Two
years ago, ageless beauty and veteran actress, Clarion Chukwurah took a
break from acting to tour three countries following her position as a
special UN peace envoy. She’s back in the country and upon her return,
she bagged a prestigious award in recognition of her contribution
towards the development of the Nigerian film industry.But in spite of
all these, Chukwurah still feels disappointed with a lot of things
happening in the industry. She bares her mind on the issues.
You recently won ‘Legends of Nollywood’award. How do you feel being recognised as a legend in the industry?
I was on location in Enugu when the award was held and as you can
see, ‘Best Female Act, Mirror in the Sun, Clarion Chukwurah’. The award
was received on my behalf by my publicist, Cornell Udofia. This award is
yearly organised by Paul Obazele’s company, Royal Pictures. Frank
Rajah, I think was part of it as well as Zack Orji and many others. I
appreciate the award having been given this recognition for the role I
played in the now rested ‘Mirror in the Sun.’ But I think that the name
of the award and the work for which it was given is rather misplaced.
That is because the award is called, ‘Legends of Nollywood’.
Nollywood is today’s euphemism for the Nigerian film industry. ‘Mirror
in the Sun’ was the second national network soap opera. It was a
television drama. I understand that before the award was held, AMP
president,Mr. Zik Zulu Okafor and other stakeholders celebrated
Nollywood at 20, which witnessed an award ceremony called Legends of
Nollywood Awards.
They honoured those whom they considered as foremost actors and cinematographers in the industry.
However, when Paul Obazele set out to hold his own Legends of
Nollywood award, he gave people the impression that he was going to
correct the anomalies. I was expecting Zik Zulu’s ‘Legends of
Nollywood’awards to honour actors, producers, directors,
cinematographers who have made their marks dating back to late 1950s,
till the advent of the new Nollywood. That was my expectations.
They actually wanted to give me an award for ‘Koko Close’, a TV
drama I did in Ibadan while I was an undergraduate in the University of
Ife. I was surprised, you are talking about ‘Legends of Nollywood’ and
you are giving me an award for a role I played in a TV drama. Are you
not confused here? I expected to see the likes of Chief Hubert Ogunde
being given a posthumous award, MKO Abiola who was the first Nigerian
business mogul to sponsor a multi million Naira technicolour Nigerian
film titled ‘Bisi Daughter of the River’.
I was expecting to see Kunle Afolayan received a posthumous award on
behalf of his father, Sunday Omobolanle’s (Aluwe) first wife stepping
out to an award on behalf of her father, Moses Olaiya, Jeta Amata
mounting the stage to pick an award on behalf of his grand father.
That was what I expected to see at the ‘Legend of Nollywood’ awards.
But whilst Zik Zulu and his partners deliberately refused to recognise
that there was a film industry before the production of teh movie,
‘Living in Bondage’, Obazele’s faction proved themselves more ignorant
by lumping TV and everything together.
They are two different things. I think it’s high time, the Nollywood
practitioners should stop feigning ignorance and face the truth that
before Jesus Christ, there was Abraham. Before Nollywood, there was a
Nigerian film industry and that is the main reason Nollywood is
stagnant today. That is why Nollywood is not growing. If a child doesn’t
recognise his mother, how can he grow? If you don’t know where you are
coming from, how would you know here you are going to?
No doubt, you are a legend in the Nigerian motion picture industry.
What’s the difference between Nollywood of yesteryears and today’s
Nollywood?
It hasn’t improved at all. It is now a proverbial ‘ state’ that makes
one to weep. Everything has fallen to a disgraceful state. No standards
are left. I was on a location in Enugu last month and the production
manager was insulting the director of photography. I was shocked.
The producer and the director were shouting at each other. I could
not imagine it. The artistic director would just walk away and actors
are not directed on what to do. Any greenhorn could hit the set and
believe that she could sleep her way to the top. She is pretty and
sleeps with the Executive Producer. It’s just sickening. And they say to
you, this movie is meant for the market and the cinema. It is not for
film festival, just do it anyhow because this is for inside the market.
That goes to show there are no standards. It is pathetic.
We didn’t see much of you last year in the movies?
I was out of the country for two years. I came back in May last year
and I shot my very first movie in the same month. I shot about six
movies from May through December 15th when I returned to my home. Those
movies were, Last Family Reunion, That Fateful Night, Hustlers, The God
of the Ghetto and Apaye, Land of Canaan.
Why did you travel abroad for two years?
I was appointed a United Nations international special peace envoy on
international peace day at the ECOWAS building in Abuja. I had two
years to travel to three countries in the course of my NGO because I
was given that appointment in recognition of my NGO, Clarion Chukwurah
Initiative International.
We have been dealing with women and children. More over, I worked in
Kenya, Tanzania and Los Angeles. In those two years, I was travelling
from Kenya to Tanzania and LA.
It was wonderful.
For me, I have achieved something that gives me a deep sense of
satisfaction, a feeling that I have an edge above all this issue of
fame. I have risen above all that. In Kenya, my initiative was
supporting this community school in a slum called Soweto Kayole in
Nairobi. When I started working in that community, I encountered school
children who are fatherless and whose mothers are HIV/AIDS patients. I
had about 50 of them, but before the end of October 2012, the number
increased to 350 children. They increased when they heard I had a daily
feeding programme for the children.
They also had no clothes. I put uniform on the back of every kid and
sandals on their feet. We had environmental sanitation, health aids and
collaborating with the UN Habitat and the Rotary. I am a member of the
rotary club of Nairobi. The bulk of the members are non Africans-
Italians, Americans, British and others.
They were bringing support to help teach these children and of
course, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, East Africa, a section of
which I am a member. Even when Daddy Adeboye came for the East Africa
convention, he saw my work and commended it. Mummy G.O. also prayed for
me.
For their mothers, we taught them about basic personal and
environmental hygiene. We built toilets, cleared gutters and taught them
how to protect themselves against sex related diseases. We also put
them on drugs for HIV AIDS. Because the UN headquarters is there, there
are a lot of bodies to collaborate with for an NGO like mine which is
recognised. We started skill acquisition.
In Los Angeles, I got support from the Church of Science in Hollywood
to produce some episodes on women empowerment and women related issues
in terms of what is happening in the Caribbean were men are killing
their wives and girlfriends. It happens in Kenya. The idea is to bring
these issues to the fore what African heritage men are doing to their
women so that we can look at these issues and find a way to re-orient
the women on how to handle them.
We also reached out to the men to learn to handle things differently
and this we sent to the TV. The initiative representative in Canada,
Nicola Rodney came to the state for this programme so that she could
take it back for informative training to impact on the lives of women in
the Caribbean especially in Guyana.
This is an era where actors and actresses are producing their own movies; do you have plans to go into movie production?
I do have plans for that but I don’t want to look at it as producing
my movies. I intend also to do a lot of collaborations. I talked about
how things are.
I intend to work in and outside the mainstream Nollywood world and to collectively move Nollywood forward.
What is the way forward?
The mainstream Nollywood world is the one that caters for the
populace, not necessarily the cinema movies. And with the new
distribution channel that is coming, the important thing is for the
professionals to come into it and not say we can’t relate with this
people. In order to make things right, you have to go back in there with
a determination to make things right.
You are still looking beautiful after putting in several years in the movie industry. What’s the secret of your ageless looks?
The secret is discipline. You have to be as my son Brian would say
wellness freak. You have to know when to exercise. You have to know the
importance of water, eating the right things. It is about healthy
living, healthy eating.
Aside movie making and your NGO, what else do you do?
I have a clothing line. I still have the C3. We have a partner outlet
in Toronto, Kenya and the UK. We are doing well by God’s grace.
Are you not thinking of marriage?
Give me a break. Please don’t ask. Don’t go there. Please spare me.
Oni
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