose there are regulatory bodies that set out rules and guidelines. In that case, notably the basis of operation, we could tame some shenanigans parading around in the name of skits and contents.

On the other hand, we are in an economic problem. When an average Nigerian man or woman feels that skit making and content creating is the next area to make fast money, such an individual goes into it without due consideration, so anything and everything becomes for his skits and content. Still, when there is a regulatory body and guides, everyone is guided and knows where to draw the limits.

Also, as individuals, we should know that some pranks are expensive. We have seen people prank aged persons, maybe their parents or older adults, leading them to coma or even death. You can imagine when a man is seated at home. Somebody comes to tell him that his daughter, whom he saw leaving the house a few minutes ago, was hit down by a car, such news could be a prank, but it could lead the man to death, because, perhaps the man had high blood pressure, or diabetics or highly complexed health situation, such a prank can lead that person to the grave. So as individuals, we must know where to draw the line. We are not stopping anybody from doing skits or pranks, but then we should be careful of how we go about it.

PT: Skitmaking is becoming an all-comer affair; even some of your colleagues now venture into skit-making.

Victor: The thing is, everybody, wants to become a skit maker, even an older woman in the village, and because it does not cost much to make these skits, it makes it easy for anyone with an excellent phone to showcase to the entire world, what they can offer, their quota of talent. Unlike acting, if you consider producing a movie, it is cost intensive, from lighting to the camera; you can’t just make anything all in the name of the film, but with your phone, anything can be content.

PT: Do you think this seemingly easy job of skitmakers and content creators is taking your job from you as an actor?

Victor: No, that is not possible. We have built ourselves into a brand, some actors no only just act in movies, and as the skitmakers are coming into acting, we too are diversifying; some of us have our Tv channels, some have their own Youtube channels, and some of us too now create skits, so nobody is taking anybody’s job. But then, as an actor and my age, I would not do some of the pranks some skitmakers are doing.

Another thing that you must recognise is that, through acting, we have built a legacy and market value that so many skitmakers don’t have. Even if the skitmakers act, it cannot be compared to an actor featured in over 200 movies in 20 years of acting.

Again we enjoy endorsements, and companies would want to sign you in as an influencer of their brands, likewise the skit maker, so nobody is taking anybody’s job; the sky is big enough for every bird.

PT: There have been intense agitations for Nnamdi Kanu’s release. What is your take on this?

Victor: I would like to appeal to the government to please release Nnamdi Kanu; he has stayed enough in that detention; it is time the federal government would look into his matte; I am not joking.

The man in question did not carry arms and ammunition, unlike we have seen some people wielding guns anyhow and making felonious statements, yet the government has not arrested them.

Nnamdi Kanu’s only crime is telling the government that a particular set of people are being marginalised in Nigeria; hewas agitating that it is height time for the government to recognise a specific group of people in the country; he never used any weapon; and there is no place anyone would say that there is evidence that he used any weapons.

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He is like a crusader whose message is that people are being marginalised. Yet, he is being detained for so long, even at the detriment of his health, yet some people carry arms and ammunition, who are non-military people, saying all sorts of things, and yet nobody has arrested them.

During the elections, the kind of comments people made threatened the lives and peace of the nation, yet nobody arrested them. It is high time they released the young man; he has stayed enough there.

PT: Many have lamented the negative impact of the frequent sit-at-home order by non-state actors in the South-east region of Nigeria. What are your thoughts?

Victor: We are unhappy about the lockdown in the South-east; it is crumbling the business in the South-east. The lockdown is one of many ways to achieve whatever they seek, and I am against the lockdown in the South-east.

This lockdown is doing more harm than good. In the south-east, most people fend for themselves and depend on what they make daily for survival, especially farmers, who can not go to the markets. How would they sell their product? There are better options than the lockdown; let’s come together and seek solutions rather than create more problems for the people.

PT: Any thoughts on the new administration and the fuel subsidy removal?

Victor: The government is still young for us to access them, and already everyone is crying over the fuel subsidy which was removed; although there should have been considerations and preparations, let’s give them a little time and hope things might change, and if it doesn’t change, the same way they protested during Jonathan’s tenure, the people should get ready to protest again, because during Jonathan’s administration, fuel price moved from N65 to N95 and the entire nation hit the street in protest, and now it is going to N700, and nobody is saying anything.

PT: What is your take on the growth in Nollywood?

Victor: Nollywood has grown over the years, especially with the advent of streaming platforms like Netflix, Showmax, and Prime Video and the development of the cinema.

A significant improvement is happening in the industry; unlike when we started, when we had only one channel to market our product, now there are more extensive marketing channels. Netflix, Prime Video, Showmax, and other platforms have made the industry grow faster, and there is a significant improvement.