The Actors Guild of Nigeria has said it is investigating the state of health of the famous Nollywood actor Hanks Anuku.
On Monday, a video of the once superstar actor looking unkempt and seeking alms in Asaba hit the internet, drawing reactions.
Actress and filmmaker Shan George debunked the video, stating that the actor was on the set of a movie. She backed her claim with photos of him on the said movie set.
Interestingly, a similar video of him seeking alms from passengers in several buses on a busy road in Benin went viral.
The videos are reminiscent of his late colleague Ernest Asuzu, who was filmed begging for money and food on the streets of Oke-Afa in Isolo, Lagos, in January 2020.
62-year-old Hanks, the older brother of Miss Nigeria 1986 Rita Anuku, who died in 2015, held sway in Nollywood in the late 1990s until 2014, when he relocated to Ghana.
The ex-Delta State governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, appointed him a special adviser on Tourism and Entertainment in 2010, a role he occupied for a short time.
After that, he was in the news when the late prophet TB Joshua reportedly delivered him from alcoholism and mental illness; he moved to Ghana after the incident.
In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, Actors Guild president Emeka Rollas said his team was “on top of the situation”.
Regarding both incidents, Mr Rollas said the Guild is trying to ascertain the authenticity of the videos.
“There’s nothing I can say from the official point of view at the moment, but we have sent out the Guild Chairman of Edo and Delta States first to locate where he is, whether he’s filming and all of that.
“It’s only when we can get that information then we can say something officially. For now, we have no information. Nobody seems to know where he is. I believe it is not something serious,” he said.
He confirmed that Hanks was on set five days ago with Shan George.
The AGN President also cautioned his colleagues, whom he said to use every opportunity to ‘chase clout’, describing the habit as highly deplorable.
According to him, when an actor has a problem, the solution isn’t always to go on social media to draw attention.
“I don’t know why some people in the entertainment industry feel entitled. These people we are talking about also have families. We have Umunna in the everyday Igbo language.
“There’s nobody on the earth who does not have a family. Allow the family to react. The family will tell you whether he needs help or not,” he said.
He further stated that the guild has a Trust Fund headed by veteran actress Joke Sylva.
He called on actors and the public to ask for the AGN trust fund so that when issues like this arise, they don’t have to come to the public to seek help.
He said, “Emotions don’t solve problems. We have created systems that we use to solve these problems. In the last two years, we have distributed over N6 million to our members in need, and we are going further.”
Initial denial
Shortly after the first video was released, veteran actress and filmmaker Shan George refuted reports that Mr Anuku was dealing with mental issues.
According to her, the actor was fine as they have been on the set of a new movie, ‘Coming to Onitsha’.
Reacting to the clip, Shan debunked the speculations surrounding the video.
According to her, the viral video was a scene from a movie, and they were in Asaba, Delta State, for a film project.
“Nothing dey do Hanks o we dey the same set. These pix were three days ago,” she captioned a photograph of herself and the actor on her Instagram status.
In another status, she posted a clip from the set where she was with the actor.
In the clip, she said, “yeah, this is Hanks Anuku. Just the handsome Hanks Anuku. The superstar. This is my sweet baby in the movie.”
She revealed that Mr Anuku plays a crazy American returning to be king in the movie, ‘Coming to Onitsha’.
Botched help
Nollywood actress Iheme Nancy accused Shan of being insincere about Hanks’ health.
In a post on her verified Instagram page, the actress said that her conscience would not allow her to be calm about the disturbing video of Hanks, which she says is 100 per cent true.
According to her, Shan debunked claims instead of letting the veteran actor get the help he needed.
“Instead of allowing people to help him, you canceled a truth. Why Na? Uncle Hanks’s condition is not a secret to any Asaba-based actor. Neither is it to most Asaba residents as most people have seen him in different odd locations in an abnormal state,” she said.
She shared her encounter with him at 1side bar on the 27th of October, where she said he almost beat her up for no reason.
“He said some hurtful words to @ujunwa_aninneji and me, but we kept calm because he wasn’t himself. From that day, I prayed he could get help, and finally, yesterday that God was about to answer that prayer; you stopped it for reasons best known to you.
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“Drinking in a stupor, walking around Asaba is not new. Plus, this post is to plead with well-meaning Nigerians. Hanks Anuku needs help,” she added.
In June 2020, Hanks refuted the second death rumour being peddled about him in one month.
The actor shared a similar video on his Facebook page on the 6th of June, and six rumours of his death became rife on social media.
The movie star has been featured in several Nollywood thrillers, including ‘Face of a Murderer’, ‘Broad Daylight’, and ‘Men on Hard Way’.
He was introduced to Nollywood by Regina Askia, and his first movie role was in ‘The Skeleton’.
Since then, he has been featured in over 50 films.
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