As an actor, Saint Obi epitomizes class and style. One of the most respected and recognized names in Nollywood, the actor, producer and businessman has always been focused and knows what he wants out of life. He shared some of his winning secrets with YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine Publisher/Editor in Chief, AZUH ARINZE, in this exclusive and incisive interview. Enjoy…
What has been happening to Saint Obi, you’ve been so quiet?
Well, as you journey through life, you get to a point where you ask yourself some tough but radical questions. I sat down, and had my usual rare deep one on one with God and decided to take a break from the entertainment industry.
The splash a diver makes at low diving level is far less than when the dive is from a higher plane.
I decided it was time to take a very deep dive into the next level of my career, business strategies and objectives. So, I might have been quiet, but I have been very loud with ground breaking visionary strides. For instance, my company is about to launch Agwhyte Global Entertainment Network (AGEN); Africa’s largest film distribution network; with over 190,000 outlets (4,800 in Nigeria) across 55 countries, globally.
AGEN takes care of a major gap in Nollywood: Distribution. Fix distribution and flooding of the market with sub standard movies will reduce drastically. Not too long ago, I was a resource person for the Goodluck/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organization. Before I joined the organization, the airwaves were dominated by the song ‘Goodluck to you… goodluck to everybody’. That was nice, but didn’t cover every segment of the society. I felt there was a missing link: Who is President Goodluck Jonathan, what makes him thick, what separates him from the pack?
I got my team and we put together a tight package and when we got to Goodluck/Sambo Campaign office in Abuja and showed them our concepts, we didn’t spend 10 minutes before we were asked to join the team. My company developed and produced over 15 television and radio commercials for the campaign organization.
I’ve also been busy fathering, mentoring and ‘husbanding’ my two boys and wife.
In a nutshell, I went back to the drawing board, developing ingenious ways of raising Nollywood from darkness to sparkling sunlight.
We heard you are planning a programme, tell us about it?
You sure have your ears to the ground. Anyway, I am not surprised, you are the guru, the ‘agafe’ (insurmountable) of soft sell journalism in Nigeria.Yes, we are planning a programme; not just a programme, but the very programme. It is tagged Entertainment Extravaganza.
You see, my wife works in the corporate world, so I understand the dynamics, the challenges and the strains they go through daily. There’s an old saying: all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. So, AGEN is putting together an event strictly for the business community in Nigeria.
Entertainment Extravaganza is a night of fun, relaxation, reinvigoration, networking and above all, unity. Entertainment Extravaganza will dish out a ‘full course meal’ of entertainment with A-list acts bringing exciting performances to the audience.
The event is only for top-notch corporate organizations, their staff and high-end clients. Therefore, it is not an all-comer’s affair.
We equally have other shows packaged for other strata of the society coming soon.
What makes a good actor?
Professionalism. A good observer of people, time and place. A voracious reader and researcher. Originality. Reminds me of long ago when I arrived Lagos from Jos and wanted to join Nollywood. A renowned producer at that time gave me words of advice: ‘Try and sound husky, X actor (name withheld) sounds like Marlon Brandon’. I thanked him, but told him politely that I don’t want to be likened to another person. I want to be Saint Obi from day one to the day I exit the stage. No matter how good you are trying to be someone else, at best, you’ll be a very good imitation.
A good actor must always understand the craft. In other words, he must be trained. Loads of us are not, hence, lack ethics of the profession, self worth, packaging, professional longevity or staying power.
Why do most actors fail?
The answer is closely related to my last answer. Lack of planning, abysmal investment skills, and zero foresight. An actor without foresight is rocks-bound; crash and doom are guaranteed.
You see, as a very observant person, I learnt early to always be one step ahead of the game. When I came to Lagos years ago, I did some modeling. I saw the way some young people were treated shabbily at the agencies, singularly due to the fact that they had featured in many commercials. I told myself that will never happen to me. I did three jobs and quit modeling.
As I delved into the world of acting, I saw the way some big names had fallen. I asked why and what’s the way out? The answer was simple: become a producer.
My brother, as you grow in skills, stature and stardom, societal demands and pressure creep in. The actor raises his fees, the Nigerian producer rather than pay the actor his worth will prefer to go for a cheaper actor, forgetting that ‘original no get equal’.
So, I became a producer a long time ago. Being a producer is good, but a producer without a viable market where his movies will be sold is a man driving on poverty lane.
Today, unlike Hollywood and Bollywood, Nollywood is not an end, but a means to an end. My utmost goal is to make Nollywood an end. I am closer than farther from accomplishing that vision.
Therefore, an actor must keep evolving, must keep re-inventing himself, must be charismatic without being vainly proud, must be confident without being disrespectful, must be humble, and very importantly, always attribute his success to God.
What are the biggest mistakes that an actor can make?
Thinking the ‘stardom party’ is forever; not understanding that stardom is a transient illusion, a temporary drumbeat that fizzles well before sunset; a good morning that wanes before noon; a privileged rainbow. Losing himself in the euphoria of sad laughter, envious hands clapping yet jeering and waiting anxiously for a catastrophic fall, if not complete demise.
Not understanding his true value. A Nigerian actor is part of the film industry and film [Nollywood] has enormous spread, reaching all strata of society in Nigeria, Africa and Africans in diaspora. A Nigerian actor, just like Nollywood, has global appeal, global impact and therefore should be rewarded based on his deliverables, especially when dealing with brands.
I must commend some brands for using actors as brand ambassadors. Some of these actors must endeavor to put better value on themselves; how they conduct themselves in private and public space.
What is the best way to remain scandal-free as an actor?
Keeping one’s hands clean; avoiding unnecessary associations as well as reckless hobnobbing.
What is the best way to manage stardom?
My earlier answers still apply here. Essentially, one must remain humble, down to earth, God fearing and focused.
Why do some actors attain success, but are not able to sustain it?
As I said earlier on, lack of planning, foresight, investment, etc.
What is the nicest thing about being an actor?
Having the power to make another person react, the ability to put a smile on someone’s face just on sighting you.
What are some of the nastiest things about being an actor?
Being misunderstood. People not being able to differentiate between the actor as a human being and the roles he/she has played. People not believing that we are just like everyone else. We have amongst us the good, the bad and the ugly. Therefore expect much, but not the impossible. Before stardom, the star was a local boy or girl breathing same normal air that has not changed even after becoming a so-called star. People must see us as themselves.
What singular action did you take as an actor that changed your life?
Ha! Ol boy, nah! E be like say you don go Harvard go arrange these questions.
That’s a difficult one. I can’t place my hand on any singular action. Beyond a singular moment… learning from some of the best hands in the business, in terms of producers, directors and the entire production gamut. In my private life, getting married to my wife and being blessed with two pretty boys.
I don’t want to talk about material things because the true substance of a man lies not in his wealth, but what lies in his head, heart and integrity.
What is the biggest challenge of Nollywood?
Piracy. Government needs to do more as we need new laws. I dare add subtle draconic laws.
I keep advocating a simple one-pill cure for piracy in Nigeria. If a pirate is caught with his wheelbarrow filled with pirated CDs, he should be arraigned in a special mobile court where he will be given an option of a hefty unattainable fine or be jailed for five years. Punishment should not stop there; wares should be traced to the main ‘pirate producer’. Let’s assume his production plant is worth N200 million, the pirate should be made to pay a fine of N2 billion or he and all his management staff will go to jail for five years, each. Catch and convict three offenders and piracy will vanish from our shores.
Piracy is killing not just Nollywood, but everyone with intellectual property.
How do you see Nigeria, what’s currently happening to it and President Goodluck Jonathan?
Nigeria is an evolving society. The biggest problem Nigeria has had over the past 40 years is leadership. Repair leadership, I mean the political elite and Nigeria’s problems are half solved.
Our values and moral horizon have dropped way beneath ocean floors.
We have become a society of get-rich-quick at all cost. It never used to be like that.
Truth be told, all the blame should not go to leadership; the followership must do more. In our little way, we can be that difference that we seek of our leadership.
Having said that, all hope is not lost. Nigeria will be great again. I am very optimistic about the future.
In terms of our President, I feel people should give President Goodluck Jonathan the chance to steer Nigeria to still waters. People castigate me for supporting him, but I make no apologies.
To me, President Goodluck Jonathan is a project of hope, a mission for justice, equity and fair play. I will forever stand with the oppressed, the marginalized.
President Goodluck Jonathan without a doubt is a good man that means well for all Nigerians, but dark forces are bent on crippling his Presidency.Politics goes beyond dog eat dog. It is a game of master chess players. Swimming against a 20 feet ocean wave is an act in futility. Ask Mallam Balarabe Musa, former Governor of old Kaduna State; a great Nigerian that meant well for his people, but he got consumed by forces beyond him. Above all, he got impeached based on the principles of democracy: majority will always have their way. All the good things he wanted to do for the good people of Kaduna State, gone.
President Goodluck Jonathan’s detractors paint him as weak; on the contrary, he is a very strong and smart man.
I feel strongly that if Niger Delta militants could be forgiven, our Boko Haram brothers should be forgiven, rehabilitated and re-integrated into the society. Government must engage in constructive dialogue with them.
You are sounding like someone in President Goodluck Jonathan’s cabinet?
No way. I left corridors of politics after the elections. I did what I did as a good and progressive-minded Nigerian. I can’t remember the last time I went to Abuja or near anyone in power.