TAMPAN IS AN UMBRELLA BODY FOR ALL IN NOLLYWOOD

...it’s a professionally inclined body with a national colouration

By Felicia Morgan/hotmanpet.blogspot.com

 

Peter Andrew

Peter Andrew is an all round Thespian, a director, producer and actor. Recently, he was selected as the Kano State interim Chairman of the newly formed Theatre Arts and Movies Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), and in less than three months of its existence, he was appointed the Northern zone coordinator by the interim national executive of the association, a breakaway from the Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP) which is the umbrella body of the Yoruba movie industry in the country. The Edo state born Andrew is one of the leading players in the make believe industry, who in fact, pioneered Yoruba movie production in Kano, nay northern Nigeria with Omije Lamide. Excerpt.

On the set of a movie as an actor

How would you describe yourself?

I am a Thespian, a complete one with years of experience in the industry. I am a director, scriptwriter, actor, producer and even now an administrator. You would recall I was recently picked to steer the newly formed TAMPAN, that is the Theatre Arts and Movies Practitioners Association of Nigeria which was formed as a result of the crisis in the Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP) due to a court judgment over electoral dispute. I am the interim chairman, Kano State chapter of TAMPAN and also the northern zone coordinator. I bagged a postgraduate diploma in Community Development from Bayero University, Kano. Professional wise, I would say I am an extremist when it comes to the theatre and movie business and it’s been very challenging; if you ask me. I actually started out in the old sitcom, Checkmate, produced by Late Amaka Igwe nee Ene Isaac, aired on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) as an actor way back in the nineties with popular acts like Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD), Paul Adams, late Toun Oni, Bob Manuel Udokwu and many more. So, you can say that I have come a long way.

On set as a director

What are these challenges you encountered so far?

The journey so far has not been easy. You would agree with me that movie production in the country generally is not a tea party. It is even more Herculean operating from the North where I am based even though I honed my skill in the South like I have mention Checkmate before now. What has kept me going for instance, like when I produced Omije Lamide considering where I hail from; it wasn’t that easy to get interested Yoruba artistes together. I had to ensure that it was done ultimately; because of the passion I have for it so I had to go the extra miles to motivate them to see that we achieve the dream. It ended up as the first and only movie to be premiered in the North thus far. There has not been any one since then. This is just a part of the obstacle I am talking about. The problem I normally encounter when producing Hausa movies is quite different because here, the cast is easy to assemble, but the actors are difficult to manage. For instance, I experienced this during my first Hausa flick, Asubahi in 2006. Aside this kind of challenges, the one that hits me the most is the marketing aspect of it. It is so frustrating because after suffering to put the movie together, the known face syndrome often times would not make the production acceptable. What I mean by known faces is those faces that are already known and popular. You would agree with me that this is not always the case in Hollywood or Bollywood where movies are churned out without special priority for popular actors, so long it has a tight storylines. Now, the challenges have increased with the additional responsibility of growing an industry where parochial tendencies thrive, regional based associations and language dichotomy had given birth to strange appellations in the industry without recourse to our oneness. This is where TAMPAN comes handy!

Premiere of Omije Lamide

What makes you feel TAMPAN is a viable platform.

Thank you very much sir, the policy statements of TAMPAN spells it out loud and clear, TAMPAN as a body is professionally inclined with a national colouration, what I mean by this is that it is structured right from the BOT to have a geographical representation from all the regions, this goes to show that it is totally a Nigerian project, unlike some of the existing Guilds and associations currently in the industry. To me any Guild or association whose structure does not conform to the above is sectional regardless of its acceptability whatsoever. Take a good look at existing structures you will discover that they are ran like personal businesses if not cults, that is why the nucleus of some of the guilds and associations’ BOT comes from one region. This is absurd and unacceptable.

On the professional level, the founding members of TAMPAN are not failed practitioners who want to make out a living through the formation of an association. They are proven professionals with enviable track records, for the records they are still in the business and they are doing credibly well for themselves. I see the setting up of TAMPAN by these great men and women as a way of restoring professional ethics to the industry and as an avid believer in the application of professional principles in whatever I do TAMPAN to me a veritable platform.

One of the basic thing that makes TAMPAN special is its proposed welfare scheme for members, it is promising a package that would reflect directly in the life of its members. I would not give out the names of various packages for sake of duplication, but I can assure you that it’s the best you can ever think of.

What informed or inspired the production of Omije Lamide considering the fact that you operate in the North?

My philosophy for movie making is that it has no boundary or tribe. It has no geographical location. By this I mean that you can produce anywhere you want so long as it satisfies your script and have those that would interpret these scripts are available. So where you come from does not really matter. So, what inspired Omije Lamide is first and foremost the zeal for new challenges. I like challenges a lot. I like to dare, doing what some others would dread thinking of, how much more to try it out. That is why I am always experimenting, researching to ensure I develop, not just my potentials, but the industry as well. Today, people wonder how I manage to achieve some of those things that I have achieved in a short time.

As an administrator, what do you think is the potential for Yoruba productions in the North?

It is positive. The potential to grow is there because of the huge Yoruba speaking population in the North. Besides, you know the Yorubas and the North also have this common affinity that has solidified over the years. So, even the Hausas, Fulanis and other tribes in the North watch Yoruba movies, basically to know what obtains in that part of the country. You would not believe some of them have approached me that they would love to play a role in Yoruba productions. That is the extent of the proposed unification of the movie sector in Nigeria. There have been so much talk about this, but it is gradually gaining grounds through productions as we see collaborations here and there. So, as an administrator, I hope to foster this and to ensure I bring the Yoruba, Hausa and other practitioners regardless of geographical divide together under TAMPAN. Besides, we would explore possible collaboration with governments at all levels within our region as well.

Take note this is neither about TAMPAN nor the Yoruba movie industry but about having a truly professional association with a national colouration as it is obtains internationally.

Sex for role has been a disturbing issue in movie locations across the country. What is it like in the North?

Well, I have no idea about it and have not experienced this; this includes the fact that I have not witnessed any such thing in any location I have been part of. So, I may not be in a position to discuss this topic.

But as top player, a producer and director for that matter; have you at any point been harassed for role by the opposite sex?

Yes, I have been harassed but not sexually though. I have seen where actors and actresses, especially up and coming ones desperate for roles come with money. I have been offered monies severally to be featured in my productions. However, I do not encourage them to continue doing this as I dish out roles to those that qualifies for such roles. So, sex for role, count me out.

On the set of Iyantama's movie

What is your dream for TAMPAN in the North, particularly in Kano?

The dream as you would expect is to ensure that my members achieve their dreams. To ensure they realize their aspirations in the industry. You see, I have discovered great potentials in a lot of them and I am ready more than ever before to help them hone these potentials. I want to ensure that very soon, productions and actors from my zone enter and win awards. This is part of my dreams

As someone who have tasted all aspects of the industry in Kannywood and Nollywood and now the Yoruba genre, how would describe your experience in all of these?

I would like to mention here and with emphasis that TAMPAN is not a wholly Yoruba propelled industry as may have been misconstrued. It is actually an association which every practitioner can join. It is just as the name implies; it is for theatre and movie practitioners. It has nothing to do with regions or ethnicity. That is why I have decided to identify with it because of its all encompassing nature with all aspects of the industry having a role to play in it as members. So, we are open to new members as registration is currently ongoing. My experience has been daunting, but very interesting as it has enable me to have an insight into another aspect of the Nigerian nation which you would agree with me is so polarized. So TAMPAN is an umbrella body for all.