A row is brewing between a Gambian filmmaker and some Nollywood and Ghollywood actors following President Yahya Jammeh’s allocation of plots of land to some Nigerian stars and Ghanaian actress, Leadership newspaper reports…..
Prominent Gambian filmmaker Prince Bubacarr is reported to have described the recipients as scavengers, who are out to milk The Gambia’s government dry, the paper said. He questioned why The Gambian president gave land to the stars, saying that many people in the country are living in abject poverty and will not benefit from such generosity.
Veteran Nollywood actor, Ejike Asiegbu, was forced to respond to Bubaccar’s claim, describing him as a monster and one speaking out of frustration. He said:
“I am compelled to respond to a certain Prince Bubaccar. After reading his rather lengthy and winding attack on Nigerian and Ghanaian actors entitled “Nollywood Actors, Others Must Stop Scavenging On Our Meagre Gambian Resources”, published online last week, one would have allowed him to enjoy the satisfaction of pandering to his perverted sadistic frustrations, but then, that would be watching a monster go untamed at its infancy.
“Despite his self-glorification and bragging that he had not collected a ‘dime’ from the president of his country, Gambia, Alhagie Yahya AJJ Jammeh, Bubaccar appears to be seething with hate and malice. Listen to him: “Personally, I see it as a blessing in disguise that President Dr. Yahya AJJ Jammeh has so far not given me a dime for my Gambian film industry projects,”
Prince Bubaccar’s piece clearly shows a man pained that his president has not satisfied his selfish desires which he had tried albeit unsuccessfully to hide. He has therefore resorted to cheap emotional blackmail that has put him in a bad light further.
“Bubaccar’s hate filled attack on Nigerian and Ghanaian actors stemmed from the recent news that President Jammeh gifted 15 movie stars piece of land in the Gambia, in the president’s latest move to open up his country’s emerging film and video culture not only to Africa but the world in general.
“However, Bubaccar, a Gambian who felt sidelined by his president despite his claim of having been making films for two decades, like the proverbial woman that was scorned, decided to vent his hate filled fury against Nollywood and Ghanaian film stars calling them offensive names such as ‘scavengers’ and ‘hustlers’.
“While Bubaccar’s infantile and attention seeking rage only succeeded in putting him in a bad light, he needs to be reminded that Nollywood practitioners have been involved in collaborative initiatives with the good people of the Gambia, geared towards growing the Gambian movie industry inspired by Nigerians and Gambian citizens. These collaborations began as far back as 2007, a move encouraged by President Jammeh.
“Some of the initiatives led to capacity workshops undertaken by Nollywood actor Francis Duru and other notable practitioners on pro-bono basis out of the interest zeal and passion of the Gambians towards Nollywood and the Nigerian people.
“It should be noted that President Jammeh’s respect and love for African contents especially Nollywood goes a long way to express the intensity of his Pan African drive towards restoring and protecting the heritage of Africa. It was President Jammeh’s request to come up with collaborative initiatives to help build the Gambian movie industry to satisfy the hunger and interest of the good and peaceful people of the Gambia.
“One will forever remain grateful for the value President Jammeh has placed on our industry and for his magnanimity towards our colleagues especially the choice piece of land, so we are not threatened by Prince Babuccar’s infantile threats.”
