Presidential
election has come and gone with some people in celebration mood while
some
others went home sulking and licking their wounds.
The people who may
likely be saddened with the development are certainly Nollywood actors because
most of them massively supported President Goodluck Jonathan in his second term
bid.
At every
opportunity they got, be it on social media or even on TV adverts, the actors
didn’t fail to sing the praises of the president who, according to them, had
imparted on their industry.
And since the last
election didn’t favour their desired candidate, Saturday Beats asked some of
them if they regretted the choice they made and most of them claimed they
didn’t.
Actress Omoni
Oboli, who may be regarded as a personal friend of the President as she showed
her movie, Being Mrs. Elliot, in Aso Rock, said she has no single regret for
voting Jonathan.
“I can never
regret anything I do. I stood for what I believe in, not because of financial
gain. At the end of the day, the victory goes to Nigeria. This election showed
true democracy and I am proud of the man that I supported. He is a hero. He
conceded graciously and that is the trait of a true leader. This is democracy
and nobody should work against me because I supported Jonathan.”
Ace movie
director, Lancelot Imasuen, who before now had not hidden the fact that
Jonathan was his favoured candidate, said he would rather keep his opinion
about the election to himself.
“It is just that I
want to use the opportunity to celebrate President Goodluck Jonathan for his
uprightness. If a man that has been tagged as weak and clueless demonstrated
something we thought was almost impossible in Nigeria, I eternally want to
celebrate him. I will never regret campaigning for Jonathan and if this election
is done again, I will still campaign for him. Why would I regret supporting
him? I was not coerced or bribed into it. I was not given money, I was
convinced and I still stand by my conviction. If that would make me face the
international court, I am ready to face it. While supporting Jonathan, I did
not kill anybody; I was only using the word of mouth to convince people.”
Former Actors’
Guild of Nigeria president, Segun Arinze is another person who has dined and
wined with the President on so many occasions. Of course, he is an ardent
Jonathan supporter.
He said, “I stood
for what I believed in and if I had the opportunity, I would do it all over
again. I do not ever regret campaigning for Jonathan. If I believed in Buhari,
I would have done the same thing. I wish him all the best and hope he would
take the country to a better place. It is no longer about Buhari or Goodluck
but about Nigeria. I am not a card carrying member of PDP; I supported the
President because I believed he has done well for my industry and Nigeria as a
whole. I am a Nigerian and I have every right to the freedom of expression.
Being silent would be foolhardy on my part. In 2011, I was campaigning for
Fashola, why was I not silent at that time? We are all Nigerians and I don’t
think Buhari would victimise me because I supported Jonathan.”
Fidelis Duker,
veteran filmmaker, is an avid supporter of Jonathan to the extent that he would
even go to Otuoke, Bayelsa Sate for his welcome home party.
“I can never
regret supporting President Goodluck Jonathan. When he is having a welcome
party at Otuoke, I will be there with him. He has done very well and I am still
very proud of him. It has never happened in the history of Nigeria where an
incumbent will lose and he will walk away.”
pUNCH
Why Nollywood actors said they had no regrets campaigning for President Jonathan
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Saturday, April 04, 2015
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