By Bunmi Ishola
THERE was uproar on social media some weeks ago over a very funny occurrence at the movie première of a Nollywood actress, Eniola Ajao. The event had attendants who wore costumes depicting the theme: ‘The Royal Beast’. Everyone was supposed to dress in line with the theme. It is also expected that the best dressed male and female will be picked at the end of the day. Henry Olisaemeka Orakwe, popularly known as Groovymono, a former Big Brother Naija (BBN) housemate, emerged as the best dressed male while Idris Olanrewaju, popularly known as Bobrisky, a controversial crossdresser turned transgender, was declared the best dressed ‘female’. The verdict caused a lot of annoyance and expression of displeasure in the industry and the social media went agog with disapprovals from all points of view. How on earth could the judges and organisers pick ‘a man who transitioned into a woman’ over the many biological females at the occasion who went out of their ways to dress gorgeously probably with the hope of going home with the N1 million naira prize gift set aside for the winner? The man who even made the announcement, another popular actor in the industry, Femi Adebayo, was also under fire for agreeing to make such an announcement. It was a very tough battle as no one even remembered the title of the movie nor its producer but the controversial announcement.
Now, if, according to Eniola Ajao, the emergence of Bobrisky was supposed to be a publicity stunt aimed at making the movie more popular, she chose a wrong way to do this. Her public relations crew did a very bad job and should have warned her against such an obnoxious decision. Our society is not permissive of anything transgender or about the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning) community as at today. In fact, the same sex marriage prohibition was passed on December 17, 2013 and was signed on January 7, 2014 during the President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration. It was an Act that made provisions for the prohibition of relationship between persons of the same sex, celebration of marriage by them and for other matters connected with such. It was voted for unanimously. This shows that the idea of a man transitioning into a woman or a woman transforming into a man is still not allowed and is still being frowned at vehemently by the Nigerian people and its regulations. Ours is an overtly religious environment which is not yet ripe for such a development. All the religious affinities ranging from African Traditional Religion, Christianity to Islam do not condone the act in any form and anyone who shows any leniency towards such is considered an enemy of the society.
Whether the producer of this movie likes it or not, this act may affect the way the society at large will definitely receive her movie and it is a known fact that to premiere a movie at a cinema would have cost her a fortune. Many may boycott it in annoyance. It is not an easy task for a movie to make it to the cinema around here. This is why those in the movie industry should be careful, in their own interest, before pushing an unpopular narrative to the public. It is also very necessary to get a good public relation manager(s) who would advise on how to project their work to the public in a way that will make it acceptable to all and sundry. I think the apology that came after the whole drama could have been avoided if only the producer had taken her time to do the right thing from the outset. Though a lot of things are considered right and normal in today’s world, many people still have the mentality that some things like same sex marriage and transitioning shouldn’t be mentioned amidst Nigerians and anyone who tries to align or agree with such is seen as working against the societal and traditional ethics.
There are many actors who have never been to the cinema and are cashing out big. Their movies are all over YouTube. A good example is Ruth Kadiri. Tact and professionalism are needed as far as public relations are concerned and these actors need to learn that rather than going low all in the name of marketing their craft. With that kind of a big project, Ajao should have used professional strategists and not the untrained publicists she opted for which nearly damaged all her efforts. All the strategies she opted for, as far as I am concerned, were quite unprofessional. People say there is no bad PR but the Nigerian market can be very unpredictable. Many things are still not permissible in our society and this act is one of them. Announcing a cross dresser or a transgender as best dressed female in such a programme could have caused Nigerians to subject this actor to ridicule if not for her eating the humble pie by begging and crying on camera appealing for pity of the people. Many, especially women, view the announcement as a slap on their faces especially when many women in the industry who were well- dressed were present.
It is high time the people in showbiz learnt how to do delicate things like this right. Projects like this need a lot of help and only good strategists will offer that kind of service.
A good example is Funke Akindele’s effort in promoting A tribe called Judah, a movie that broke the box office record within 21 days of its release in cinemas and became the first Nollywood film to gross N1 billion. The billboard advertising the craft was on all the nooks and crannies of Lagos State and other places. The social media was agog with promotion skits and short clips promoting the movie. All the crew took it a step further to promote it on all their personal social media handles too. The advertisement strategies paid off because everyone was just eager for the coming of the movie even before it hit the cinema. Nothing stops Eniola from going to someone like this to learn a lesson or two! They are colleagues. Nobody is an island. If she had done something like this, maybe she would have avoided the controversy that occurred.
When movie producers make African-focused stories, they get more audience because people are beginning to show more interest in traditional things especially in clothing, general outlook and even religion. This is why they should focus more on how to woo their audience and make them know the urge to bring back the ‘Africanness’ we all crave for in all ramification is possible via the kind of movie and morals they project to their audience and the public in general. Movie producers and those in the entertainment industry should henceforth feel the vibe of the people and give them what they want if they want anything they venture to project to be acceptable. Iconising transgenders is completely out of place. It is uncultured in this part of the world.
- Ishola is on the staff of Nigerian Tribune.
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