Actors Guild of Nigeria and matters arising

Nearly every guild or professional association within the Nigerian entertainment industry has had one issue or the other especially in the area of leadership. There are camps, cliques, caucuses and the ‘opposition’ desiring power to further its own agenda. The Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) is not spared. Just over a year ago, the guild was embroiled in a series of scandals involving botched elections and accusations of rigging and violence. In the end, Ibinabo Fiberisima assumed her presidency as the first female leader of the AGN and in a few months, she has already started making some giant strides.
At a recently held event honouring Ms.Fiberisima, she spoke about her grand plans for the AGN and shared some of her achievements. Her administration already boasts of a Toyota 18-seater bus which would enable the free movement of National Executives of the AGN. Then there are the health insurance and pension scheme for fully registered members. In addition, the Screen Actors Award will be later launched to recognize the best of talents in the industry. Speaking to her colleagues, it is obvious Ms.Fiberisima has hit the ground running. She is fondly described as a ‘doer’, ‘go getter’ and a ‘mother’ who is totally committed to the welfare of actors. And to her credit, the organization now has a functional website where actors can sign up for screening (for a fee). Beyond her projects, Madam President lends her support to Nollywood and is a familiar face at movie premieres, award ceremonies and stakeholder engagement meetings. She has also been vocal about topical and salient issues in the industry. She embodies the active and visionary leader required to lift the guild into a sphere of significance in New Nollywood.
Being a woman and from a minority tribe as well as of mixed race are some of the differentiating traits Ms.Fiberisma possess but it her personal story of triumph that adds the cherry to the cake. The single mother who is also an ex-convict is like the proverbial phoenix who rose out of the ashes. She was jailed for manslaughter, following the death of a medical doctor, Suraj Giwa in an accident. Rather than let societal tags define her, she said her experience is what has made her who she is today. She spoke passionately of a foundation she will be launching for the families of accident victims. Her raison d’etre is “to get people to talk to them and to heal their wounds.”
There is no doubt that Madam President will definitely make her mark but to whom much who is given, a lot more is expected. I expect to see capacity building initiatives, competitions, training and better and timely dissemination of relevant information. It is the duty of her administration to raise the standards.
My personal advice is for her not to relent in her pursuit of excellence and put her words into quick action. Her success will largely depend on harnessing the disjointed voices of Nollywood actors and speaking as one voice to deliver on her mandate. We are watching but so far so good.