Buzz by Olumide Iyanda
Email: oiyanda@yahoo.com Twitter: @mightyng
Dear Alhaji,
On behalf of my friends in the creative industry I welcome you to your new office as Minister of Information and Culture. Do not be surprised that many of them are not congratulating you or saying nice things about you yet. Truth is, the man whom your All Progressives Congress (APC) harangued out of Aso Rock, the generous Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was the candidate of choice for many during the last general elections. He won (some might say bought) the affection of artistes like Father Christmas does that of impressionable kids with gifts sometimes too good to be true. If they could turn back the hands of time, you would be back to issuing opposition press statements while GEJ hosts adoring members of the Nollywood and other creative fraternities.
Six months after the elections, the vile messages posted on Facebook and other social media platforms by your supporters and the other party’s have somehow gradually given way to tolerable ‘bad belle’. The smart ones know the battle has been won and lost. The not so smart ones are still, well, not so smart. I speak for the smart ones who know that in spite of any previous interest or lack of interest in art and entertainment, you are now the minister responsible for Nollywood, theatre, visual art, tourism, broadcasting, music and other artistic endeavours. I dare not call you Minister of Enjoyment because that could suggest some less noble enterprises. With agencies like the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) and the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC) to mention a few under your watch, you must now spare a lot of thought for Nollywood divas and record label owners as much as you would – if not more – for Governor Ayodele Fayose and Dino Melaye.
Perhaps, it is time I confess that I know nothing about your disposition towards the art. I am not sure many outside those very close to you know if your choice of music is highlife or awurebe. Or if you fancy live theatre ahead of AfricaMagic. But that does not really matter. What matters is that you bring out the best in the agencies under you. The mistake governments at different levels often make is paying lip service to the huge potential that abounds in art and entertainment. They openly declare their support for the sector but see artistes as mere comic relief. They either neglect the sector or attempt to buy stakeholders for photo-ops and national orientation campaigns.
The story is often told of how Nollywood grew with no contribution from the government into a billion dollar industry capable of empowering thousands of youths. From selling kpa, kpa, kpa films knocked together for the purpose of selling empty VHS tapes, the Nigerian film industry became the second biggest in the world in terms of quantity produced. Perhaps, gripped by the desire to compensate for past neglect, the government has intervened on a few occasions by throwing money at the industry. Unfortunately, what that did was turn a group of people with a commercial mindset into a self-entitled bunch who suddenly had more money than sense. The bubble has since burst and the different guild heads who acted as middlemen have become social media activists. I hope to come back to that someday soon.
At the risk of earning a fatwa from some of my friends, I do not wish to sell Nollywood and its sister sectors to you with begging bowls. Amaka Igwe of blessed memory, Kenny Ogungbe of Kennis Music, Bolanle Austen-Peters of Terra Kulture and others built institutions worth millions of dollars without a nod from the government. What they required were polices that would have protected their investments and ensured that buccaneers did not reap from where they did not sow. That never came. The N3bilion Project Act Nollywood launched under the last administration was a little too late. If it proved anything, it is that you cannot build on a structure that is at best shaky if not non-existing.
Under President Jonathan, people got funds for film production, innovative distribution and capacity building. Unfortunately, there is little on ground today to justify that investment. The scheme was meant to improve the quality of Nigerian film content, create more jobs in the film industry and increase income generated along the movie value chain. It will be unfair to say the intention was not honourable, but too many stakeholders going in and out of Aso Rock spoilt that arrangement. Actors, directors, producers, musicians and just about anybody with a plaque for Dr. Jonathan traipsed all over Abuja and some hotel lobbies in Lagos sometimes for as little as N100,000.
Directors who became prolific on their own suddenly realised they needed money for capacity building. With the National Film Institute lying fallow in Jos some people got as much as $6,000 to go train in the United States. There was also the over $4,000 paid per individual to attend a training programme facilitated by an actress in Nigeria with “experts” imported from the US.
Grants were given to filmmakers for projects befitting the New Nollywood. Commendable as that was; it was like putting the cart before the horse. With pirates controlling almost 85% of the market share, how does a producer make a return on investment? Of course some went to the cinema. But with less than 30 multiplexes in a country of more than 173 million people how do you get your films across to a mass audience when the average box office run is two weeks? What the pirates are doing defeats the argument that the films and music produced in Nigeria are patently bad. If they are such crap, the bootleggers won’t invest so much in them. AY’s 30 Days in Atlanta could make N137 million from the box office. Please do the maths of what the figure would be like if there were community cinemas in almost every local government.
The N1billion NollyFund launched by the Bank of Industry (BOI) is still unravelling following denial it received $200 million Entertainment/Nollywood Fund from Jonathan. It is a no-brainer that people should be made to account for every kobo they got directly or indirectly from the government.
My appeal to you Alhaji, is that you ride on the wave of change your government is preaching to protect the artistes. The Nigerian Copyrights Commission (NCC) should be transformed into something in the mode of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Penalties for intellectual property theft should reflect present-day realities to serve as credible threat to pirates. President Muhammadu Buhari only needs to scratch a little to see the huge economic potential in an industry where the right people make the right money and are able to contribute to the GDP. A government interested in economic diversification will not ignore the rock upon which giants like Nigerian Breweries, MTN, Airtel, Etisalat, Coca-Cola, Air France, Globacom, Intel and Guinness have built their brands.
Even if PMB no longer listens to Mamman Shata and Fela (which old soldier didn’t play Zombie in the closet?) this report compiled for Project ACT Nollywood should interest him: The Nigerian film industry is estimated to contribute $9 billion to Nigeria’s GDP of US$510bn. This is over 1. 4% of national GDP (NBS, 2013 and 2014). $590 million is the estimated annual revenue of the Nigerian film industry. The Nigerian film industry employs 250,000 directly and 1 million people indirectly (World Bank 2011) making Nollywood the largest employer after agriculture.
That is just a fraction of what the Ministry of Information and Culture brings to the table. If the proper structures are put in place, those who really want to be actors, musicians, directors, dancers will acquire the skill they need the way doctors and lawyers do without the NBA or NMA asking for grants.
Do not be deceived by the token endorsement artistes get or the Bentley lifestyle they live in rented apartments. Their stocks are dropping fast. You can count the few who make $2,000 per project on the fingers of a mutilated hand. Twitter and Instagram following is cyber illusion. The so-called endorsements some get is barely enough to pay their children school fees and house rent. Even DStv and iROKOtv have reduced how much they pay per movie. But the pirates are smiling to the bank. That shows there is a demand for the products.
NFVCB should do more than collect N50, 000 to classify movies. Only NFC knows what it is still doing in Jos far removed from any meaningful action. NCC should do more than burn confiscated books and CDs. Its partisan involvement in the face-off between copyrights societies has been less than honourable. NBC should tell Nigerians why DStv subscribers watch Chinese channels for free instead of NTA. Doesn’t someone know about cultural imperialism? Get the Department of State Services (DSS) involved in the war against piracy. Law enforcement agents attached to piracy hubs who are on the payroll of the criminals should be prosecuted. And the Inspector-General of Police should explain how he will tackle the Boko Haram he cannot see when he can’t do anything about the pirates he can see in Alaba.
There is still a lot to be said about culture and tourism.
I rest my case. For now.
