Fabian Adibe, a veteran Nigerian actor who dominated the film scene for nearly four decades, has revealed why he quit acting 12 years ago.
The actor and television personality who took Nigeria to its first Commonwealth Arts Festival in 1965 began his acting career in 1987 in the acclaimed Nigerian television series, “things fall apart.”
He played the role of Ogbuefi Uzowulu and acted alongside Pete Edochie. His other co-actors, Justus Esiri and Sam Loco Efe, on the series have since passed away.
The 81-year-old actor, in an interview with Nigerian travel journalist Chinelo Okafor, said that he left Nollywood because of “packaging”.
He said: “I left them (Nollywood) because one of their guys came over and said they were starting a thing called ‘packaging’. So I asked him what the packaging is and he told me that they would give you three scripts.
You will make two and they will pay you while the other would be for them. Why do you want me to make you one for free? Did I say I wouldn’t? I told the boy that he would not be part of that package.”
performance fees
Speaking about the remuneration for the roles he played in the past, the veteran actor said that his contemporaries are paid around N100,000.
He said it was a far cry from the N10,000 to N30,000, which he was paid in his heyday. However, he added that, in some cases, he even earned as little as N2,000.
His last known film roles were in “Sister My Love,” released in 2006, and “Slave Warrior,” released the following year.
ALSO READ: Ritual murders: blame parents, not Nollywood – NFVCB chief
On December 1, 2013, the accomplished actor released his first book titled “Mixed Grill” at the age of 70.
Visual impairment, abandonment
The 79-year-old actor also claimed that his colleagues in southeastern Nigeria have abandoned him.
He said, “None of these people who are Onitsha merchants who are in Nollywood, none of them have called me on the phone or asked me where this man is. Some AGN friends call me even though it is difficult for them to visit me because they are in Lagos. But those who used me and for whom I earned money, none have called me or looked for me.
In 2016, the actor was rumored to be visually impaired. In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, he revealed that he needed N13 million for eye surgery.
The actor said that his visual impairment had also affected his career for 12 years.
He said: “I have been out of work for 12 years, and then I told one of the Onitsha vendors that Adibe is now blind, and the vendor replied that he is not willing to take a blind man. So I did not leave them because of this blindness, although the blindness began gradually. If I weren’t blind, I’d still be making the movie, not for them, but for my first son, who is now a prominent director in the industry.”
History
Mr. Adibe appeared in the Nollywood classic, “Living in Bondage,” released in 1993. The film thrust him further into the spotlight.
The actor is known for playing the role of old man, king, father, father-in-law, and brother.
But, in most of his movies, he played a man of integrity, that old man in Nollywood movies who doesn’t support the evil tactics of others.
He appeared in more than 300 movies, some of which include ‘Slave Warrior’ (2012), ‘White Kingdom 2’ (2014), and ‘Father’s (2014).
The revered actor has also appeared in foreign films such as “Soweto,” a story about fighting in South Africa, and “Mr. Johnson,” a Hollywood movie.
The actor was part of the staff of the Nigerian Television Authority until he was dismissed on May 25, 1984.