On Wednesday March 24, the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, gifted veteran actress, Lanre Hassan, a three-bedroom flat during the commissioning of 360 units of a housing estate called LagosHoms located in Igbogbo, Ikorodu axis of the state. Several reasons have been attributed to why the talented Nollywood actress was gifted the apartment. Besides the fact that the actress who stays within that axis of Lagos state was said to be in dire need of a decent accommodation, gifting her the apartment was also said to be an avenue to celebrate her immense contribution which spans over four decades in the entertainment industry.
According to the governor, entertainers should be celebrated while alive not when they pass on. But despite Sanwo-Olu’s kind gesture, his action has been greeted with criticism and he has received knocks from some well-meaning citizens of the state. They questioned the choice of Lanre Hassan amidst other Nollywood veterans who also have accommodation problems and why they were also not considered.
For instance, veteran actor, Ajirebi Kayode Olasehinde once abandoned his rented Agbado Oke-Odo residence, months back after flood sacked him from there. It took the intervention of his younger colleagues led by Funke Akindele Bello who donated money for him to rent another apartment, before he got another roof over his head. Also, another veteran actor, Olusegun Akinremi, more popularly known as Chief Kanran lost his house, cars and other valuables to a fire incident years ago. Things nosedived for him so badly he resorted to sleeping in church for over a year before he cried out for help last year. Despite the tears he shed in a video that went viral where he was begging for help, no aid got to him from the government. Most recently, the dreadful state of some Nollywood veterans have been made public on social media.
The likes of Babatunde Omidina, Victor Olaotan, both of who have not been enjoying the best of health because of inadequate funds to get proper health care, have not gotten any form of assistance from the state, except help from private individuals and a few colleagues. In the case of Victor Olaotan who is still battling for life after a traumatic brain injury he sustained in a ghastly accident in 2016, businessman Femi Otedola donated the sum of N30 million naira to him. Even though it was quite a huge sum, it has since been exhausted with the Turkish hospital where Olaotan is receiving treatment, threatening to kick him out.
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