Abraham, don't buy into the hype - Leila Djansi

Celebrated Ghanaian movie director Leila Djansi has criticised some social media commentators for creating rivalry between young Ghanaian actor Abraham Attah and some old faces in the Ghanaian movie industry.

The 15-year-old lead actor in Netflix’s Beasts of No Nation movie has now picked three international awards and presented an award at the recent 88th Academy Movie Awards, popularly known as the Oscars.

He has also landed another Hollywood movie project, which will also feature Keanu Reaves among a host of big shots in the American movie industry.

Ghanaian social media have been inundated with memes ridiculing some Ghanaian actors and actresses for their inability to attain the heights reached by the teenage actor despite several years of shooting many movies in Africa.

Ms Djansi, who sees it as a bad precedent, says it is a “poisonous environment” where people are only creating enmity within a healthy movie industry in Ghana and entreats the perpetrators to desist from the act.

In a post on her Facebook wall on Wednesday 2 March 2016, Leila also advocated proper management of the young actor because of the uncertainties with Hollywood.

She also cautioned Attah not to be carried away by the praises being showered on him, as the same people singing his adulations will descend heavily on him if he makes mistakes.

She wrote on her wall thus:

Herh! Ghana. Poisonous environment for damn sure. Suddenly, all the other actors are chewing gum, useless, because of Abraham Attah.

All the Yvonne's, Majids, Johns and co are now 'local champions'. "The real celebrity is Abraham, the others are just popular" are some of the memes flying. Well done guys. How unfair! You've succeeded in creating rivalry.

Well done!! Abraham is a 15-year-old child from Africa. If he's not managed properly, let's see where he'll be in 5 years.

Hollywood is fickle. So as you praise him today and bring others down, know that the end crowns the beginning.

Abraham, don't buy into the hype. The same people now screaming 'Hosanna' for you will scream 'crucify him' when you make one small misstep.