Entertainment & SocietyEntertainers not Rookies when it comes to politics – Femi Branch

Entertainers not Rookies when it comes to politics – Femi Branch

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September 17, (THEWILL) – Nollywood actor and running mate to the governorship candidate of the National Rescue Movement, Chief Femi Branch, speaks with SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN about his involvement in politics, acting, and sundry issues.

Excerpts: You recently relinquished your position as the Vice President of Actors Guild of Nigeria, South West region. What would you say were your achievements when you were in office?

I worked with the National President, Emeka Rollas, and we were able to achieve quite a lot. We were able to engender interest and confidence in our members, especially those who felt they didn’t need the guild. We were able to convince them about the importance of working together to strengthen the guild. We made them understand whether or not they want to identify with the guild. If anything happens to any of them, everybody will start attacking the guild.

There is so much we can achieve as a group. Everything may seem okay to them now. When they run into trouble, they will come back to the guild and expect it to come to their aid. Even the public will start blaming the guild and saying we didn’t do this, we didn’t do that, even though the person in question does not belong to the guild. There is so much the guild can do to help such people when they run into trouble because it will be unfair on those who are committed members when they see that it is helping those who are not members.

Quite a lot of A-listers have validated their membership in the guild across the country. A lot of them are even working in committees and sub-committees in the guild. We have also been able to strengthen the membership in the South-West as well. It is still a work in progress, which is just the little we have done.

When some of our members were recently kidnapped, the guild was able to raise a ransom for them. I am very proud to say that the guild raised about 90 percent of the ransom. This is a result of the confidence that we were able to build in people about the guild. It wasn’t like that before and it hasn’t been like that for many years.
Why did a lot of actors shy away from joining the guild in the first place?

The guild was in crisis when many of them came into the industry. The series of crises over the years led to divisions that gave birth to different factions. The situation did not give many actors the confidence to identify with the guild. There was no stability and so the guild couldn’t perform its constitutional duties to many actors. As a result, they felt that there was no need to join the guild. But now, we have been able to stabilize the guild. All the factions have been merged into a single unit. The people who had issues with each other are now working together within the guild. Emeka Ike, a former president of the guild is even heading some committees now, which is what nobody has been able to achieve for years. The story has changed now. We thank God for that.

What challenges did you encounter when you were in charge of the guild in the South-West?

Basically, it is just what I have explained. When you have a guild and the practitioners, who are supposed to be part of the guild or those who are supposed to be serving in the guild, are not interested in identifying with it, it makes your work difficult. That is why I had to speak with some people about the guild.

Whenever there was any problem, I used to tell them that if they were members of the guild, we would fight for them. I have had to convince them over and over again about what they stood to gain from becoming members of the guild. It was quite challenging.

Resolving disputes between members was quite a difficult tough task, too. We also had some challenges when we tried to revive some chapters of the guild in the South-West because of personal grievances. Supervising a lot of people as a group and then as individuals was also a tough task.

Most of them came with personal and joint issues that must be resolved. The time we were supposed to use to build was used in resolving issues and persuading people about the guild. It was a whole lot really. But I am happy that we were able to build a good foundation so that the person coming to take over can find the work easy.

Why is it that the English-speaking genre of the movie industry has more members in the guild than the Yoruba genre?

In the beginning, there was the Theatre Arts Movie Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN). It comprises all practitioners. The actors’ guild was operating under it, but later, it started functioning on its own. When the guild broke away, it had mostly English-speaking practitioners.

Later other associations also came up and there were different fractions. But now, we have Yoruba, Hausa, and English-speaking practitioners who are now members of the guild and some of them still belong to the other associations as well.

I believe they see the guild as the mother guild of movie practitioners. So, it is not just the English-speaking genre practitioners that are in the guild. In spite of this, some people still feel that they are not well represented.

Femi Branch
Branch
Political parties now approach entertainers and pick their aspirants from the industry. What do you think is responsible for this?

It is a very beautiful development for our industry and our nation because entertainers, especially actors, were seen as unserious people in the past. A child couldn’t tell his father that he wanted to become an actor in those days. You could only hear them say they want to be a doctor or lawyer.

None of them would say they want to be an actor or actress. When a child came home in those days and says, I want to be an actor, everyone will laugh at the child. But the narrative has changed. The perception has changed. Those people who used to look down on us are now working with us. The doctors, lawyers, and accountants are all working for us. Things have changed.

The same profession that nobody considered to be a serious one is what people are now looking up to. Acting is now more lucrative than the professions that they used to hold in high esteem. Most actors have been able to distinguish themselves beyond the movie industry.

They have attained a level of social relevance beyond the boundaries of our profession. I think that is what political parties saw that spurred the interest in inviting movie practitioners to join politics. Actors have fame, they are well known to other members of the public, too.

Judging by the calibre of people some of the political parties now go for, they also put some things into consideration. They aren’t just looking for people who were popular, but people who also have some kind of reputation and relevance beyond their profession.

They understand that we deal with every aspect of life. We deal with the high and the low. That is why when problems arise, people will attack the actors that are not speaking out. We are opinion molders. When an actor or an entertainer stands up to say something, people listen because we have a fan base that cuts across culture, tribe, and language.

For any party that wants to be seen as being sensitive to the needs of the people, one of the best decisions they can make is to work with an actor or entertainer. We know how to make people happy, we know what people need.

We tell the story of virtually everyone, we have taken it upon ourselves to be a mirror of society. So choosing an actor to run for a political office is the wisest thing anybody can do. You can be sure that you are getting followership that is not based on sentiment.

The actor may not be able to get all his followers to believe in his political aspirations, but you can be sure that he will get them to believe in him. Just for the love and the faith they have in him.

It is a very good development, we have come a long way, despite how people see and perceive us, and we have been able to make something good of ourselves.

Some people say getting followers on social media is a different world entirely, but it cannot translate into votes. Do you agree with that?

I agree with you on that, but when it comes to actors, we have a more credible followership. We didn’t gain popularity on social media. We gained popularity before social media came. We have our fan base all over the world, even local Yoruba actors have fans in Asia, America, and Europe.

People are dying for them all over the world. Most of these actors are treated like royalty when they travel abroad. You would be amazed at how they are held in high esteem abroad. So our followership does not come from social media. Social media just amplifies it.

The credibility of the work we have done long before the advent of social media is what brought us fame. You can argue favorably that the popularity of a skit maker cannot be compared to that of an actor because our own worth is on two platforms, it has more weight (let me use the word for lack of a better word). So, everything you are getting from them is authentic, it’s the real thing you are getting from them.

Femi Branch
Branch
How prepared do you think our entertainers are for the political task ahead?

Let me speak solely for the actors because that is my profession. As an actor, you are trained to take up any role. When you are playing any character, you must do your research. You must do your due diligence especially when it bothers on a particular profession. The script writer would have done his part, too, but more work is left for the actor.

When acting in a hospital scene, we will call doctors and ask questions because you have to respect the profession you want to portray. I had an encounter with a Police Public Relation Officer who complained about the way the police were presented in a movie. I had to apologise and state that there are some people that are not trained in our profession for what they do. They are the people who came through the back door.

Going back to your question, actors are not novices when it comes to politics. Some actors have played the roles of politicians in some Nollywood movies. All the things they portray in the movies are things happening in the political world. Within the short time that I have spent as a politician, I have seen some things and realised that we are not doing badly in Nollywood.

My experience as an actor has helped me to adapt to some of those things that ordinarily should be new to me. I have played the part of a politician. I have played the part of a governorship aspirant before in films so I have a fairly good idea of what that sector is all about.

Another thing to consider is the fact that entertainers work with politicians a lot. Some of us are card-carrying members of political parties. Many of us are politicians. Being an actor does not make you a novice in politics. The profession itself equips people to adapt to any situation. We should be happy that the narrative has changed for actors who were seen as beggars in the past.

A few years ago, during election campaigns, politicians would hire actors and comedians to go shout on the stage and that is all but now, we are their co-participants. I have always criticised those going to government houses or to a political aspirant to beg for favour. We are more than that! We are professionals in our own right.

Our profession may not be paying us as much as we desire, but there is dignity in labour. We should hold our heads high and put a premium on ourselves now that we are being called to participate. Don’t let your pocket rule you. That is exactly what is happening now. Definitely, we will learn a lot of new things but we will adapt.

When did you become a card-carrying member of the National Rescue Movement?

Less than two months ago. I have never been a card-carrying member of any political party before then. I have been very vocal and critical of political parties. I don’t mince words when I talk about them, because of that, I have no stake in any of the political parties.

The only politician I have ever supported in my life is Jimi Agabje. He is the only person I have ever come out publicly to canvass and campaign for. It was because I believed in him. We had advocacy for him because we did our research and found out that he had a lot to offer Lagos State. Alex Okoroji and I spearheaded the project for new Lagos. We didn’t go to him and request money to fund the project, we used our own money.

Many actors took part in the project. We worked just because we believed in the man. He didn’t win at the end of the day. But it’s alright, you can’t win all the time. I don’t believe in parties but in individuals.

Unfortunately, the individual cannot function without a party. If you want to serve people, you just have to join a political party. You have to compromise sometimes, it is only your value that you will not compromise.

If you feel the party you are looking at is the only avenue to get to where you will effect a change, there is nothing wrong with joining the party. The only thing is that you don’t compromise your ideal.

It is not the party that gets you there that matters but what you do when you get there. I will advise people going into political office not to make the same mistake that the people who are there made. Don’t think of a second term.

By God’s grace, if I get there, I am not thinking of a second term. That is what makes a lot of people mess up. So when they get there, they will first serve their political godfathers. The second term will be used to serve their needs.

The best thing is to show people what good leadership is all about. If the people want good leadership, they will bring you back. Good leaders wouldn’t go there for personal ambition. Anything you cannot achieve in four years means they don’t plan to achieve such a goal. At least, touch every aspect of the life of the people.

Femi Branch
Branch
Politics involves a lot of money. How do you intend to cope with the financial pressure?

I have to be very honest with you, money is the greatest challenge we are having right now. The governorship aspirant, Dr. Tofunmi Ogunronbi, and I are young people. He is even younger than I am, but he is quite accomplished and he has the heart to change things in Ogun State.

There is a limit to which personal money can take you in politics. As a matter of fact, you are not supposed to spend your own money which is why you have campaign donations.

We have a lot of people who believe in our cause and they want us there. By God’s grace, we will do our best. I have spoken to people for support and everyone has a complaint or the other.

We had the opportunity to go through a godfather, but we decided not to. We know that if we did, a lot of things would come up. We will do our best and let the people realise that they have an alternative.

A lot of people have told us it is not yet our time. They told us to watch how it is done so that when our time comes, we will know how to go about it. These people groom people to take after them.

They have groomed up to three generations to take after them. That is why Nigerians should wake up and be ready for 2023. People should be involved, they should come out and run, not just vote. That is when we will have the country of our dreams.

What will happen to your career now that you are fully involved in politics?

It will not be easy running both at the same time. By the time we get into office, I can’t be running around as the deputy governor and still be on location. Definitively, I will put the acting on hold. I am also a producer.

My production company will still be running, but I may not be able to act again. I am not going there to make a career out of politics. I am going there to serve. Acting is my profession. Once I am done with politics, I will return to my profession.

Hope you won’t be tempted by the time you are exposed to the juicy things that come with power because power intoxicates?

I will not lie and say that there are no temptations. I have been facing the temptation. I have been to places to canvas for funds and I have heard a lot. God has blessed me with contentment. It is the greatest thing anyone can aspire to have in life.

Once you have contentment, you can overcome any temptation. I was brought up with certain values that I cannot compromise. Otunba Bolade Osunkoya, my father was the personal Librarian to Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He is also involved in partisan politics, he is an Awoist to the core and he has taught me well.

What advice do you have for Nigerians as the general election fast approaches?

What I will say is what I have been saying since. What happened in Osun State may not be possible in other states. For those who collected money to vote, the people giving money are now wise. They might stand there and watch you vote before they give you money.

Don’t sell your conscience in 2023 just for peanuts. Let us make money politics fail. The only thing making those people stay in politics is because of the money they syphon. Let us disgrace money in 2023. Not every revolution involves standing on the street. Let us have a political revolution in Nigeria.

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