NOLLYWOOD actor, Mike Godson has revealed that acting is not a profession that gives financial security to role interpreters.
In an interview with Punch, Godson said actors need to have multiple streams of income to have financial security, as the profession can’t give it.
“I have said this before― actors are generally comfortable but acting alone wouldn’t give one financial security. I believe one has to keep building oneself and establish other streams of income. If there is one thing the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, it is that one stream of income is not enough,” the actor who recently penned an open letter to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, was quoted as saying.
On why he wrote to the vice president, Godson said a lot of people resorted to begging on social media and in the streets, as everyone was locked at home to curtail the COVID-19 spread.
He added that he wrote the letter as an unemployed Nigerian, who was struggling to survive and provide for his family.
“There have been a lot of misconceptions about that post. I wrote it as an unemployed Nigerian youth struggling to make ends meet to provide for his family. It wasn’t for my personal gain. When the lockdown began, a lot of people were left hungry. Even the palliatives that were to be distributed didn’t get around.
“There were more people begging on the streets and even on social media. There are a lot of people whose livelihoods depend on what they make daily. If they don’t leave their houses, they wouldn’t be able to eat. It was people like that I was speaking for. We understood the need for the lockdown but on the other hand, we should also ask what happens to the daily income earners― the trader whose goods are not up N5000 and is in dire need of the N500 or N1000 she makes daily when she leaves home to be able to provide for her children and even grandchildren in some cases. Let’s not pretend we don’t know these situations. A lot of blogs and media houses made it all about me but that was never the intention,” he explained.
