Eric Patrick
Veteran Nollywood actor Ganiu Nafiu, popularly known as Alapini, has expressed deep regret over his support for President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election campaign.
In an interview on Behind the Fame, an African A-List YouTube TV, Alapini said he and other Yoruba film actors who backed the Renewed Hope agenda have been sidelined since the election victory.
Speaking in Yoruba, the actor revealed that the optimism they felt during the campaign has given way to disappointment.
He said promises made to entertainers who supported the campaign have not been fulfilled.
During the interview, Alapini also opened up about his acting journey, ongoing health issues, family struggles, and the personal toll of his political involvement.
“We had hope, but that hope has become something else,” he lamented, capturing the disillusionment he shares with many in the industry.
“We were campaigning with joy thinking our messiah has arrived, because Tinubu is someone we have loved for many years, and he has been helpful to actors,” he said.
According to him, he and many other veterans spent two months campaigning for Tinubu, thinking that Tinubu and his party would appreciate their loyalty after the victory.
“That was why we came out to support him for two months.
“We spent two months campaigning for him.”
When asked what they received in return he said, ”Maybe they are not in the right frame of mind to think about giving anything in return yet.”
He continued, “Would Seyi claim that he did not see we the old folks during when we were out there campaigning?
“Was Seyi blind that he did not notice our presence, the senior actors?” he asked.
“We were over a hundred. We were all walking around, both young and old.
“We even campaigned at areas where some individuals could not conduct campaigns.
“I was entering markets when I am not a mad man.
“They did not give us anything.
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“People were cursing us in comment sections when we were campaigning.
“My friend Olaiya Igwe, who stripped himself naked in the beach because of Tinubu.
“ The curses that were placed on him, up till now he hasn’t been free from them.”
When asked whether he would consider campaigning again for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election, the actor was hesitant and visibly disillusioned.
He said,“I haven’t thought about it yet.
“It is not even about second term campaign.
“ Maybe our only form of support will be curses for anyone who chooses to vote for him.
“That Seyi is now running around the North paying their hospital bills.
“Aren’t there sick people here in Yorubaland too?
“How many hospitals has he visited here in Yorubaland to pay bills for sick people?”