By Adebayo Olodan
The Kwara State Governor of Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Producers Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), Alhaji Abdulfatai Adeniyi better known as Dan Kazeem is among the three leading contestants for the position of President of the association.
Also said to be in the race is comic actor, Bolaji Amusan otherwise known as Mr Latin and veteran thespian, Yemi Solade as the tenure of the incumbent President of TAMPAN, Chief Dele Odule terminates in November.
In December, 2014, Odule was unanimously elected the first President of TAMPAN, which broke away from the Association of Nigerian Theatre Practitioners (ANTP) in February 2014, following a leadership tussle with Chief Layi Ashaolu.
Speaking in a telephone interview with our reporter on his ambition, Dan Kazeem said it is high time a Kwara-based artiste occupied the coveted seat given their level of commitment to the association.
The TAMPAN Presidential candidate added that he has the right attributes, qualification and the backing of his people to vie for the position.
“In the past, Kwara has consistently been marginalised. The few Kwarans that have held similar position are those that are based mostly in Lagos or Oyo State but for the first time, I hope to become the first Kwara-based artiste to occupy the seat.
“In the past they have conceded inconsequential portfolios to us and even when they appear to offer us better offices, they ended up sidelining us from the day to day running of the association. You can imagine we produced the National Treasurer, yet he does not know how money was being paid or withdrawn from TAMPAN’s account.
“We can no longer afford to take the back seat as the position of President should not be a preserve of artistes based in Ogun and Lagos alone,” the Obafemi Awolowo University graduate disclosed.
Speaking on the development, a prominent member of TAMPAN in the state, Suleiman Ayodeji (Akinkanju Ode), asserted that Kwara deserves to produce the next President of the association due to the commitment of members.
“In Kwara, we have qualified members for the position of President but we are unilaterally conceding the position to Alhaji Dan Kazeem, who is our present Governor.”
“It is even from Kwara here that the idea of breaking away from ANTP to form a new association was conceived and it will not be fair if we allow only a state to dominate the leadership of TAMPAN.
Before now, Dan Kazeem, who is presently the Director of Public Orientation at the Kwara State Ministry of Information was president, Freelance Independent Broadcasters Association of Nigeria (FIBAN) and the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman of the association.
Chief Hubert Ogunde was the pioneer President of ANTP and was succeeded by Chief Adeyemi Afolayan (Ade Love), who hails from Agbamu, Kwara State. Other presidents of the association are; Jimoh Aliu, Adebayo Salami (Oga Bello) and Chief Jide Kosoko.
Though a native of Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State, Dan Kazeem has adopted Kwara as home ever since he served in the state over three decades ago. Through his talents and hard work, he has remained a household name in the entertainment industry. Dan Kazeem has for many years combined journalism with broadcasting, tutoring and acting.
will likely need the support of Oga Bello and Chief Kosoko who are leaders and ‘the kingmakers’ of TAMPAN.
