We don’t want any stupid befitting burial – Veteran Nollywood actor Chief Kanran cries out

– Chief Kanran laments the poverty state of veteran actors

– The actor who will be celebrating his 50 years on stage in March

– He charges state and federal government to assist veteran actors when they are alive and not when dead

Chief Kanran is known to play the role of a wealthy man in movies while in real life he is far from being rich. the veteran Nollywood actor is calling out to the federal and state government to look into the make-believe industry and help them while alive and not when they are dead.

The actor who is planning to celebrate his 50 years as an actor in March is also planning to celebrate actors who have been in the industry for over 40 hears and above said no fewer than 45 veteran actors will be honoured during the programme celebrating his 50 years on stage.

Chief Olusegun Kehinde Olayinka Aderemi (Kanran) goes down memory lane and shared moments he was not happy being an actor said sometime he wore flamboyant clothes to play the role of a wealthy man in movies when he might not have more than N500. He also spoke about his take home after spending close to a week on movie location. He said it might not be more than N30,000.

Chief Kanran said: “It was a bad experience the days armed robbers came to my house about four times and asked that I should bring the money that I do keep at home whereas I don’t have any money at home. Or the day my house and office got burnt at Fadeyi. Or the day that my four cars got burnt in a night or the days area boys will ask you to drop something and if you don’t answer them they will throw something at you. Or the day I lost my woman and there was nobody to write me a condolence letter or even say we are sorry apart from my colleagues”.

Chief Kanran is not happy with how some veterans languish in abject poverty while some of them have died in the same gory state.

He said: “I want to give kudos to people that passed through three, four, five decades in this industry. Our Federal and state governments have never for once appreciated the efforts of actors and actresses in this country.  And I can say that if you ever see an actor that is buying land at Lekki or Ikoyi and also has seven to eight cars, I can tell you categorically that he is not into acting only. “John Ayode died like a pauper, he died like a cockroach, Ayode was a man that we called Garba in village headmaster. The man worked so much but you will see him walking in the street on foot and no one came to his aid, the man was sick at the hospital, and there was nobody to pay his bill and the man died like a cockroach. “When Bekky Nusa was sick in the 70s and 80s when she had cancer, it took us two months before we could get the money if not for the help of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the lady would have died. Olumide Bakare is there, the man is dying of kidney and heart diseases. And up till now, I have not heard that anybody has come to his aid. Baba Sala that made the people laugh and happy in the 90s was sick and was rushed from Ilesa to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. He could not afford the hospital bill, but luckily for him, the head of medical personnel saw him and did not take a kobo from him. Neither the Federal government nor anybody did anything for him. “But when politicians want to go on campaign, when they want us to pass the message to people, when they want to do advert, they will now remember us. All these baffle me, Baba Ogungbe was going from one place to the other, the man was depreciating, and all these baffle me. I want them to celebrate us when we are alive and healthy and not when we are dead they will be giving us one stupid befitting burial. “I want the Federal government and the state government to appreciate me and some other icons in the industry when we are alive. Actors and actresses that make people happy should be celebrated, they should make us happy.’’

READ ALSO: Why I will never retire from acting – veteran actor Lere Paimo 

Veteran actor and comedian Zebrudaya has also called out for more support for the Nigerian film industry from the federal government. The ace comedian decried the state of the nation wherein Nollywood practitioners are not valued  as they should be. Outside the country many appreciates them.

 

 

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