It is no longer news that actresses, Ibinabo Fiberesima and Clarion Chukwura, are not in good terms. The two have been throwing jabs at each other for some time now. Recently, Clarion berated Ibinabo who is the Actor’s Guild of Nigeria (AGN)
Ibinabo and Clarion
president for paying a courtesy visit to the President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, at Aso Rock.
Clarion Chukwura described the visit as uncalled for, adding that it was not in the best interest of the industry. According to Chukwura, AGN is not the guild that represents the English movie actors, the Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTAP) and Kannywood. This statement has continued to attract comments from other moviemakers.
Clarion’s statement reads: “I read with dismay the address of president of AGN, Miss Ibinabo Fiberisima, during her recent visit with some notable actors and AGN officials to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. It is alarming to discover from this address, the false claims by Ibinabo that the Actors Guild of Nigeria is the only umbrella body of Nigerian screen actors; that President Goodluck Jonathan has by the “constant release of funds” effected a sustained development of the Nigerian movie industry since the inception of his administration; that an AGN Secretariat located in Abuja and political appointments for actors would advance the welfare of the Nigerian screen actors. It is not surprising that Ibinabo would display such a lack of knowledge of what advances screen actors professionally in the developed world since she has not functioned consistently as an actor and has less than 10 titles to her credit in a career spanning from the late eighties.”
Chukwura did not also spare other actors who accompanied Ibinabo on the presidential visit. “They watched in compliance, the denigration of the integrity of Nigerian screen actors, as she read her requests literally begging for crumbs from the President’s table,” she said.
For Chukwura, AGN was not established as a platform to canvass for political appointments or pursue selfish interests. She, therefore, called for Ibinabo’s resignation as AGN president. “For her brazen use of a guild created to serve the creative interests of a group to gain political appointment while in office. I enjoin her to follow the respectable road of her predecessors by joining the PDP and testing the real value of her self-earned popularity as an actress for political appointment,” she said.
During the week, Ibinabo finally ended her silence. In a statement addressed to Clarion Chukwura, and copied to Box Office, Ibinabo respectfully referred to Clarion as her senior colleague who has got it all wrong. She started by explaining why she kept silent all along, saying; “I was away on a short vacation when my attention was drawn to two publications credited to your very respected self, where you cast a lot of aspersions on me and where you resorted, because of your inordinate ambition to become president of the guild, to feeding the general public with deceit and falsehood. Ordinarily, I would not have replied you openly because I personally do not join issues with my colleagues, whether junior or senior, on the pages of the newspapers or on social media. Besides, as president, I should be seen to be uniting members of the guild and not causing disaffection, as your unfortunate outburst set out to do.”
She faulted Clarion for quoting her wrongly. “Madam, I gleaned from your incoherent attacks that your grouse with me was that I didn’t ask President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for support on issue of legislation that, quoting you now “could bring all the screen actors in Nigeria under one single body so that an enabling environment could be put in place to create jobs for actors. Your other grouse was that I also asked for ‘a political appointment’ and a national secretariat in Abuja. You were also bellyaching because you said I led a delegation that didn’t include veterans. But Madam, I am not sure you listened to my address to Mr. President. You mischievously picked one aspect of the entire address that you wanted to use to score your cheap political points and left out the thrust of my address to Mr. President.
She said: “For the purpose of clarity, I don’t know whether those who reported the visit to you told you that I mentioned to Mr. President in clear terms that my ultimate objective as president of the guild is to deliver better professional and financial opportunities for my members, provide for their long-term welfare (as the acting career can be a precarious one), source support in the areas of finance, funding, provision of standard production equipment for use by our members and corresponding training facilities and also improve the livelihoods of our actors whilst making the future of our industry more sustainable.”
Clarion had in her speech berated Ibinabo for asking the President to build a headquarters for AGN in Abuja. But Ibinabo says there is nothing wrong with that, saying; “I raised all of these issues in my speech. But you didn’t even acknowledged them, instead you gave the impression that all I went to the villa to do was to ask for an office for the guild and to ask to be given a political appointment. And I ask, what is wrong in asking for an office for the guild in the country’s capital territory? As an affiliate of the Federation of International Actors (FIA), wouldn’t it be prestigious to receive our international visitors in a befitting secretariat that is at the seat of government?
“I understand the point you make about my not taking ‘veterans’ on the delegation. Oh! you wanted to be on the delegation, right? But how can you possibly be on the delegation when you have blatantly refused to identify with the guild. My Exco and I and even the Board of Trustees, have tried as much as we can to get those of you in the veteran class involved in the activities of the guild. We created a veteran forum since some of you complained that you would not like to be holding meetings with those some of you consider ‘up starts’ and ‘interlopers’ but each time we call a meeting, either directly or indirectly, only very few people show up. But we won’t relent. We shall continue to reach out to those of you in that class and I make bold to say that some veterans were part of the delegation to the Villa.
“And to correct you, ma, I didn’t ask Mr. President for ‘a political appointment’ as you have been mouthing. I thanked Mr. President for the few consideration he has made in appointing some practitioners into key government positions and requested for more of such appointments in line with our expressed desire to have more of our creative people in government and in politics so we can have people to influence legislation that will benefit the industry. I have attended meetings where most people in government think that all we are good for is beauty and glamour and no brain. So, what is wrong in asking that our members be given an opportunity to contribute to national development? What is wrong in asking that someone as experienced as you head an agency like the Film Corporation so that you can bring about the change we desire?”
Ibinabo said she would not resign as AGN president as Clarion has requested. Clarion had pointed out that Ibinabo receiving a political appointment from President Goodluck dictates that she must resign. Ibinabo continued: “You also asked that I resign my appointment as President of the AGN because Mr. President graciously appointed me to serve on the Governing Board of the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC). Well, it may interest you to note that the appointment was in my personal capacity and it is a part-time appointment as we are only expected to sit four times in a year, maximum. However, It was only a coincidence that the appointment was announced days after the visit to the villa. But I had been intimated long before the inauguration of the board that I have been nominated to serve on the board of one of the agencies in the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism. If the other artistes that have been appointed on merit into part-time positions have not stopped acting as it were, why should I resign? AGN is governed by a constitution and not by verbal pronouncements. My appointment is rather another achievement for our Industry.”
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