Femi Durojaiye is a veteran actor and producer. In this interview with Damilare Famuyiwa, he shares his sentiment on the state of the Nigerian filmmaking industry and the challenges he has encountered in his over 30 years of experience, amongst other things.
How did you start acting?
It was in 1987 when I joined a theatre group in Onikan, Lagos. That was where I had my formal training as a stage actor; that was when my career started.
How has the journey been so far for you?
I have experienced the good, the bad and the very ugly of this profession. In all, it has really been a good ride. I’m one of the very fortunate actors, in the sense that some of our contemporaries have stopped acting. Many people that started with me at that time have fallen by the roadside. You understand? God helped me, I stayed on, I got the visibility I’ve always wanted and here, I am today- an authentic veteran of Nollywood and a celebrity, it takes God and hard work.
What are the things that have helped you in the course of your career?
Number one, it’s integrity. Number two, it is hard work, number three, it is my acting prowess. I play my roles well no matter what role I’m given. If you give me a policeman, you’ll see a policeman. If you give me a reverend father, you’ll see a reverend father. If you give me an armed robber, you’ll see an armed robber. My versatility as an actor has made me relevant too; I bring my all to every character I’m given and I give more than what the script requires, that’s what has helped me in my career.
At which point in your career did you break into the spotlight?
That’s a very difficult question, but the truth is that all the roles I’ve played over the years aggregated into making me what I am today and I’ll give you an example. When my late cousin Yinka Ilesanmi invited me to Nollywood, they were doing a short film. I think the name of the film is Scavengers, which was directed by Andy Amenechi. She invited me and said I should come “there’s a track film”, and being an actor, I was already familiar with performing art. I went and we were given directions on what to do; where to be happy, where to make noise, and stuff like that. So, when the judge pronounced the judgement and Zack Orji was a member of my family and he won the case, I left where I was sitting and I went to meet him in the dock and the camera was rolling. I didn’t have that direction from the director but I knew it was the right thing to do. It happens in court; I went to meet him and hug him and shook his hand and the cameras were rolling, I was not taught and eventually they said cut. The director came to meet me and said he liked what I did…. So one day, I was walking on the street of Surulere and somebody called me and said “you were in Scavengers!’. , I didn’t even know that the film was released; I was just an extra; that is what I mean by giving everything you have as an actor to your character. I’ve done Super Story, and many other big productions in the country. It’s an aggregation of all these works that created my celebrity status.
What were you trying to do with the programme that made Lala Akindoju to accuse you of scamming?
For several years, I have been a very visible, consistent and committed advocate of a pragmatic change in Nollywood, especially as it concerns the welfare of actors. I have also consistently advocated that Actors Associations must be directly involved in creating works for actors, which legitimises their collection of dues.
Over the years, I have deployed innovative ways that actors can take advantage of in order to improve their lifestyles. This, amongst other things, has made many forward-looking industry practitioners respect me.
It is a shame and it’s unacceptable that Nollywood somehow has managed to create an army of poor actors whose fortunes cannot change if we continue doing things the way we are used to doing them. This is why I have unapologetically and consistently called for job creation initiatives in order to reduce poverty and usher in prosperity.
Actors and other talents have often complained of poor pay. This circumstance will never change until there are jobs available, and talents can now choose which production to work with based on pay and other personal considerations. Nollywood is a business and therefore talent fees will always be subject to demand and supply.
At Project 100, what we are trying to do is to deploy a business model, widely known as Crowdfunding in the business environment. Crowd Funding is a legitimate business model used in funding projects, including movie projects. I see a greater Nollywood capable of creating enormous wealth for the benefit of all practitioners. But I also understand the natural resistance of people to change and reluctance to embrace a new vision. I believe that with time there will be an equilibrium of minds where more people begin to think alike, embrace new visions, new ways of doing things and take action to create wealth for all.
What’s your sentiment on the present state of the Nollywood industry?
For the record, I think actors’ associations can do more to put food on the table for others. The notion that association cannot produce is lazy. There’s no justification for you not to produce or to provide jobs for actors or making it possible for them to get jobs. Look at AGN for example, I’ve had personal meetings with Emeka Roland, and I told him specifically, touch every branch of AGN’s production house so that acting can work. What is the welfare of actors? Welfare of actors is for them to work and put food on their tables. That’s why I advocated a year or two ago that every state chapter of AGN must be led by an indigenes who will be diplomats because the political, social, economic and traditional powers in this state are in the hands of those leading in the state…. I am always shocked at the immaturity of the political awareness on the leadership of AGN. As I speak to you, they’re collecting hefty dues from actors and they give them practically nonsense. That is the problem and I think actors will begin to act, will begin to demand that AGN do something for them with the fees they pay. You can’t ask much from actors you’re doing nothing for…
If you are collecting dues from actors, what are you giving them back? Come to think of it, the money actors pay to associations like AGN, they get it from somewhere, and what do they get in return? The thing is that they don’t really care about actors. A lot of them just see AGN as meal tickets and it makes my heart bleed. They just collect dues but are not interested in the welfare of the actors. Emeka Roland has a laughable government, the most important thing which he’s supposed to do is create jobs for actors, and he has not done it because he does not care.
