by Reginald Ebere
What someone did not tell me however was that Asaba had also become home to semi-prostitutes, parading themselves as artistes and an accompanying band of young, very young pimps who ran production shifts and sold sex for pennies to immoral libidinous directors and producers.
The first time I shot a movie In Asaba was for my ministry CHRIST EMBASSY. I was surrounded by a group of very Christian, very good and disciplined young men and women who had no moral issues nor were they inclined in any way to abuse the liberty and the testosterone/oestrogen filled headiness that normally seems to accompany film makers like a sex crazed mob of female groupies will accompany dirty rockers everywhere.
In that first trip I fell in love with the ancient but quietly emergent city that was on the verge of rediscovering itself. That love was so strong that I considered relocating my family there. Don’t blame me, I am normally a victim of sudden emotional impulses that always seem to get me into trouble. Thank God my wife quashed the idea.
The second time, I went to shoot one of my movies. I‘d heard of good locations, cheaply priced hotels and hardworking, professional crews, not like the indolent fat cats we have in Lagos. I wanted to take advantage of all that. What someone did not tell me however was that Asaba had also become home to semi-prostitutes, parading themselves as artistes and an accompanying band of young, very young pimps who ran production shifts and sold sex for pennies to immoral libidinous directors and producers. What I didn’t discover then was the whole truth.
So last week the idea of Asaba came up again and I put up a post on this blog that has elicited some very serious reactions. Suffice it to say that everybody seems to think that my going to Asaba to work is a very bad idea, major reason being that there is a massive stench of corruption coming from this pristine town. That oozing fermentation seems to be coming out of Nollywood. Before now I’d heard stories of directors and producers who would demand that female artistes buy them lap tops and i-pads before giving them roles.
What’s bad in that you may ask, well nothing really but those female actors are also required to sleep with them for as long as the production lasts and are also required to pay certain amounts of money to get roles. Sums as huge as twenty thousand Naira nay, even fifty thousand Naira. Now did I say finally? Forgive me because the list goes on. If these unfortunate female artistes are to be accommodated in the production camps, they are also required to pay as much as ten thousand Naira.
Now I know that dirty linen is not supposed to be washed in public especially in Nollywood and some of my colleagues will nearly send Boko Haram insurgents to assassinate me for what I am saying here since we keep denying that there is sexual harassment going on in Nollywood. But I have found out that if we do not wash our linen in public sometimes the stench will kill us in private and Reginald Ebere has never been known not to speak his mind. I have names and I can mention them with hard facts but I refrain from pushing the walls down because I believe broken walls can be mended.
What is going on in Asaba is sordid, which is the reason why half baked, illiterate, uncouth, insulting and sometimes utterly apologetic
stupid productions are coming out from that enclave of sin and depravity.
It is time for the heads of our different guilds to go in there and clean the place out instead of sitting back in Lagos fighting over who will be part of the next dinner with Oga At The Top and issuing communiques about how to share the three billion largesse from Doctor Jonathan. If we do not act quick enough we will soon find that we all will be drowned in this morass of moral decadence. It is what somebody has that he gives. If we build an industry that is peopled by thieves, pimps and whores, we will continue to produce movies that will corrupt our children and our society. I will shut my mouth for now.
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This article was first published at The Script Factory
Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.
I’m talking about the sex issue and money, it’s not proper
God will punish anyone that ask for in exchange of help
Tanx. Mr Regnald Ebere, Am A Registard Member of AGN, Can U imagine wen i was called for a movie audition at Asaba, leta i was dnied given Role Cos Of Sex Scandal, by the director/producer, i didn’t bribe money to them, but my Girl was Given a Role cos she offered Sex To Them, Plz Shld cancel every location, at Asaba,cos d ar all corrupt startin from Director down to the List.
Tonto Dikeh serviced Tchidi for a year to get her stardom.