We Are Still One –Danja, Yax

Sani Musa Danja and Yakubu Mohammed have been friends and partners in the filmmaking business. They were believed to be Kannywood’s Dominico Dolce & Antonio Gabbana since their debut into the industry. Their giant 2Effects Empire is listed among the top movie ventures in the North. Not only that, they were able to break the jinx beyond the shores of Kannywood. While Danja specialised in acting, producing and partial music, Mohammed became a certified playback singer, lyricist and director. To this development, they became Kannywood’s perfect and most adorable artistes.
Their success, however, is gradually becoming caged; Leadership weekend gathered that the two partners have both gone to various endevaours. Sani Danja is driving his political machinery and a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Nigerian Artistes in Support of Democracy (NAISOD), while Yakubu Mohammad, popularly known as Yax, has become a full-time journalist and publisher. He is anchoring the publication of his monthly magazine, ‘The Noble Icon.’ Danja, spoke with Al-amin Ciroma briefly.

Could you shed some light on why your giant 2 Effects Empire is now redundant as tongues are wagging that you have both deserted it for independent fields?
I can assure you that all these allegations are mere insinuations. Our company is still in business, as well as our partnership. The reason why people feel we are having a disagreement is that I am now partially into politics because of my NGO, and I feel there is a societal burden on me. That is what motivated me to become a full-fledged political analyst and supporter. Yax on the other hand, is also busy on his pet project, which he has been nursing for quite a long time. He publishes his monthly magazine, but then we are still as close as people know us to be. And whenever we feel like going to location to shoot, we keep our aggrandisements aside and come together. We are still the owners of the 2Effects Empire.

Why did you opt for politics this time when there is so much competition in the industry?
I got this inspiration through the loggerhead we had with the Kano State government, how they grossly tarnished our image. We sat down to think whether it was because we were not in the system and had no godfather? I mean, what they did to us was uncalled for. That is the main reason why I anchored this mission to show the society that politics is everybody’s game. We are Nigerians and have a full right of association.

Why are you supporting President Goodluck Jonathan when there are many aspirants from the North?
Politics is an ideology. I have been one of the supporters of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. We did a lot of missionary activities for his political aspirations, and having known the laudable missions of President Goodluck Jonathan, we decided to fully support him, not minding his geopolitical background. We are all Nigerians and this country is greater than an individual. We don’t engage in religious or ethnic preference in politics. People need to be fully sensitised. What we need in this country is a truthful leader that can address our immediate problems and be there for us, irrespective of ethnicity or religion. Goodluck Jonathan, in this short period of time, has succeeded in proving that he is the messiah Nigerians are yearning for.

My support for him is an obligation, which I owe my fatherland and my community. As an actor, I have an obligation not to mislead my fans and supporters. I am into this game to render my own quota to the society. That is to say that we intend to give back to the society what it gave to us. What am I trying to say? You see, we have our ways of information dissemination to our communities, and since our fans and supporters have been very loyal to us, we have to represent them in all ramifications.

Are we right to assume that you have joined your counterparts from Nollywood to the political train of Goodluck Jonathan because of the pledge he made to the industry?
No, no, no! Not at all. The entire practitioners of the entertainment industry in Nigeria are supporting the Goodluck/Sambo movement, not because of the pledge or the anti-piracy war he promised. It is because of his commendable missions. Nigerian artistes are no fools; they are people of outstanding intellectuality, so nobody can woo them for nothing. The words are written on the wall for everyone to see. Nigerian youths need a man like him, not because he is Goodluck, but because he has good plans for the country, and he plays his cards with an open mind. If you talk of the intervention fund, it was only announced and made public few weeks ago. But we have been his supporters since inception because he can deliver this country and make reforms as promised.

Do you think it is professional to leave the industry for politics? What if the person you are supporting does not scale through?
Remember, we are in a democratic era, nobody has any right to reprimand you, simply because the person you were supporting could not scale through. As a matter of fact, a true democrat should have it at the back of mind that he can win or lose by a vote. It is not a do-or-die affair. If my candidate fails, I will take it with good faith and continue propagating his mission, as well as ginger him for another time, simple!

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Published in my Kannywood weekly column (in LEADERSHIP WEEKEND)