We’ll Force Buhari To Pay Attention To Nollywood –Foluke Daramola-Salako Says, Reveals How
Busty actress, Foluke Daramola-Salako, in a chat with Sunday Scoop has stated that since President Muhammadu Buhari has been re-elected for a second term in office, the movie industry will force him to pay attention to the sector.
She went on to reveal how they will ‘force’ the president to pay attention to Nollywood and her political plans.
She said, “we will force him to pay attention to the movie industry because that is why we voted for him. We want him to create a ministry of entertainment. There are a lot of issues that need to be treated, and we cannot continue to be under the ministry of tourism.
“We also want him to build cinemas under a public-private partnership programme. That way, we can have our own cinemas, specially for indigenous movies. We need stringent laws to deal with cinema owners so that their charges can be reduced. Right now, the cinemas get 70 per cent of earnings while the movie producer takes 30 per cent. At the end of the day, we end up making next to nothing. So, the tariff has to be reduced.
“Some of us took part in the electoral process because we have to take charge of our destinies. If we are not part of them, we wouldn’t be able to make input when critical decisions that have to do with us are taken.”
On how they intend to ‘force’ the president, Daramola-Salako said, “Firstly, we would be consistent. A lot of times, many of us are not united and persistent with what we do; so, we don’t get results. If we continue to make the right noise, I am sure the president would pay attention because he has a listening ear. A lot of us just do things individually without coming together to put up a united front. We need to have a one-on-one relationship with the government so that we can appropriately table our grievances.”
Reacting to the views expressed by some, including actress Georgina Onuoha, that celebrities should be non-partisan, Foluke said, “I am first a Nigerian before being an actress, and we are all entitled to our ideologies. It is very stupid and myopic for anybody to say that I supported President Buhari because I collected money. Meanwhile, a candidate can decide to pay me for endorsement or advert but the most important thing is the ideology. Before I support any candidate, I have to believe in him.
“I have never hidden the fact that I have been a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress since the party was formed. You cannot tell me that because I am an actor, I cannot express myself; that is absolutely preposterous. Desmond Elliot is an actor and a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly. If he wasn’t a part of politics, how would he have got into the House? I actually intend to go for a position later and if I don’t belong to any party, I wouldn’t be able to do that.”
