Comic
actor, Victor Osuagwu is one of the easily recognisable actors in the industry.
He has partaken in over 200 movies and he is still a hot cake today. He was
elected the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Lagos chapter, Chiarman recently. His
position is however challenged by his opponents. He speaks with Lekan Wells on his trials, travails and family life
Congratulations
on your election victory and instatement as the Chairman of Lagos State chapter
of the Actors Guild of Nigeria(AGN)
Thank you very much. It has always being my mission to
contest for this position and eventually become the chairman. This is because I
have been watching the chapter for a long time and I feel it is time that it is
given a new face, It is time to liberate it. So winning the election was like a
dream come true. I can finally work on the chapter and make it an example for
other state guilds to follow and I promise that I will never go back on any of
my electoral promises.
(more after the cut)
You
said you want to liberate it, was it in bondage before?
The truth is that the past 16 years I have spent in the
industry, I found out that AGN especially in Lagos has not been well
represented. Our collective responsibilities, our liberties and principles are
being eroded by some disgruntled elements. They are not only bringing the guild
down, they also want to cover it and swallow it. That was the guild I met
before my election. A guild where the leadership is not conscious of collective
good but are only there to fill their pockets. Any association like ours should
have a target and do well for the benefit of others. So that when you leave the
position, people will look back and say that you have done well. We have never
had such history. The only history we remember is that of individuals turning
the guild into a personal business, and squander all the guilds money, and when
the leave they leave the coffers empty.
Despite
your victory at the elections, some still say that you are not the winner of
the election, how do you hope to reconcile the opposition?
After any election, there are always such challenges.
Even before I contested, I knew that I would be faced with people who will not
concede to my victory. The truth is that things should be done properly. If I
had lost, I would not go rogue, I will go through the proper channels to make
my voice heard. There is a process to challenge any election in the AGN. After
the election that was free and fair, I was made the chairman. Anyone who feels
that he is not happy about the outcome, there is a procedure to take. It is
wrong for anybody to go on air to declare themselves winner or claim what is
not true.
The people in AGN are learned people. If you complain
that the election is not fair, then a panel will be set up to hear your
grievances. If it is found that there are irregularities, then they will take
steps to rectify it. What I expected is that the losers will write a petition
against me. In fact they have the right to go to court to fight the election.
It is wrong to go to the press to say bad things about the guild. This is the
same guild you want to represent. It is wrong from any angle you look at it.
Some
say you also brought thugs to the election venue and you were spoilt for a
fight
That is a lie. That is a fantastic lie. The truth is that
when you never expected some certain things to happen you can now say things
you like to discredit those who are in the right. my coming in to contest is a
blessing to a lot of actors in Lagos here. It is not like a do or die affair
for me. For me to have abandoned all my businesses to contest for election was
a thing of joy for many of the actors. Many of them who had not been attending
meetings quickly went to revalidate their membership when they got to know that
I was contesting. They all came out to support me and vote for me. One even
told me that he was happy that I am contesting that they were all tired of the
rubbish going on in the guild.
Even the man who is contesting against me, I don’t know
him. I don’t know where he is coming from. Does he really have the pedigree,
can he pull such support that I can pull. I have been in the industry for 16
years and I have paid my dues. Right now, I am not just an actor, I am a brand.
I am easily recognisable, and my name opens doors. I am not bragging. So I see
no reason such a person will find it hard to accept that I won the election
fair and square.
All that talk that I brought in thugs are merely talks.
There were many people at the place where the election held and they will tell
you that I did not have any thug with me. All my supporters came casted their
vote, and the electoral body did their
job. Even the police force were there to make sure there was peace. Have the
police made any report that I brought thugs? Can thugs operate where there are
armed policemen? All these are just
talks. Even the campaign manager to the man that lost the election came out to
say that the elections were free and fair. So what other proof do you want?
There was nothing like thugs or fight.
Won’t
the position affect your career in any way?
It will not affect my career, instead it will take my
career to another level. Who knows if this position will push me forward to
bigger positions. It will be a big publicity for my brand and I will make sure
that I keep everything professional. I will not let my work affect AGN nor AGN
affect my work. Who knows, after these, I may try my hand on the local
government chairman of my state
It’s
like you are interested in full time politics
I am just making an example. This is just a step to
somewhere. Contesting and winning an election can spur me on to go for higher
offices. That is what I am saying.
There
are lots of young actors out there who are still finding their footing. State
AGN are meant to reach grassroots actors, how are you going to do this?
That is one of my manifesto. I want to create a platform
for young actors to be able to find themselves and create a niche for
themselves. There are lots of young actors out there who do not know what it
takes to grow their talents. We are working on programmes to search for, train
and engage young actors. That is surely in our plans. Our door are open. We ask
anyone who is in the profession to come and be a part of us. Even old members
who have stopped relating with the guild, we ask them to come. I was once an up
and coming actor.
You
once said you came to Lagos to hustle for roles, we can say that paid off.
Yes, I came in to Lagos to hustle. It took me sic years
to get a role that made me popular, it took me another 16 years to get me to
where I am today. the problem with the young ones of today is that they want to
start acting today and instantly be a Genevieve or an Omotola. It is not easy
to become a star. Out of a hundred, maybe just two will finally make it to
stardom. Sometimes you can act in the
whole film and not get recognised, and you can act in just one scene and become
a huge success.
What
is the secret to your own success?
An artiste that wants to be successful creates
opportunities for himself or herself. When we were coming up, we used to scout
for auditions. Even after graduating with a degree from Theatre arts. We would
still go and allow ourselves to be auditioned by somebody we could lecture but
these days, there is a lot of laziness which is really what leads to all the
exploitation and sexual harassment. You can't sit on your backside and wait for
a producer to call up your phone and ask you to come play in his movie. He will
most likely ask for favours to do that for you. They need to be out there
looking for how best to break through while the guild provides them with
support services.
You
act mostly funny roles, can you ever act serious roles?
It is you that see it as a funny role. For me all the
roles are challenging. You may see how I am acting and it will make you laugh,
but look at me very well, you will see that I am serious while acting these
roles. It is all part of the training. For you cut across your audience, you
must be serious and have passion in what you do. If someone can watch you and
cry or watch you and cry, it shows you have done very well with your work as an
actor.
You
must have faced difficult times when coming up?
Not really. I knew very early in life that nothing good
comes easy. So I was ready to work very hard to achieve success. I am a
graduate of theatre arts and when I came out, I saw people who were hustling
for roles like myself.
There
are many actor falling to scams, when they are promised roles, that is not good
for the profession don’t you think?
We are aware of what is going on. Much as we are working
hard to identify these people and prosecute them the artistes themselves are
also to blame. I do not know why a new artiste, even some established ones will
allow themselves to be used as pawns because they want to work. How can a man
sleep with you, ask you to pay for it, give you a waka pass role and when the
production is finished you won't get remunerated. I mean that is absolute
madness. But I promise you such things will stop when we get into office.
Registered AGN members will soon start demanding a
producer or directors registration details before agreeing to work with such
people. We will make sure of that. It is not just registration scams. We do not
have a secretariat so there is no accountability. People finish from office and
walk away with documents so we cannot ask questions about financial
improprieties. Part of my work will include creating opportunities for creative
entrepreneurship. An artiste needs to have multiple streams of income and we
are going to be bringing professionals from different fields to interface with
us on how to get involved in other areas of industry and the economy so we can
be empowered more.
What
is the talk of health care for actors, what is it about?
In conjunction
with my President Ibinabo I will also work to improve health care, insurance
and housing for the artiste. All those schemes are already on we just need to
continue working to improve on the ground work which has already been done. I
also believe that we need to start celebrating ourselves while we are alive. I
don't want to attend another candle light procession for a deceased artsiste.
It is because of this that we are hosting past interim chairman Prince Ifeanyi
Dike on the same election Saturday at Mac Nuel productions. It is a trend we
need to foster.
Why
did it take you almost 14 years before taking your wife to the altar?
Some people even said it was
because I didn’t have money to organise the wedding. But to me, it was a
deliberate act. It was a promise made to God that when he blesses me I’m going
to celebrate my marriage in a very big way. I don’t owe my in-laws,
everything about marriage was done in 2002 but I promised
God that if he keeps me alive by the time my last born would be five years old,
I would celebrate my marriage, alongside my children. And that was exactly what
I did immediately my last born clocked five.
What
motivated you to have your wedding in a truck?
That was my own way of
entertaining people because the entertainment must continue and that is my job
as a comic actor. I must apply all the tactics within my disposal to make my
fans happy. It is not only on screen that I can make people smile and laugh. I
felt that I could also achieve same without being on TV. I was using the
occasion to celebrate my wife having endured for a long time waiting for me. I
made my fans realise that I’m a core entertainer on and off the screen. Port
Harcourt knew that someone was wedding on that day.
You must command a lot of attention
from ladies, as a married man how do you cope?
If these female fans are not there, there
won't be me. But basically part of what I've learnt in life that has sustained
me so far is how to manage myself as an artiste. Women are part of my success and
they need to be treated with care. They will always be there. No African woman
will come and tell you she loves you and you should take her to bed. It's not
our culture. These women respect me apart from just admiring me and I respect
myself. Besides, I'm a happily married man so why would any woman want to have
something intimate with me especially when I'm not that kind of man. I'm not a
womanizer and I don't think I would ever be. My wife has always been enough for
me. She is a precious gift to me.
Comedy for you was it inborn
or you learnt it?
It's inborn and runs in the blood. It's a
special talent that God has given me. Even if you learn it you won't be able to
do it like someone who was born with it who is gifted.
How come you don't do
stand-up comedy then?
I still do stand-up comedy but it's not my
specialty. Most times I'm always on the set when I'm being called for stand up
comedy shows. I have an annual comedy show titled Owerri Must Laugh and
normally invite some other artistes to come and entertain people
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