By Uzair Adam Imam
The graduate role played by a well-known Kannywood actress, Momy Gombe, has raised serious social media concerns.
This is coming as Momy Gombe was cast in a full NYSC khaki in a new movie, Darasi.
As soon as the pictures went viral, the actress came under attack, with some university graduates condemning the role.
The graduates and other critics say they are disappointed in the actress since she cannot speak English.
Others claimed that Momy Gombe did not complete her secondary school education, saying she has no moral right to wear NYSC khaki.
One of those who condemned her for wearing the khaki, Aliyu Danladi, said, “The issue is that Momy Gombe wore this NYSC khaki at the wrong time when corp members had just passed out, and the struggles were fresh in their minds.
“I sincerely feel sad, especially when I remember waking up early for morning meditations, SAED lectures, and the evening parade,” he added.
Another one by the name of Bello Ahmad Rufa’i said, “I am pleading with the Nigerian government to introduce a law that will ban people from wearing this khaki anyhow because nowadays people just wear it and act (as graduates) in movies.”
According to Sulaiman Rabi’u Ishaq, “This is terribly pathetic! We suffered a lot, and this woman just came from nowhere and wore the khaki.
Musa Miraj Rumah said, “Whoever says or thinks that she is right (to wear the khaki) mustn’t have worn it before.”
Expressing his worry, Manir Sani Wakil stated, “What worries me the most was the fact that she has not even completed her secondary school, let alone going to any tertiary institution.”
However, film experts have posited that the arguments were unnecessary and baseless, as films are imitations of reality.
They also said that even if Gombe was wrong, the blame should go to the crew, not the actress, who simply followed instructions.
Films are meant to mimic reality—experts
Dr Ashir T. Inuwa, a senior lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano, said films are mere imitations of reality and, therefore, must not be real.
Inuwa stated that Gombe must not be a graduate before she was cast as a university graduate, let alone any other role.
He said, “Film is a replication of reality, real events, vividly through characterisation, sceneries and actors or actresses.”
“It is a film so she can act as a graduate, professor, police or any other role, just as we see in the Bollywood movies and the rest.
“You may find someone who has never become a local government chairman acting as a president in a movie, and it is cool because it is not real.”
A film critic, Dr Muhsin Ibrahim, who is also a university lecturer at the University of Cologne, Germany, said that casting the actress as a graduate was not wrong.
“When did casting become an issue for us? How many times do non-Muslim actors act as Muslims and vice-versa? Or Hausa as non-Hausa, etc.? Please, we don’t have to criticise everything related to Kannywood,” he stated.
Crew to blame for Gombe’s blunder
Dr Ibrahim opined, “If the scriptwriter, script supervisor, and director do their job well, she should be able to deliver her lines flawlessly.”
He added that the crew should be held responsible for any grammatical errors Gombe made while acting in the movie.
He was quoted as saying, “In other words, if she commits grammatical errors or mispronounces words, the crew are more to blame. For instance, I once acted as an Indian sage and spoke some Hindi on the stage in India! I believe I did well.
“Yes, I want to see Kannywood actors correctly delivering their lines (in Hausa, English, or any language).”
Dr Inuwa also associated the flaw with the director’s inability to do his job well, reiterating that the actress must not be blamed.
He stated, “The director of the film should be held responsible for Gombe’s grammatical errors and failure to pronounce words correctly.
“Because it is his duty to take care of all that, giving her good training to be able to deliver her lines flawlessly.”
I don’t care what people say about me—Mommy Gombe
In an interview with The Daily Reality, the well-loved actress, who has recently suffered torrents of criticism, said she was not bothered by the criticism.
Gombe says she just does her work and always tries to do everything she is instructed to the best of her ability.
She was quoted as saying, “I don’t care what people are saying about me because I am just doing my job. Besides, I try to ensure that I do everything related to my work to the best of my ability.
“Also, I try to ensure that I do anything I am instructed to do. That is why I don’t bother myself about this at all.”
She further called on her fans not to be distracted but to continue to support her for more interesting scenes.
Bitter truth: A reality Gombe’s critics must know
Despite the fact that English is the official language in Nigeria, many graduates in the country cannot speak the language fluently, a bitter reality that Gomber’s critics must know.
Dr Ibrahim associated the menace with the emphasis students place on written exams rather than trying to demystify the mystery of the language through practice before their graduation.
He said, “Truth be told, countless graduates (in Nigeria) cannot speak English fluently. My wife was shocked when I told her some of them studied English.
“How is this possible? Simple: one can graduate without speaking for a minute before the class. Our emphasis is mainly on the written exams. For that, one can memorise pages and write them during exams, and that is it.”
