Buzz by Olumide Iyanda
Email: olumide@qed.ng Twitter: @mightyng
Whoever started the campaign to ban actress Rahama Sadau from Kannywood did her a favour for which the 22-year-old should be eternally grateful.
It was only on Sunday, October 2, this year that the Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN) declared a fatwa on her career for “hugging and cuddling” rapper, ClassiQ, in a music video.
By Saturday, October 30, she was on a movie set in Los Angeles, far away from Nollywood’s repressed cousin, holding hands with Akon, the same man that sang ‘I Wanna F*@k You’ off his 2006 album, Konvicted.
Rather than let the powers that be in Kannywood kill her joy, Rahama has exhibited the kind of grace unknown to those who sat in judgement against her.
She has since apologised to those offended by the “innocuous touching”, declaring “I make no excuses for my actions and I take full responsibility.”
But what exactly does MOPPAN have against her?
“The leadership of the industry has taken this decision for her violation of its codes of ethics known to all it practitioners,” reads a statement signed by MOPPAN Secretary, Salisu Mohammed.
“By this resolution, the leadership of the industry will no longer tolerate behaviours that are against conduct and ethics laid by the constitution governing the unified leadership of the industry.
“More so, the leadership hopes that this will serve as a deterrent to the actors and actresses to check their public behaviour as they are expected to be good ambassadors to the society they represent.”
The same society where 13-year-old girls are forcefully taken as wives with the blessing of traditional rulers.
Speaking to BBC Hausa Service, MOPPAN President, Muhammadu Kabiru Maikaba, said the ban was “total”.
“This is not the first time that she has been doing these wayward things. We have been warning her, but she still went ahead to dent our image,” he said.
It is obvious MOPPAN had Rahama in its gun sight long before that innocuous Calssiq ‘I Love You’ video.
Those familiar with Kannywood will remember that she was suspended for six months in March 2015 for claiming she was fired from the movie, Duniya Makaranta, for refusing to sleep with the director, Adam Zango.
That allegation drew the ire of MOPPAN, especially since the business administration graduate of the Kaduna Polytechnic could not substantiate her claim.
In a query issued to her, the association also accused the actress of sabotaging producers by threatening to stop recording in the middle of a production.
She was subsequently suspended for violating Kannywood rules, after which she posted an apology, describing her behaviour as childish.
Then came the 4:19mins ClassiQ video directed by Bash’em and released on September 26.
What would have been certified fit for general viewing in the more liberal Nollywood was condemned by the conservative Kannywood, revealing the deep divide between north and south Nigeria.
The offending video shows Rahama transform from a reserved fruit seller in traditional attire being teased by ClassiQ to a smitten young woman in a pair of jeans and short-sleeved T-shirt holding his hand on a rail track.
She wears a headscarf, but the act of touching the rapper and jumping on his back was termed indecorum taken too far.
The calls for her to be punished were loud and the judgement swift.
A life ban was placed on the young woman – often compared with Bollywood’s Priyanka Chopra – for promoting what Salisu Idris, a Muslim cleric in Kano, told AFP was “immoral values among our youth”.
Had such rule been applicable in Nollywood, Genevieve Nnaji would have been banned for kissing D’banj in his ‘Fall in Love’ video.
Not only do actresses wear skimpy clothes, kiss and fondle freely in Nollywood, some who are married in real life go on occasional romp in front of the camera.
The treatment meted out to Rahama is the reality of life in an industry modelled after India’s Bollywood were physical contact between sexes is prohibited.
Muslim clerics in the north have been bitterly opposed to Kannywood, claiming it undermines Islamic values.
A proposed N3billion film village was cancelled in Kano earlier in the year because they say it would promote immorality and encourage young girls to run away from home in the hope of becoming actresses.
A female fan identified as Maryam Umar reflected the general opinion when she told Premium Times that “Rahama has crossed the boundary line this time around. The video is all revealing and this is not proper for a Muslim girl to go this extreme in an open video.”
Such voices were, however, muted when Ali Nuhu, one of Kannywood’s biggest actors, kissed a girl in a movie.
The same Nuhu even said Rahama’s ban is logical because “she belongs to Kannywood, started her career in Kannywood and has violated the ethics and code of conduct of Kannywood by holding hands and falling on the guy’s back.”
He explained away his own “improper” conduct: “About photographs of me in scenes with females, those are from Nollywood movies, many years old, and this code came into light recently, so people shouldn’t think MOPPAN is being selective.”
As it is in pretty much everything in Nigeria, the burden of proper behaviour weighs more on the woman than the man.
And that will not change anytime soon.
A Kannywood film promoter and marketer, Hassana Dalhat, said Rahama “has really have gone too far and it is good that she is removed from them (actors) before it becomes a norm among them.”
That removal is turning into a blessing in disguise.
Events in the last few weeks suggest that Rahama has moved on to a more liberal playing field.
Her colleagues in Nollywood have extended a warm welcome to her.
EbonyLife’s 13-part drama series, Sons of the Caliphate – shot before her ban – and The American King – for which she travelled to the US – are signs of bigger things to come.
“Hugging and cuddling” ClassiQ may turn out to be her best career move so far.
She should think of giving the poor rapper a kiss the next time they meet.
Behind closed doors.
