How I turned my NYSC Allowance to filmmaking launchpad –Lancy Artistry
After completing his four-year Creative Arts degree at Tai-Solarin University of Education in 2016, Olanrewaju Oyedola better known as Lancy Artistry in creative circles, carried more than a certificate into the National Youth Service Corps. He carried a plan. In 2016, he was posted to the Ministry of Arts and Culture in Lokoja, Kogi State […]
After completing his four-year Creative Arts degree at Tai-Solarin University of Education in 2016, Olanrewaju Oyedola better known as Lancy Artistry in creative circles, carried more than a certificate into the National Youth Service Corps. He carried a plan.
In 2016, he was posted to the Ministry of Arts and Culture in Lokoja, Kogi State and joined thousands of graduates earning the monthly NYSC allowance of N19,800, popularly called “allawee.”
Each month, he put aside N10,000 and lived on N9,800, a discipline that yielded N120,000 by the end of his service year.
“Kogi was amazing,” he recalls. “I enjoyed my time there, but I never lost sight of why I was saving, which was to ignite my filmmaking journey.”
The spark had been kindling for years. Lancy was inspired by his immediate elder brother, Ibukun “Parsh” Oyedola. He stepped into music as early as 2006, playing instruments in a musical band led by Parsh before they formed the musical duet Parsh N Lancy.
They released multiple singles and an EP titled Breezy The EP, with another EP slated for later this year following the successful 2026 release titled My G.
Their creative partnership extended to the screen. In fact, they both featured in their first Nollywood film in 2010 by Tunde Layinka, titled “Back to Eden.” It was an experience that deepened the budding artiste’s appetite for filmmaking
Returning to Abeokuta after completing his NYSC in 2017, Lancy made a decisive move, staking his entire N120,000 savings on a short film. With modest technical knowledge but unwavering resolve, he partnered with Parsh, assembled a lean cast and crew, and shot The Dying Flame in 2018, a film directed by Parsh.
“I didn’t know it then, but that project was the ignition,” he says.
Momentum followed. He wrote and directed subsequent short films, including Mother’s Dream (2021) and All I Want (2022) and expanded his craft behind the camera.
He served as Director of Photography on the AMVCA-nominated feature movie “Gone” and had lensed a raft of music videos for Nigerian artistes, sharpening a visual style rooted in story, rhythm, and restraint.
His influences are proudly Nigerian. Veterans such as Tunde Kelani, Kunle Afolayan, Kemi Adetiba, Funke Akindele, and Mo Abudu are his guiding lights.
“With due respect to all their inputs over the years, I’ve always wanted to add more value to Nollywood and take it to a new height. Respect to those who paved the way,” Lancy notes.
In 2024, the long bet paid off with a breakthrough. He was selected into the Multichoice Talent Factory for a 100% tuition-free filmmaking programme and graduated with two awards: Outstanding Production Designer (Academic Category) and Most Resilient (Social Category).
Lancy credits this recognition to the sacrifices he made in those NYSC months.
“My resilience and doggedness are second to none when it comes to filmmaking,” he says. “If I had the chance to take that risk again, I’d take it again and again.”
From carefully splitting a N19,800 monthly allowance to financing a first film on N120,000, Lancy Artistry’s underscores a simple thesis: resourcefulness is a filmmaker’s first capital.
In a creative economy where access often lags ambition, his story is a reminder that patience, planning, and a well-timed leap can transform “allawee” into a career.