The recent passing of Nollywood icons Enebeli Elebuwa, Justus Esiri and Pete Eneh have shaken minds and stirred consciences, but more than that they have pinpointed how structurally dysfunctional Nollywood really is.

It is totally unacceptable, even by Nollywood’s standards, that men of that stature who had dedicated their lives and careers to their art, men who the public adored and highly respected, men who have played in most of the industry’s classics, would die in misery and financially depleted for lack of affordable medical attention. These men who had risen to the status of icons didn’t have two kobos to rub together to save their own lives when they needed to.

Private initiatives spontaneously sprung out of the woodwork and from the world at large to collect money and send to Pa Enebeli, namely the ones organised by Nigeriafilms.com for his medical attention for his left eye in 2008. However, as far as the industry is concerned, to the exception of a few stars like Stella Damasus and RMD who rang the alarm and involved the Delta State governor to step in forcefully by sending Pa Enebeli to India for the desperate treatment that came too late anyway, the industry players stood by, looked on and waited for him to die. Only to gather in throngs once the men were gone, print out colourful t-shirts that they shamelessly sported on the “tribute nights” organised to cater a free meal and drinks.

The culprits of this unbearable situation are all over the place. Would the accused please stand up?

It’s no secret that producers go out of their way to pay upfront stars like Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Emeka Ike, RMD and Noah Ramsey to name but a few. These stars are the industry’s cash cows and paying them upfront ensures that their names and faces gracing the dvd covers and film posters will make the movie profitable so that the producer/marketer will get his money back.

The flip side of that coin is that secondary actors, like the elderly ones, Enebeli Elebuwa, Justus Esiri and Pete Eneh , didn’t always get paid the money owed to them, whenever it was owed. Arrangements of some kind were made to recoup later and most times later never came. How can a man slave all his life and be left broke in his old days when he needs his money the most? You now have a part of the answer.