Banky W: It breaks my heart when entertainers solicit funds for treatment

Bankole Wellington, Nollywood actor and singer, has expressed his thoughts about Nigerian entertainers who have had to solicit funds for medical treatment.

Speaking in an interview with HipTV, the entertainer cum politician blamed such situations on the current obsession of stakeholders in the industry with the show/creative side of entertainment, at the expense of its business side.

“It breaks my heart when artistes fall ill and have to drive people to help foot their medical bills. I’ve chipped in for a few medical bills. So, I know. But it shouldn’t be that way,” he said.

“People who have contributed to entertainment, to the culture; to the history — whether musically or cinematically — should have their work continue to pay for them, even after their moment in the sun is over.

“The only way to fix that is if we start paying more attention to the business of showbiz; the structure; the organizations and what is going on in them. Let’s require an audit of ourselves and see if we’re doing the right thing.

Although he commended the efforts of creatives in the industry with regards to deploying innovation into their content creation process, Bankole noted that all stakeholders in the industry need to do better with the managerial side.

“We’ve seen the creative industry in Nigeria evolve. We’ve seen them grow. We’ve seen them achieve things in leaps and bounds and I’m proud to be part of this group of creatives,” he said.

“If we’re talking about creatives and entertainment, we call it showbiz for a reason, right? There’s the show and there’s the business. The show is about creativity and, in that aspect, we’re doing great by putting out amazing content.

“But on the business side, we’re found lacking. I think we need to do better. It’s time for us to take the business of show business seriously so that our royalties can pay for our children and our children’s children.”