Kanayo O. Kanayo has blasted Ghanaian actors who demand the same fee as Nigerian stars on movie sets, saying there is hierarchy even in heaven. Read more.
Kanayo O. Kanayo had barely stepped out of the airport in Accra before he handed the Ghanaian press something scorching to write about. He was in town for a movie project, but before any director could even yell action, the veteran actor unloaded a frustration he says has been quietly eating away at Nigerian stars working in Ghana for years.
According to him, several Ghanaian actors have formed a habit of putting their foot down on joint movie sets, refusing to shoot a single scene unless producers pay them the exact same fee as their Nigerian counterparts.
And KOK was completely done hiding his anger about it. “I am KOK. I was among the founding fathers,” he told reporters straight to their faces. “They call KOK to come and act in Ghana; you Ghanaian boy, will now insist they pay you the same fees as me. It happens even up to today.”
He didn’t stop there either. He reminded everyone listening that hierarchy exists everywhere, even in heaven, so no young or rising actor has any business trying to equate themselves with a veteran who has been paying his dues since the 1990s. He told them to go and negotiate what they are actually worth, collect their pay, go home and rest, or he would invoke Amadioha on them.
Kanayo O. Kanayo
Hearing KOK threaten to call down the Igbo god of thunder in real life—even if he said it with a half-smile—was classic Kanayo. But he made it clear this wasn’t just some old beef he decided to bring up. The exact same thing happened on the very movie set he came to shoot in Accra this week. He was actually ready to call out the names of the Ghanaian actors involved right there on camera, but people around him quickly jumped in and begged him to hold back before he caused a diplomatic crisis on the set. Kanayo O. Kanayo
READ ALSO: Olu Jacobs Burial Set for October 2 in Lagos — Full Details
When you look at his history, you can understand where all that fire is coming from. This is a man who was putting in work when Nollywood was literally VHS tapes sold in Alaba Market. He was right there in Living in Bondage back in 1992 before anyone even believed you could feed a family from making movies in Nigeria.
Three decades later, after turning his face into something the whole of Africa knows by heart and picking up an MFR national honour for it, you can see why he feels his fee isn’t up for debate. To him, his paycheck isn’t just money for playing a role; it is the price of decades of star power and name recognition. Kanayo O. Kanayo
His comments have predictably set social media on fire across both countries. A lot of fans are taking his side, arguing that experience and market value should dictate what anyone gets paid in any industry. But plenty of others think he went way too far, especially calling a grown colleague a “Ghanaian boy” while standing right there on Ghanaian soil. Kanayo O. Kanayo
Nigeria and Ghana’s film industries have basically been like cousins for over twenty years. That is literally how stars like Van Vicker, Jackie Appiah, and Majid Michel broke into Nigerian living rooms and became massive household names across our streets.
Pay differences on those joint sets have always been an open secret, but actors usually keep quiet about it in public.
Kanayo O. Kanayo just ripped that curtain wide open right in the middle of Accra, and everybody is now forced to deal with the fallout.
So far, no Ghanaian actor has officially responded to his comments.
Follow our page onFacebook
