Why I Mingle With Politicians Nowadays – Saheed Balogun

Nollywood actor Saheed Balogun has explained why he has been mingling with politicians lately. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, he is seen more with political figures because of his desire to better understand Nigeria’s governance system and promote political orientation among citizens.

Balogun added that he was one of the first actors to openly associate with politicians during the 2023 elections, and his support for President Bola Tinubu was driven by trust and conviction.

His words, “In 2023, I’m one of the first actors that mingles with the politicians because my late sister, Suleymane Adediji, and Laiba Lugmu, they’re into politics. But when I did for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in 2023, I did it for, well, all these people are seen. Who do you know? Who do you trust? I said, let’s go. Thank God he won.

We need to know about a lot of things. Who is the government? You are the government. I am the government. We need to ask questions. If we have orientation about this country—what led to our problem, and if the man trying to fix it is doing the right thing—not just looking for a miracle worker.

I saw a graduate, and I was discussing subsidy. He doesn’t even know what subsidy is all about. Once they remove subsidy, the money made, how it’s going to be spent, he doesn’t know. All he knows is, ‘I am hungry. Rice last year was ₦50,000; this year is ₦80,000.’ We need to know about our country and what is going on.”

Asked whether he plans to venture into politics in the near future, he responded, “If it is my calling, I will.”

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.