Veteran Yoruba actor Jide Kosoko, has expressed his support for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stating that the All Progressive Congress presidential candidate is not just a leader of note, he is a father and benefactor among many other things.
During the week, a video of some actors of Yoruba supporting Tinubu surfaced. The video included actors such as Jide Kosoko, Adebayo Salami (Oga Bello), Yinka Quadri and Funke Daramola-Salako.
The video was criticized by many Nigerians who felt that the actors should not capitalize on their popularity and influence on fans and others to campaign for politicians.
Kosoko, in an exclusive interview with Saturday Beats, stated that Tinubu had done a lot for the movie industry.
He said, “Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is not just a leader of note, he is a father figure and benefactor.
“I have benefited from him and his wife. As a matter of fact, I have had a relationship with his family for a long time. He is a focused leader; a leader of all leaders.
“He has personally developed many people in our industry, especially those that had health challenges. For example, when actress, Moji Olaiya, died in Canada, he was responsible for everything that had to with transporting her body back home.
“If you observe his wife, you will see that she is a very quiet woman that does a lot for people. I know the number of sick people (in the industry) that she has also sent money to.
“The film industry has enjoyed Tinubu, as he was the first person to give us several hectares of land in Badagry to construct a film village.
“The succeeding administration gave us reasons the place was not conducive enough, and immediately, an effort was made to give us another place in Epe.”
When asked if practitioners in the film industry would be able to speak truth to power in the future, considering that they had publicly endorsed a particular candidate, he said, “If we ‘romance’ politicians as some people say and we are bold enough to tell them the truth through our productions, is there anything wrong with that?
“Are celebrities the only ones that embrace politicians? Don’t we have engineers, lawyers and other professionals moving with them? Does being a celebrity mean one is no longer Nigerian and that one does not have the right to one’s opinions?”
The veteran actor, however, advised the youths to participate in the forthcoming elections by first getting their permanent voter’s card.
