By Henry Akubuiro
Sir Gregory Odiakosa, poet, thespian and a veteran journalist, is the Deputy Director of Programmes, FRCN, Enugu. He is the author of a new collection of poems, Chibok Virgins, predicated on the 276 Chibok girls in Borno State. He regularly appears on stage, radio and screen. Among the movies he has appeared in include The Father, Deadly Mistake, My Name is not Duke, Autumn Leaves, Edeleyo: The Decision, Race and Gains, etcetera.
If you are wondering whether his writing has taken a back seat, he doesn’t think so. “No, it’s not in the back seat; it’s still in front by my side. I have many unpublished manuscripts. That terrain is not a dance you do clutching snuff in the palm. Resources are required every inch along the way from printing to marketing and sales. So you pace stuff out to be able to cope,” he tells Daily Sun in a chat.
The title of his new collection offers valuable hints to the reader. “It’s a compilation of imagined scenarios inside Sambisa forest using the pains and anguish of the Chibok girls in captivity with the sole aim of provoking our people and government into taking more decisive and proactive actions at stopping this almost daily and incessant shedding of blood in this country through acts of kidnapping, banditry and terrorism,” he says.
He explains further, “For too long, we have used religion for politics and business. Spirituality, instead of being a vehicle for freedom and advancement, has been perpetuated as a weapon of oppression, hatred and death. We now have a barbaric culture of death at full play, endorsed and condoned, tacitly or otherwise, by omission or commission by the same people who should be spending sleepless nights trying to wipe it off the trajectory of this nation. We have a massive youth population that are vulnerable and unproductive because the Managers of our resources are damaged; they don’t care a hoot due to greed and selfishness. That shouldn’t be the case in a blessed country like Nigeria. These and more are the themes and pictures Chibok Virgins tries to paint, dissect and expose.”
Odiakosa’s face is a regular feature in home videos and skits these days. When did this love for the screen begin? “It has always been there but not as aflame as it is now,” he begins. “I read Theatre Arts at UNICAL and was quite a stage actor at school from there after graduation and NYSC. I joined Radio Nigeria as an announcer but later was moved to the Production Dept because of my course; moreso, at that time, the Drama Unit was suffering. So I’ve been doing drama on stage, on Radio and on TV for decades now. Some five years ago or. Realising that screen was the way to go, I started waiting for the right time.”
The Elysian, written by Michael Wisdom and directed by Kenny Basil, is his most challenging movie. “It was a story of a wreck of a drug addict living with a young daughter who dropped out of secondary school due to lack of funds. The irony was that the Man had big plans for his daughter, but, in actuality, he was the one who needed saving. Unfortunately, she, too, became an addict. It was a mini-movie of just Father and daughter shot for a short film festival competition. For normal movies, IWE is it! The first major challenge was that most of us were not fluent in Igbo language so they had to bring in a language consultant at the very beginning.
“Secondly, it was a three-month contract. The setting was also in a distant rustic location with no access to electricity or portable water. Just a backward bush kind of! We thank GOD that, throughout the three months we were going to and fro that bush, no major accident or mishap befell any of us.”
He has been cast as a warrior and a king in new films. He reacts to the typecasting. “I guess It has to do with my somewhat huge frame and carriage, maybe the deep voice ,too, plus the height maybe.”
In these days of skit making, how do movies fare with the public? He responds, “How does Basketmouth rake in his millions the same way as Davido? Now, I am not comparing their wealth or their crafts, but it’s just as good as saying that the sky is wide enough to contain all the different kinds of stars. We have more than enough audiences to gobble up all these contents.
“Skitmaking is the new oil money for those reaping big from there and there are many of them now. Talk about YouTube, too. Movies are going into YouTube and producers and directors are quietly making their biggie biggie dough. I see both (skit and movie) as platforms of expression providing multiple opportunities for our creative artistes. It’s good for the business.
“And I love that some of these bigger movie stars have also taken some interest in supporting skit makers through the appearances they make in them. That synergy – that collaboration – is good and healthy. They should keep it up to grow more stars. I don’t see any competition between the two.”
What makes a screenplay vibrant? The veteran artiste explains, “A good movie is like a pot of delicious soup. A lot of items and ingredients go to make it sweet, likewise a lively movie. The first thing is a good story –the script. If it’s well plotted, considering all the elements of a good drama, you’re on track already. The next is the interpretation of the script by both the director and his cast.
“Of course, you still have post production which is the editing, and that also depends on the editor’s software and his skill set. It’s a whole lot really, that’s why it’s an industry. The makeup and costume, the set people also. It’s a whole world. When a good director is able to juggle all these into one perfect fit, you have yourself a breathtaking movie that can hold one spellbound, or if you like hostage from the beginning to the end.”
For decades, he has combined acting with journalism and writing, which explained this: “When a thing is second nature to you and you’re passionate about it, you’ll most likely succeed in it. Am passionate about all three, so it’s not difficult, that’s talent, it comes off effortlessly, glory be to God.”