| In Jos, I make fortunes
as actor–Akume Akume
By MARIAM ALESHINLOYE AGBOOLA, Jos
Friday, November
27, 2009
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•AKume
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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Akume Akume is one of the popular artistes based in Jos,
the Plateau State capital. He is an actor, model and now a
musician is making waves in the music industry.
Akume, known to have written songs on societal ills especially
in the northern part of the country where he is based, blends
easily with different ethnic groups in the country because
of his multiple background. Though he hails from Benue State,
his fluency in Hausa, his mother tongue, Tiv and Yoruba and
always gives him an edge over other artists.
Today, Akume is one of the biggest stars in Nigeria because
he has acted in major movies in the country. He has featured
in English, Yoruba and Hausa movies. He has acted in close
to 20 movies in the country; including Oduduwa, Sitanda and
Amina. His music entitled Babyallah which is aimed at discouraging
child-begging in northern Nigeria has gained popularity has
become a household song among Northerners.
Despite his fame he has remained in Jos; believing that this
is where he became a star shine and it is from this tin city
he would become known all over the world. He is fast realizing
his dreams and proudly shares his experience in the movie
industry with Daily Sun.
Background
I am a Tiv man. My mother is Yoruba with Ghanaian ancestry.
My grandmother is from Cross River state. So I can conveniently
say I am a typical Nigerian. I am an actor, a model and musician.
For now I do more of acting.
I came into acting via modeling. People here in Jos call me
NTA baby. This is because when Saint Obi left Jos, I stepped
into his shoes. Someone who spotted me at the University of
Jos after a fashion show invited me into acting. I was a law
student then. He asked me if I wanted to go into acting and
I accepted.
That was after I completed my Diploma programme in Law. After
the programme, I could not secure direct entry. I got a given
part-time course in law. Whenever I was not in school I go
for modelling sessions. It was after one of these sessions
that I got introduced to the NTA crew, which found me to be
a very good actor.
I first started with a soap by NTA, I got the lead
role.
The movie industry is very rewarding. At least people can
make their living from it. Apart from doing it as passion,
we can complete favourably with our contemporaries in America
U.K, and the world over. We are doing well and we are well
recognized. From every part of the world, I get text messages,
and E-mails from people who I have watched your movie and
I want to meet you. God has open doors for me through movies.
Movie in Nigeria is no longer what it used to be, when people
used to complain that Nigeria movies were more of rituals.
We now have very good story lines. We have indigenous movies
from Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo languages. I also feature in Hausa,
Yoruba and English movies. In fact I have just received an
invitation for a Yoruba movie and I am now preparing for that.
We are really coming up. If people like Adenuga of Globacom
can make actors ambassadors that means we have come a long
way and we are doing well. The truth is that movies are taking
youths away from the streets. The industry is now giving youths
jobs. It is also seducing armed robbery prostitution, petty
thefts, etc. especially from Lagos.
Aside producing actors, we also have cosmetologists, make-up
artists, location managers among others. Even the painters
in the streets are getting jobs from movies, through production
of posters and banners. Whether we accept it or not, it is
also bringing in revenue to the country.
Movie credits
Funny enough, people are surprised that I am not based in
Lagos because of the kind of jobs I do. I have featured in
many of the biggest movies in Nigeria. These include Amina,
Total war, Oduduwa, Not with my daughter Eva, Sitanda of Amstel
Malt; Ungodly Romance, a lot of them.
My favourite movie
I cannot say which of the movies I featured in is my favourite.
But, I prefer some. For instance Sweet Money made me have
male fans. You know as an actor, most movie fans are female.
People are particularly attracted to comedians such as Osofia,
John Okafor etc. After a hard day’s work, people want
to relax and watch these artistes. I started having fans when
I featured in comic movie, when I featured in Corny Bros.
People started calling me to say they love my role. Most of
them are men. But initially my fans used to be mainly women,
mummies and young girls. I love Sweet Money because it gave
me more fans. I like Sitanda, the AMBO movie because it was
very challenging.
A lot of people were fighting for a role in that movie. I
went for the audition like any other person. When the producer
saw me, he knew I am a popular face. He is like a brother
and a friend. Not withstanding, he made sure he did the auditioning
for all those present. When he could not get what he wanted,
at the last minute he invited me. He told me he was calling
me, not because of our relationship but because the people
he has seen could not give him what he wanted. And he knew
I would give it to him. I did the rehearsal and got the role.
It was challenging because we had to stay in the bush. Our
costumes were animal skins. It was a pre-historic movie. There
is another movie coming up soon. The title is Chukwuemeka
Mohammad. It is a challenging movie because from the day we
started shooting we had problems. I am a Christian who hails
from a family where we have Muslims. I grew up in the north.
My mum is Yoruba. My dad is Tiv and I have Calabar blood flowing
in me. It was easy for the director to pick me to act that
role. I learnt Igbo from my friends and my mum also speaks
Igbo.
They had wanted different actors to come and play the role.
But at the end of the day, I clinched the role because I could
speak Hausa, Igbo and little of Yoruba. In the movie, a boy
whose father is Hausa and the mother is Igbo has a misplaced
identity. The movie is so interesting and emotional and I
started to feel the character because I too grew up in the
north. When there is a riot, will I burn my cousin’s
house because he is a Muslim? Will they burn my house? I am
their blood relation and I am a Christian. It was easy to
interpret the character in the movies; even through it was
difficult because a lot of actors were vying for the opportunity
to play the role. We had to travel from Nasarawa, to Onitsha
and Jos. It was quite challenging.
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