By Aliyu Askira
10 years ago, Suwaiba Abubakar, popularly known as Makauniya was one of most popular Kannywood actress, who suddenly disappeared from the screen for quite some time now. Suwaiba Makauniya, who featured in dozen of films got her name Makauniya from her second film from the industry which she played the lead role.
It could be recalled that Makauniya, a 30-year-old who hails from Dutsin-ma local government area of Katsina state, got married in 2005 but the marriage packed up in 2007 without issue. In the same year, she relocated to Kano and joined Kannywood, by then the industry was relatively young with few popular actors and actress.
While speaking to Blueprint in an exclusive interview in Kano last week, Makauniya alleged that in spite of the effort she and her colleagues put to sustain and bring the industry to its present status as a revenue-generating outfit, producers now prefer to feature under-age actresses, claiming that they have better faces to selling their products.
“I am not jealous that some actresses who joined the industry recently or those who have nothing to offer are being given bigger roles in good films to play. Even though, within the industry you would notice that ladies who are not as beautiful as some of us, with some of them even finding it difficult to interpret film scripts, securing lead roles in high budget films and before you know it the directors would cast them alongside popular and famous and actors and actresses for them to instantly become celebrities too.” she berated.
She continued: “That is why some of them who put in a lot of energy, time and sacrifice, including collection of peanuts as acting fee refuse to go away and will remain here and continue to challenge those who are giving the industry bad image so that they could change for the better and the industry will grow stronger and directors and producers who are not rich will remain in business.”
Similarly, Makauniya was full of regrets, especially on how the industry which she worked hard to build alongside other like minds, has now become an avenue for showcasing beauty and for making films that hardly inform or educate the society.
“If you produce religious films nobody will buy your product but if you produce films with beautiful girls appearing in transparent attires that expose their body you will easily smile to the bank, so it is a societal issue” she noted.
Why she should not settle again especially as a woman who had been out of wedlock for ten years, Makauniya posed and said the society is today full of hawks called men.
“Since my marriage broke up about ten years ago, people have been coming to me for marriage, some do come for casual relationship, but the truth is: men these days are hit-and-runners.
“First they would come and take you and later ask you to zip down for them, if you refuse they would come up with marriage proposal. Then after the marriage they would stay with you for some time and have enough of what they want. Next they would create excuses and throw you out.”
