Kenneth Osunwa promises better days, as new AGN State Executive takes Charge

Chief Kenneth Chigozie Osunwa, has pledged to ensure that Actors are given their pride of place in the society, especially in Rivers State where his reign as Chairman of the Actor Guild of Nigeria, officially came into effect after the Inauguration of the State Executive on March 13, at Brooklyn White House, off Agudama Street, D/line in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area.

He stressed that ‘never again shall any person describe our respected comrades as prostitutes, hoodlum or hooligans. Under our watch, AGN will produce great and visible actors with high professional and ethical standard.”

Osunwa, while delivering his inaugural speech during the 24th Anniversary celebration of the AGN and the Official Inauguration of members of the State Executive, said: “Firstly, on behalf of the rest of the executives I want to officially accept the mandate bequeathed to us by the rest of the members of the AGN in Rivers State, through a popular, most peaceful, free and fair electoral process conducted on the 11th day of December 2021.

Thank you all for entrusting our collective destinies as actors in the state into our hands; I can tell you confidently, under God, that AGN is in safe hands
We understand that the AGN in Rivers State has suffered a huge setback since over three years of legal dispute, and we understand the huge expectations from our comrades, but let us not fall into the temptation of being so much in a hurry to recover from the losses of yester years and thereby losing the indispensable virtues of patience, tolerance, integrity and thoroughness

OUR VISION BLUEPRINT
We have agreed that the task ahead of us is mountainous but we equally know that it is not also insurmountable. Having critically annualized our past and reasoned with our present, we have seen the shape of the future; and as such we have articulated the following as our vision blueprint to be able to take us to that enviable height of our dreams:

VISIBILITY
Our first duty is to build an AGN that will be visible everywhere, with our presence meaningfully felt within and outside the state. We have already kick-started with a very robust relationship with the press in the state. We are building veritable partnerships that will make the name of the Actors Guild of Nigeria mentioned in all the media stations in the state, at least once in a week

PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICAL BEST PRACTICES
Never again will the Actors Guild of Nigeria Rivers State Chapter be a meeting ground for all-comers, never again shall any person describe our respected comrades as prostitutes, hoodlum or hooligans. Under our watch, AGN will produce great and visible actors with high professional and ethical standard. In achieving this, we are taking our partnership with the film department of the University of Port Harcourt to the next level, and we have set up an ethics and disciplinary committee that is made up of high-profiled and professional disciplinarians.

ACTORS WELFARE AND REMUNERATION
The very essence of the guild is to ensure the welfare of the actors and ensuring that we have the best of remunerations. I salute the courage of the stakeholder’s conference that held last month in Asaba, led by our National president, in ensuring that the actors get what he or her is worth. We are also setting up measures against those who will want to sabotage and short-change themselves.

CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT
We are partnering with other stakeholders in ensuring that that we work in hands with the security agencies, hotel owners and other stakeholders in ensuring that we create the right environment that will attract massive investment.

VENTURESOME
The industry is already a multibillion Dollar industry, and we the actors cannot fold our hands and watch the producers and all those who work behind the cameras to take both the lion and elephant shares and leaving the actors with ant shares. Therefore, we are setting up a business and investment committee that will be charged with the duty of creating businesses and deals for the guild, which will help us take a good and deserved shares from the industry.

I am not a man of much speech, but action. While we meditate on the good future that is set before us, let the words of William Shakespeare keep ringing in our minds “There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune, but omit and all the voyage of life will lie in miseries”
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL”

Engr. Benedict Nwaorehu ~ Vice Chairman, Victor Chigozirim Chigozi~ Secretary General, Egozoro Emmanuel Zeel~ Assistant Secretary, Kenneth Christopher Odey~ PRO, Hannah Bekele ~Treasurer, Pastor Akpan Aniekpeno Okon ~ Chief Whip, Ruth A. Abbey ~ Financial Secretary and Patience Ijite Omamor~ Director of Guilds Services, were inaugurated by the National President of AGN, Chief Ejezie Emeka, alongside Osunwa.