Veteran Nigerian actor and former president of the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), Dele Odule has revealed why ailing veteran actors do not get medical attention and financial support from movie guilds and associations.
In a recent interview with Nigerian Tribune, the movie star stated that it is not the job of associations to solicit or raise funds for ailing actors. He added that associations only help actors out of the love they have for each other.
“I don’t think the association can really do much, let me be sincere with you. When you are talking about what you just mentioned, when it comes to the issue welfare, the only thing the association can do is to create awareness, protect the profession; I think those are jobs of an association. It is not their duty to start looking for money for anybody, it is just because we are magnanimous, and that is why we do that sometimes. That is just the bitter truth,” he said.
“It is just because we love each other, we see the theatre industry as one big family and that is why we are doing what we are doing. It is not for the association to start rushing you to the hospital or start contributing money for you when you are sick. Even the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) which is in the mainstream of the health sector, will not do that for any of its members. So, why are we now talking about the association neglecting their members when they need help? The problem we have is that we are not doing things right. I have said this many times, we should do things the right way. Now, anybody just comes into the movie industry. There is no standard,” he added.
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Dele Odule also lamented the bad structure of the Nigerian movie industry. He queried how ailing actors would be able to foot their medical bills when they are underpaid.
“When the little thing you get from the producer or whoever hires you is not even enough to feed you, if you now fall sick, how do you get yourself the necessary medical attention? So, not until the profession is standardised, whoever is coming into the industry must be tutored and be told all the rudiments of the profession,” he said.
“So when you come into the industry, you will know that, if I work for you, there is a need for me to be paid my fees. I laugh at times when some people say, ‘just cast me, I don’t need your money’. That means you are making it so difficult for those who actually need the money. So, why are we now blaming government? There is no standard! I have said it many times that looking for who will take care of you is annoying. When we fall sick and we have to find solace in the public before we can be taken care of, before we can get medical attention, it is somehow ridiculous.”
