SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN NOLLYWOOD

In my previous blogs, I blogged about ‘Association of husband snatchers’ in Nollywood, followed by ’Nollywood too messy’,then ‘Nollywood  now a mixture of prostitutes and professionals’ .

 Mariam Omolara Bakare, actress, a mother of three and the publisher and the CEO of Central Star magazine buttress my points on this issue when she said that ‘’ our industry, it is now a mixture of prostitutes and professionals. We have gone beyond what we tapped from the foreign world. They are poised to flaunt their selling points and to use the industry as a means to showcase their businesses. That is why they do all sort to look for fame.’’

According to Aniedi Awah Noba , a Nollywood director , is a face that works behind the cameras. However, like most directors, he is one of those that pull the strings and oftentimes dictate the tunes to which the actors must dance.

For Aniedi, there is nothing like sexual harassment in Nollywood . To him, it is a question of two adults, meeting up and making up their minds to make out.

“If a director is a man and the actress is a woman and they find themselves attracted to each other, they're permitted to do anything because they are adults. Where it becomes bad is when one person puts a gun on the other person’s head and makes unhealthy demands through some blackmail.

Sexual issues are not things you can really predict because they are human related. Anybody can sleep with anybody anywhere in the world as far as it’s an agreeable venture. So if I'm a director and I see an actress and I say I want to sleep with you and the actress agrees I don't see anything wrong with that.

Where it becomes bad is when I say I will not give you a job until I sleep with you. Now, we over-flog this issue of directors sleeping with actresses. A man will meet a woman anywhere, any day and they will sleep with each other. Let anybody sleep with anybody they want, life goes on. Let’s just do the work”  Aniedi  asserted.

In his own point of view, John Okafor aka Mr. Ibu :‘’advise those girls that pay for roles, if you're one of those that go to producer, director to give money to get roles, you will never get out of this industry. You will never see the light of the day. Leave that thing. Go ahead and allow God to give you your own position in the industry. Keep doing what you're doing. The one that is yours is yours, the one that is not yours, forget about it.

Do not go and give your body because of roles. Do not go and give money because you want to get a role in a production. That is not how the industry grows. If you pay, they will give you something you're going to do, you're not going to be anybody. The industry is like a spirit. They will reject you immediately you begin to pay yourself in.’’