KASVID: How People Kills Others’ Dreams pt.3

Following the death of veteran Nollywood producer Chukwuka Emelionwu AKA KASVID, His friend and vibrant writer Tai Emeka Obasi pens down an emotional narration of some events. Read below as we will keep you updated once he releases the next version.

KASVID: How People Kills Others’ Dreams 3.

By Tai Emeka Obasi

Moviemakers live a life full of conflicts. The first trait of every moviemaker is the ability to argue.

So Kasvid and I would severally go into arguments. But many times our point of conflict centred on football. He was a very good player and continued to play for Festac All Stars until the last day. He was a Chelsea fan. I am Arsenal. Both of us could be described as fanatics of both clubs by any leftist.

After severally being late to appointments by engaging in watching either Arsenal or Chelsea matches, we resolved that we would abandon matches involving both clubs whenever we were engaged except when the two faced each other.

One day we left Lagos early enough, hoping to watch Chelsea vs Arsenal in Awka. It was an early kick-off. But an unanticipated traffic jam delayed us at Shagamu that we landed around Benin 10 minutes to kick-off. So we decided to avoid By-pass and go into Benin. Hotels are two to a kobo in Benin but we wanted and found a decent one.

We watched what would have been a very good match spoilt by the referee with many questionable calls against Arsenal, including a bizarre red card. Arsenal lost 0-2. Everybody in that bar noticed my extreme anger at such terrible officiating.

Kasvid never uttered a word. Five minutes after the match, he calmly asked me, “can we go?”

We went to the car and drove all the way to Awka without exchanging a word. When we got to Golphins, we collected our room keys. We usually booked ahead of our arrival. He went to his 102 and I went to 104, still without exchanging a word. 

Around 5p.m, he knocked on my room’s door. I opened.

“Aren’t you going to Udi today?” he asked.

We usually went to Udi, Enugu State on very regular basis for abacha and palm wine. I changed and joined him at the car park. When I entered the car(the same Toyota Corolla!), he looked directly at me, wearing that mischievous grin.

“So you will actually be able to eat abacha and drink palm wine today?”

We both started laughing.

“I know you would have punched me if I had said anything throughout our journey from Benin to Awka,” he added.

Yes, Kasvid would always read me like a book. He wasn’t one given to intentionally hurting people’s feelings and he kept away whenever he noticed me at such boiling point. But would become his taunting best whenever he guessed my mood permitted and he always guessed right.

From Awka we started analysing and arguing about the match to Udi, in Udi and back.

But our THIRD major disagreement would come later, much later, once more on politics.

Kas was a card-carrying member of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. We both agreed and registered at our respective wards during one trip. He saw I had become ruthless in condemning most Gov Obiano’s actions/inactions. He wasn’t comfortable that I was gradually leaving the party we both agreed to do a big movie about at a later date.

“Tai, how can you of all people leave APGA? The same party that we agreed to make a big movie about?’’

“Kas, the APGA I joined and agreed to make a movie about is not the APGA of today. And you know me well enough to stop this debate right now.”

“What do you mean? Is it not the same Igbo party? The same APGA bu nke anyi that we both so loved Ikemba for giving us?” Kas didn’t want to stop.

“Kas, the APGA I joined was that of Ikemba and Peter Obi. It was a party founded on the ideal democracy of the people by the people for the people.”

“Nothing has changed Tai. Stop taking things to the extreme. Learn to let things that don’t go your way be. People see things differently and you must start respecting that.”

I swallowed the effect of his words. Truth hurts but I knew my friend made serious sense. And now that forced me into the debate I hitherto didn’t want to engage in.

“Now, let me tell you the difference between that APGA and this APGA. That APGA was based on giving the masses basic needs, and from the satisfaction of the masses, the givers then empowered themselves. This APGA is all about the givers empowering and enriching themselves endlessly and forcing the masses to wait, cap-in-hand, for crumbs. You and I came home to find ways to tell the world about a new state called Anambra. You and I were proud of that state as governed by Obi and firmly supported by Ikemba. I won’t be part of deceiving the masses. I’ve left this APGA.”

“So don’t you think if you stay, you could influence ‘this’ APGA getting back to ‘that’ APGA?” Kas, ever calm.

“How? Don’t you see how people who will never know the dreams we came for insult me on Facebook? Haven’t you read that I am ‘attacking’ Obiano because I wasn’t offered appointment? They call it attack, brand me enemy of progress just because one wants his governor to steer on the course of continuity? No, Kas. These are hawks all over the place. You can’t influence such people. They’d only end up killing your dreams. I can’t mix up with them.” I drove home.

More arguments.

We ended up respecting each other’s resolve. Kas insisted he was staying with APGA and will firmly support Gov. Obiano for second term. Interestingly, Ifeanyi Ikpoenyi joined him in this political resolve. And together they influenced most members of AASEP to toe such path. But I went my way. By then I had not made public my candidate. I had been praying for His Honour Oseloka Obaze to emerge the PDP flag bearer. And knowing how tricky party primaries could be, I prayed much more than I wrote.

Back at Golphins main bar, we changed subject. LAST KIDNAP. At this stage, Gov. Obiano had watched the movie, liked it and sent word to Kasvid through Bob Manuel Udokwu to make two amendments.

When I was told the changes I grinned. It was from that moment I knew people had been grossly underrating the governor. He had quietly become an astute politician. I knew there and then that the man who made those two critical observations was not going to be stopped from second term easily.

Kasvid, Mr. Hollywood and I discussed the two changes. To make those two changes and retained the flow of the movie wasn’t going to be easy. It required at least ten extra scenes, involving major casts.

So I went to work, put in my creative best to create 12 extra scenes to adapt to perfection. Yul Edochie, the lead character was involved in about eight scenes.

Another hiccup!

By then Yul was involved in a big series with MNET and was contracted to grow his beard. Having grown the beard and ready to shoot, Kasvid called him to come for the extra eight scenes. In the original movie, Yul was shaved clean.

It was either Kas waited for over three months till MNET was done with Yul or paid Yul back the contract value in order to cancel the MNET contract, shave his beard and play the eight scenes. I called Yul and he took time to explain everything to me.

It was a tough call. By now Kasvid had almost exhausted his borrowing outlets. He approached Uzu Okagbue again, explained his predicament and begged for assistance.

Again Uzu responded Kas was a business man that should be able to sort himself and see his business to completion.

Let me confess here that I never was in any meeting with Uzu or privy to telephone conversations. I report as Kasvid explained to me. My late friend never lied to me and I had no reason to doubt him.

The MNET contract was quite big. But Kas knew he shouldn’t keep his state governor waiting. He was already on overdrive. And now the governor had watched and liked the movie, he was going to grow wings.

So he sourced for funds, not only to pay off Yul’s contract but also to get other stars, crew, equipment back to locations. And NDave David Njoku, the ever energetic Production Manager of the whole movie went back to work.

Shooting over, he started another process of editing to rhyme with the original. More money! Kas had a good friend in South Africa (where didn’t he have a handy friend?), who had an editing suite and I understand he helped immensely.

After back-and-forth, the new amended copy came back. Till today I hadn’t watched that because I had been quite busy and engagement times clashed severally.

Now when Kasvid was done, getting Uzu to get the amended version back to the governor became like shooting the movie all over again. Uzu was no longer picking Kasvid’s calls and I pitied Uzu at this stage. Believe me, Kasvid knew how to call. You either picked his calls or he ran down your phone battery. I would always taunt him that there was no need for anyone to avoid his calls by switching off. That he would always call enough for the phone to switch on by itself.

Saying my late friend was completely frustrated at this point would be an understatement. He would always relay back all his meetings and discussions with Uzu to me and ask me if there was anywhere he went wrong. For over two months, Uzu avoided Kas. The great producer would drive from Lagos and chase around several governor’s public functions just to sight Uzu and speak with him. No way! He was severally at Governor’s home in Aguleri for just that chance. No way!

Finally, through a third party, the amended micro-chip was sent to Uzu. And again for over two months Kasvid complained to me Uzu kept ignoring his calls. Election was getting nearer and Kas believed that the movie should be in the market well ahead of time.

At this point Kas and Mr. Hollywood were the closer partners in the business. I had completely dropped out of the scene. I couldn’t promo the movie as expected of me because despite the fact it was on security, doing so would put my political belief in conflict. Perhaps Mr. Hollywood should tell the story deeper from this point.

However, my two friends went ahead to make plans for the premiere of the movie. That was the next and final stop. On few occasions they were able to discuss with Uzu, he introduced them to some contractors that would advertise inside the movie in support. Few, very few, complied.

Getting the movie premiered was increasingly becoming as difficult as it must have been for Adolf Hitler winning the Second World War. To make an elaborate premiere, it required funds, appreciable funds. Again I was informed Uzu gave then green light but again Kasvid was to source for funds.

Kas came to Awka one day and we met. He was at his wits end. He told me he had never seen anything like what he was going through. ‘’Was it too much to ask for selected cast and crew to present this movie to His Excellency?”he asked in the most defeatist of tones I never knew him with.

He said he was considering packing all those up and going home to rest. He had never been as cajoled and as tossed around in his entire life. He said as of then, he didn’t know if the governor had watched the amended version or not. And the one person who could tell him suddenly turned into a stranger, hardly picked his calls and now talked to him in strange tones whenever he was magnanimous enough to pick.

But I told him the Last Kidnap was our reference point. That though I pray daily he could recover all he put in the movie and make appreciable profit that my major interest is the reference the movie would make.

I told him what I had been doing to keep our dream in focus.

1) That when we wrote the script of Peter Obi as governor that I didn’t know much about him. That I had gone closer, and studied that man very closely and I understood the man is a rare gift to humanity. That I was going to re-write our movie for him and I had ideas on how to source sponsorship for that.

2) That I have written a script on Ifeanyi Ubah, ignoring all his political life. That I concentrated on his life from zero to hero, as that Nwa Teacher, who conquered poverty, became a billionaire and founded an international football club. Such story avoiding his very controversial political trajectory, would be a source of motivation to young people.

3) That we already have synopsis of The Young Shall Grow story as told by his son, Obiora Obianodo to two of us at his Maza Maza office in Lagos.

4) I have a full script of Mr. Ernest Ndukwe and his service to fatherland as the NCC boss. A script I’m sure Dr. Ndukwe would endorse and we would get sponsorship via MTN, AIRTEL or any of the service providers.

5) That I have a full story of Nri Kingdom, a script that would be perfected after some more interviews with some Nri prominent personalities.

6) That we already have Innoson script, waiting for UTB to drop their arrow that we go into action.

7) That I have Chinua Achebe on my sights. Prof Dora Akunyili too.

8) And the masquerade of all – Ikemba’s comprehensive life history as a full movie.

9) Already we have done a great script with Tummy Tummy, centering on Mikel Obi as the great football star whose major meal is Tummy Tummy. Tummy Tummy’s CEO is Kasvid’s Diamond Club colleague and a good friend. Mikel is from Neni and knew Kasvid. So, we’d roll.

These projects are the dreams I had been talking about. To tell stories of our great sons and daughters plus those of the 177 towns with truly rich culture. Except in exceptional places like Ikemba and Achebe, all locations to be in Anambra, showing the level of development in dear state. Language to be all in Igbo and subtitled in English.

We had agreed to contribute our own quota towards building our state. Like America’s Hollywood made America the world’s dream nation we were going to make Anambra State the envy of Africa. We will make movies of the many positive attributes of our dear state. We further agreed we would never make any negative story of the state. That is why despite many things I knew Gov Obiano Obiano was not doing well, I ignored all and went for the Security I knew he was doing very well.

It had really taken us time but the movie Last Kidnap is the reference we’d point at to convince anybody we were for real.

Kas nodded severally, very impressed I was quite still very steadfast to the cause. He added a new zeal there and then.

We agreed that immediately after the premiere of Last Kidnap, which AASEP would be involved in, the two of us plus Mr. Nollywood would sit down to draft a new MOU and partnership agreement. The one we had under Anambra Di M N’Obi did not include Mr. Hollywood. But the great movie director had completely bought into our dream and would form a formidable arm of the tripod.

We decided that the next to be produced would be that of Young Shall Grow or Innoson.

But the premiere of Last Kidnap became a mirage. Uzu again wouldn’t pick calls. Three times Kasvid told me of dates and three times they were all canceled because there were no green lights from Uzu to ensure the governor would grace the premiere. Kasvid continued to design, print and reprint posters, IV cards and pamphlets. More money!

And Kas started looking for anybody to compel Uzu to help him get the premiere done. Bob Manuel Udokwu and Chido Obidegwu had done their very best. Kas went to meet Chinedu Obidigwe and even Father Manafa to help talk to Uzu. Still , nothing! Kas went as far as meeting Senator Victor Umeh during campaigns.

Still the premiere continued to be a mirage.

Whoever is reading this, let me say that these series have been my most difficult to write. Because I’m giving account of events that only one man who could fully collaborate is lying in the mortuary. There are details I must put across or some mischievous people might start insinuating that I made the story up. I had planned to end it today but it’s already too long as it is. I promise to end it at the next, KASVID: How People Kill Others’ Dreams 4. 

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