Igi Aruwe movie director, Femi Fadeyi, has described the tenure of veteran Yoruba actor, Prnce Jide Kosoko, as the president of the Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts Practitioners, ANTP as a big failure. Femi who is also a seasoned actor, script-writer, song-writer and producer spoke with Nollywood Insider saying that the failure of the ANTP, the core umbrella for Yoruba actors and actresses in Nigeria, must be put at the doorstep of Jide Kosoko. “The problem with the ANTP is that of Jide Kosoko and those who ran the association with him before. Since they left, the body has not been the same. They left behind an association that cannot even sit for a day. As at today, the ANTP as a body does not have a website of its own. This is a situation whereby there is no portal to access the names of those who is who and who is doing what in the association..”
He said further: ”Overall, I will score ANTP below average. The association has not really performed as expected. ANTP is the pioneer of the movie industry in Nigeria when the Baba Ogunde, Ade Love and others held sway. It’s disgusting now to see ANTP at the level that it is now. We allowed Nollywood to take over. We forced ourselves under Nollywood. And I feel ANTP should have been the general umbrella of Nigerian artistes if things had worked out well. ANTP has not been managed by the right people. The last regime was a failure, a total failure. The house was divided, there was no commitment to the association. I expected it to have been better than what we have today. We have lots of graduates, PHD holders in the industry, today, unlike before. Tunji Bamisigbin is a lawyer and the likes of Tade Ogidan, they are Yoruba people. They should be allowed to manage the affairs of this association. The body has been left in the hands of those who only believe in their own vision and not of the generality of the industry.
ANTP to me is a disappointment. Members are not gaining anything. We don’t even know where we are going. Jide Kosoko after his tenure made it difficult to put in another executive. That place does not belong to any of their families. It’s not an inheritance. This is a seat for every member of the association to contes . Why are we fighting over who will be the next president? This rivalry is affecting our future. We don’t have any president now. So, if we must say the truth, Jide Kosoko is a failure.”’
