One of the most celebrated actor in Nigeria and outside the shores of the country known for his role he played in “Things Fall Apart “, Chief Pete Edochie on Monday, September 20, 2010, paid a courtesy visit to LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group, to identify with the good work the company has been doing to bring current news coverage to the people in all spheres of life- both in politics and in the entertainment industry.
It was laughter all through, as he discussed vital issues that have to do with the entertainment industry in Nigeria, and also what he feels about the political situation in the country.
Welcoming him, the chairman of LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah was full of appreciation as he narrated how he came to love the role he plays in making sure the entertainment industry is something worth celebrating today. He also thanked him for squeezing time to come to the organization, which shows the good work the medium is doing in the society.
Responding to questions, he spoke about a lot of issues that have to do with the entity called Nigeria.
“I was born in the North, I also attended Quranic school when I was young. We were enjoying what we were doing back then, because each time rams were slaughtered during the big Sallah , it just looked like we were the ones celebrating the festival. My younger brother is a practicing Muslim, a serious one at that. And he has been a Muslim for long now. Today, the best friends I have are the friends I grew up with. Some of them are still alive, while some are gone. I am still in constant communication with those alive. I don’t avoid acting any role like playing that of a poor man or a gateman. People are used to the image of a gate man as hungry looking man, and raggedy character, but if you see a “mai gard” looking like Pete Edochie, you will think he is pretending and was just planted there to do something. Someone said a similar thing at an event I went to, he said this is one person I have never seen play a poor person in a production. And I said, ‘if I am to play a poor person, am I to play a driver, gateman, houseboy?’ He said ‘no’, and I said, ‘thank you very much’. A lot of people have asked that question. Probably, if I look like Sam Loco, I would have taken up those roles. If you cast me in the role of an Igwe, who has all the leadership quantities or a Don in a criminal gang, or a native doctor- a very serious one at that- I will perform well. If you think about those who do these movies, they have to produce movies that have to command huge commercial possibilities and that is a prime consideration. If you do something else, only a few people will patronize you and you lose out which is not good. When you look at Nigerian politics, you think about the possibilities of a transformation. It’s not easy; for instance, I am the chairman of Rebranding Committee. We had our meeting one or two times, but it just folded up. Why? The government did not make any budgetary allocation for that kind of thing. If you do a film that portrays Nigeria as a good country, and you think about the election we have had in the past, there has not been any election, its all selection. And you know there is a perpetual disconnect between the people in authority and the electorate. If you do not put anybody there, he does not have any obligation. It is difficult to do a film that will be harping on our credible accommodating potential, because you may not make an impression with that. You see these people called politicians are expired and tired, they are not supposed to be there. I can’t go into politics, even though many people have called me to either support them or vie for an elective post. When I was watching the election proceedings in Britain, I looked at Brown and I looked at Cameron, and Brown’s entire posture was pathetically bereft of ideas, but you could look at the other young man; he had potential, he commanded dynamism.
The chairman after the interactive session, thanked the august visitor for his visit and presented some copies of LEADERSHIP newspapers to him.
