If I Were Yvonne Nelson...

We have read and heard a lot from various industry stakeholders on the controversial ban which was imposed on Actress Yvonne Nelson nearly a year ago. As at now, the state of this ban (whether it is still in force or not) cannot be clearly ascertained. Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG), the industry machinery behind the ban has strongly insisted that the ban is still in force whiles Abdul Salam-the person Yvonne Nelson was said to have grossly subjected to contempt is saying he has forgiven her. Though Salam�s recent statements to a greater extent suggest that the ban has been lifted, we are still kept in the dark by FIPAG. The latest to add his voice to the Yvonne Nelson saga is Fred Nuamah, the founder and CEO of Ghollywood Production-the organisers of the prestigious Ghana Movie Awards. I have decided to give this the necessary audience because Fred Nuamah in his submission pointed out some serious flaws in the way and manner the whole Yvonne Nelson incident was handled. According to Fred Nuamah, his disappointment does not only rest on the fact that Yvonne Nelson has decided to apologise at this last hour of serving her undeserved and illegitimate punishment but also the fact that Yvonne Nelson is seriously doing far more better for herself than the time she was fully working as an actress and would probably let all these go down the drain in her desperation to come back to an industry which unfairly treated her. Speaking to GhanaCelebrities.Com, Fred Nuamah repeated mentioned that, the way Yvonne Nelson has been treatment is absolutely disgusting. �For a young talented girl to be fairly treated like this is not only degrading but also inhuman. If a child wrongs the father, she is under an obligation to apologise and the father is also under a corresponding duty to accept this apology instantly and forgive the child� he said. Fred continued �Yvonne Nelson did what is expected from a good child. She apologised to Abdul Salam at the infant stage of the whole controversy, Yvonne further mobilised her industry friends including Majid Michel and her manager to help apologise to Salam which the latter refused to accept. Is it therefore not Ironic that an apology has been accepted and the girl is said to have been forgiven at this late hour? � Fred Nuamah considers it disheartening that those in charge of the ban requested Yvonne Nelson to go and publicly apologise for a crime which she allegedly committed in what can be termed as a private place. �If she disrespecting Abdul Salam on a movie set was the core reason of the whole confusion, why ask her to go and apologise via TV, radio or any other form of media?� What baffles the mind of the Founder of Ghana Movie Awards even more is the rationale behind Yvonne Nelson�s late hour apology and its acceptance after enduring about 9 months of substantial loss of income, insults and disrespect. �If she has been able to swallow 9 months of disrespect and dirty industry politics which nearly killed her career, talent and dignity, why can�t she bear 3 months�? Remember, Yvonne is one of the top 3 Actresses in the country. This achievement is enough to make anyone proud so to throw all that away in desperation when you have suffered for 9 months with only 3 months to go is questionable�. During Fred�s chit chat with GhanaCelebrities.Com, he also acknowledged and commended Yvonne Nelson for how well she has been able to do for herself during this bad time. �Yvonne has done so much for herself in the last 9 months that she probably had not been able to do for all the years she worked as an actress. The girl has successfully launched her Glaucoma foundation which is doing great in helping our society. She has also bought a new top of the range car and has launched her own weave/wig collection� he added. This may come as a bit unrealistic but it makes a lot of sense and it is the best advice I have heard anyone give to Yvonne Nelson since her incident with Abdul Salam and subsequently FIPAG. Fred thinks �Yvonne Nelson should have consider her own production, a TV show or something she can do without having her talent being oppressed for any little misconduct. She should not be desperate to be in the movie industry when she is already doing a lot for herself. Her desperation to come back should not make her accept future wrong treatments that may come her way without saying anything as a result of fear of being banned. We have passed the culture of silence, fear and oppression� As radical as this may sound, Fred says the best thing for Yvonne Nelson to do is go through the 3 months of the ban and then after that, ban herself. �If I were Yvonne, what I would have done is serve the 12 months of my ban and then after than ban myself. I mean, not work for any of those people� he said. What do you guys think about this? __________________________________________________________________ My Side Comment: Can someone (Actor or Actress) in Ghana test the legitimacy of the FIPAG�s operation and the way and manner they are sidelining people. In law, you cannot just form an association and use that association to cause members or non members� loss of income by sidelining them as when and how you think you want to. Everyone association/organization is subjected to the bigger law of the land (national laws) even though it may have it own laws. When these two laws clash, the national law takes precedent. As a Ghanaian, everyone of the right age has the constitutional right to work and earn a decent income. I therefore think any activity by a person or organization such as FIPAG which unreasonable infringes on this fundamental right of a person to work or earn an income can be questioned in the law court. The national law and the courts are there to check MAFIA associations like FIPAG. Someone should just take them on and challenge their way of operations. As long as their activates take away a person�s constitutional right, It must be done in conformity with the law and we can only know if their unreasonable banning/side-lining is lawfully or not by testing their grounds of banning, the length of punishment and others in the law court.