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Three Wise Men… Return of comedy merchant to moviedom

By Anote Ajeluorou
27 January 2016   |   4:54 am
Tears for Love, Deadly Affair, Onome and Mama Sergeant Okoro are movies that mark him out as one of the early producers that shaped Nigeria’s creative phenomenon called Nollywood.
Producer, Mr. Williams and star actor, Mr. Richard Mofe-Damijo during a chitchat on set of Three Wise Men at Ikorodu last week

Producer, Mr. Williams and star actor, Mr. Richard Mofe-Damijo during a chitchat on set of Three Wise Men at Ikorodu last week

Tears for Love, Deadly Affair, Onome and Mama Sergeant Okoro are movies that mark him out as one of the early producers that shaped Nigeria’s creative phenomenon called Nollywood. Then he ventured out into comedy, and his noble wand would come to transform that sector back in 1997/98 into a huge business that has spawned most of the early pioneers. His entrepreneurial acumen has come to shape comedy into a unique entertainment brand that it is today.

Over the years, Mr. Opa Williams has stood out as an ingenuous brain in the creative industry, with his many innovative programmes and events that sometimes have a mix of business and philanthropy at their core.

But now Williams, fondly called ‘Comedy Merchant,’ has gone back to his first love – moviemaking! Indeed, many have since forgotten him as a moviemaker. His last feature film Mama was produced back in 2009/10. But Williams is back to his familiar turf. And the movie which has taken years to mature is Three Wise Men, not unlike the three wise men who paid homage to Jesus the Christ when he was born in Bethlehem. They are wise men who, having seen through the vagaries of life and are now at the waiting lounge, have reason to look back and see how well they have travelled the road of life thus far and what becomes of the remaining days of their lives.

Directed by Pat Oghre, the trio of Victor Olaotan, Zack Orji and Richard Mofe-Damijo are the three wise men (white beards and all) in this movie that asks questions of the meaning of life without anchoring belief in the existence of a supreme being. And as the angel (new entrant, Ms Ginnefine Kanu) tells them, ‘Whatever you do, remember that you have a God to serve, a kingdom to build and a heaven to go to… and lean not to your own understanding…’

For Williams, this injunction is particularly instructive as life’s circle winds down at old age; for him and others, it is needful for man to begin a critical self-examination starting from where he’s coming and what is left of his remaining days on earth.

According to Williams, “I’m over 50 years now. The question is, have I actually lived my youth? Have I actually lived my own life? So, the movie is self-examination. One of the men lost all his pension money to a woman. So, I need to evangelise the kingdom; I’m moving to faith-based features. The question is, what do you do to life for moral rearmament. The movie is an expose of three men who are in retirement and what to do with the cash they got paid. Along the line, they forgot the Lord’s prayer. So, where do we go without God?”

WILLIAMS is aware of Nollywood’s precarious position and his calls for it to raise structures that would make it attractive to investors has repeatedly fell on deaf ears. On set Three Wise Men, he invited Bank of Industry (BoI) officials to see firsthand how the loan he got from them was being wisely, prudently utilised.

According to him, “Nollywood needs to grow in terms of hardware and software. We need to deliver good stories. Here at Ijede, Ikorodu, we shoot without disturbance. Before now, there were no banks to provide us money. This is because Nollywood is not bankable yet; it’s not bankable because there are no structures. But if you prove you are responsible they (banks) will give you money.”

Leading the team to location was the bank’s Group Head, Creative Industry, Mrs. Uche C. Nwuka, who confirmed supporting the movie “by way of finance. We have come on monitoring inspection and we saw the professionals working and I’m impressed. We’ve seen the wealth of experiences and professionalism on display. We support the professionals working in the industry and we want to support the growth of the industry. The loan is like purchase money to be paid back. BoI interest is 10 per cent, the best you can get in Nigeria.”

Williams has had the story of Three Wise Men for quite some time now before deciding to shoot it. As he put it, “My stories take time and must have messages. I’m not prolific. Now is the age to do proper movies. I’m coming out with something different, with a lot of innovation, a lot of maturity.”

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