‘We’re Going To Begin to License Actors’ – AGN President, Emeka Rollas

The President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Emeka Rollas, has said the Nollywood industry must evolve from being a loose association into a structured union that can effectively represent actors’ interests.

Naija News reports that Rollas during an interview on Arise TV emphasized the need for reforms within Nigeria’s film industry to ensure fair compensation and better protections for actors.

According to the AGN President, actor licensing is key to creating a structured and regulated environment in Nollywood.

He said, “We want to upgrade, we want to unionise. It’s no longer about association. This is a union so that we can work as a labour union to confront these organisations who come to rip us off.

“From the structure we’re creating, tapping from the global practice, we’re going to begin to licence actors.”

Emeka Rollas pointed out that the absence of such structures leaves Nigerian actors vulnerable, particularly when “big names” fall ill and cannot access the financial support they need.

He added, “You see big names when they fall sick, they don’t get any help because their financial remuneration from the work they do does not extend to royalties and residuals.

“In the normal parlance of benefit, you must have to be financially up to date to get benefits.”