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 She can be described as the fair skinned goddess of Nollywood that came into the mind of people and left quietly when she was needed most. But Hilda Dokubo believes that the opportunity given to her to serve the people in a different capacity was made possible through the experience she gathered in Nollywood. In this chat with AHAOMA KANU, she discusses her achievements while in government, her fight to eradicate hunger and challenges whoever cares to listen that Hollywood actress are not up to her standards in acting.
What have you been doing lately?
I do something slightly different from entertainment, I train younger people run campaigns on eradication of poverty and hunger. I also run an art school.
What made you run an NGO?
The drive towards helping other people I would say. I was appointed as special adviser to the governor of River state on youths in 2007 and so it opened doors for me to have direct interaction with a lot of young people. As an actress, it is almost near difficulty for you to have that kind of access because there are people out there waiting to be reached but that job provided the opportunity for me to talk with young people who I found wanted to do so many things but they don't know how to do them; they want to be famous and don't know how. Some do not have the opportunity of exploring their potentials. Our educational system was nose diving; people went to school but were not educated. I felt my country has given me so much and it was time for me to give it back so I decided to run a research to find put why young people were getting involved in crime and dropping out from school, the result of that research was what led me into setting up an NGO and gave me four different approaches to help young people.
What were the challenges of coming from Nollywood and holding a political office?
Well I didn't get involved in politics; I just held a political office. My basic challenge was the fact that people did not know whether they were going to see a government official or me. A lot of people came in staring at me and not discussing the main reason they came for in the first place. I also had the challenges of filtering everything you want to say because in the government, you had to sound not exactly like you but like somebody else and I had huge difficulties dealing with that. Another challenge I faced was that as an actress, you take your decisions and go away but it was a different ball game being in government; you had to wait for every other person to see reason along with you or not at all; decisions were not taken based on the importance of the decision but on how every other person other than yourself perceived. You had to wait for them to get to that conclusion and to me, they were delaying action. Another aspect that was very funny to me is that government would use N1 to buy a bottle of coke and then use N1000 to advertise the coke. I did not understand it because we do not do that in Nollywood; in government it was monetary but in Nollywood, it was practical that was a huge challenge for me. I could not cross over like doing things that I wanted so when I could not cross over I had to cross over to the side of running an organization where I can help people dream, realize and use that dream.
As an actress, you used Nollywood as a platform to portray the ills of the society and suddenly you saw yourself in the government, did you find any worries accepting that job and how did you carry people along.
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 With the influences of the western culture and more Ghanaian woman being brought up abroad, we need to ask ourselves if we are losing our cultural identity? As a product of a western upbring myself, i can still say that i am very proud to still have all the good qualities that Ghanaian women are so famous for.
The same however can not be said for some of our sisters. I ask this question; How many of you know a Ghanaian girl with a fake accent,bad fashion sense(in terms of slutty taste in clothes or no taste at all) and refuses to speak their own native tough because the they think that they are no longer a Ghanaian? The sad truth is most of these females are born in the motherland and have only been overseas for a couple of years and they behave in a manner that embarrases the rest of us.
Am sure most of you know that girl, or if you are unfortunte enough they will come in a group that fit this category. I say this to you girls, be proud of who you are. Your fake accent make you look stupid and unintelligent. It shows you have lack of self worth to deny your identity to be something you are not. To all my sisters that make us proud. Keep representing the great country that we are so proud to call our home. At the end of the day,that is who we are.
What do you think? Comments will highly be regarded.
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 Ernest Obi, a Dramatic Arts graduate, is the Chairman, Actors Guild of Nigeria. He tells ADAEZE AMOS his path to success in the acting world.
How have you been able to cope with stardom? Well it comes with the territory.
It’s my profession, so I have to learn to handle it well as a human being. Nothing comes easy, but you just have to learn over the years. I think I have been able to build up a kind of strategy. I don’t lose control or lose sight of my focus or target.
And I don’t overwhelm my personal person if I may use that tautology. So that means that there is a difference between Ernest Obi as a person and Ernest Obi the actor. I definitely don’t mix the two.
Who then is Ernest Obi as a person?
Ernest Obi is a very humble person who is gentle, nice, kind, straightforward, and a person who does not like cheats.
Who is Ernest Obi the actor?
Ernest Obi as an actor is a professional to the core. I started off from the stage and I worked my way up to television, from television to home video, from an actor to becoming a director/producer, and a script writer. And now I’m the Actors Guild of Nigeria Chairman. So I think I have paid my dues in so many ways.
What is the Actors Guild of Nigeria all about?
This is a guild that represents all the actors in Nigeria. It’s a guild that protects them and gives them guidelines on the dos and don’ts. It protects their interest when it has to do with other players in the industry.
So, we are there basically to protect the interest of the actors and give them guidelines on what not to do and the things to do at the right time.
What are some of the lapses in the acting world?
Right now, the major problem we have is finance, although gradually the corporate bodies are waking up to the call and they are coming in. We know that, sooner than later, we will have enough finance in our hands to better our lot, technically and otherwise. Although we have technical lapses, I still tell people we are the best set of actors in Africa and one of the best set of actors in the world. Our spoken English is one of the best, and the second best to the Americans. I think the little problem that we have is the technical aspect and finance.
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