Joy, fears over $200m entertainment stimulus
Since the announcement by the president at the 30th anniversary of Silverbird Cinema, reactions have been pouring in. The Nigerian entertainment sector has indeed in recent years blossomed from scratch into a worldwide industry that rakes in approximately N250m annually. This is best demonstrated by the phenomenal raise of the local film industry, Nollywood, which […]
Since the announcement by the president at the 30th anniversary of Silverbird Cinema, reactions have been pouring in. The Nigerian entertainment sector has indeed in recent years blossomed from scratch into a worldwide industry that rakes in approximately N250m annually. This is best demonstrated by the phenomenal raise of the local film industry, Nollywood, which did not exist some two decades ago. Now it is the second largest film industry in the world behind India’s Bollywood and ahead of the century old Hollywood.
Apart from Nollywood, the music industry has grown to produce superstars like 2Face, D’Banj, PSquare and the likes that are household names on the African continent. And of course the comedy arena has been vibrant with an army of stand-up comedians and comediennes multiplying rapidly.
In truth, this artistes and entertainers have been struggling against the tides without significant government support and president Jonathan’s announcement has come as an endorsement for a sector that has brought much cheer in the difficult times abound.
“Nollywood is getting set to dominate the world. Our music has set Africa on fire,” the president had said while making the announcement. The endorsement and the package have been well received by stakeholders in the industry.
“First of all I want to commend the president for that. It is a welcome development, though it is long overdue but we are glad it has come now,” top musician, Tosin Martins said.
This view is echoed from the shores of the Atlantic to the Sahel, where Kannywood, the Hausa movie version of Nollywood, thrives. The reaction out of the Kano based industry has been positive as artistes and producers expressed delight with the announcement.
The Secretary General, Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN) Ahmed Alkanawi demonstrated the mood. “What the President did is simply what ought to have been done long ago considering the role of films in revenue generation for any country but as it is popularly said, it is better late than never.”
Most artistes believe the gesture was born out of government’s determination to change the face of the industry which the president acknowledged has brought so much joy to Nigerians. Some have blamed previous government’s nonchalance towards the industry as one of the causes of the low standards that have been associated with the industry over the years.
This is the view of a Kano based film director, Falalu Dorayi. “There is no doubt that the neglect of the industry by past governments is responsible for the backwardness of the industry but we are now optimistic that the world will now be convinced that we are also professions while on the other hand, the problem of unemployment will be reduced because a lot of young people interested in entertainment will be encouraged to utilize their God given talents.”
Despite the optimism, there have been notes of caution sounding from the bowels of the industry. Tosin Martins (quoted earlier) hints at a political motive for this largesse.
“Let me quickly add that this came about because some of us went to President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign, so let the industry recognise that.”
With general election scheduled for early next year, it is not unlikely that Martins is right but the fact is that there is now an opportunity for the industry to develop beyond the mediocre level it has been operating on for long. The artistes are already looking forward to what could be done with the money earmarked for the sector that has put food on the tables of many of them, not to mention their dependents.
“The first thing the government should do is establish a trust fund to manage the money. It could be called Nigerian Entrainment Trust or any name but there should be an outfit to manage the money. The agency can be headed by a credible person like Wole Soyinka or any credible person in the arts and entertainment industry and not politicians. The agency can now work out appropriate ways of putting the money into good use,” Martins explained.
A Lagos based film producer and marketer Garbosky Iwe, while agreeing that the money should be handled by a special agency, suggests that it should be used to fight piracy as he sees that as the major challenge facing producers in the industry.
“The industry does not need any stimulus funds or intervention funds, that is not the problem of the industry particularly movies. The problem of the industry is distribution of finished movies and copyright protection,” he said.
He expresses fear also that the money could be misdirected into the wrong hands to empower “less serious” producers who would glut the market with low quality films.
Indeed, knowing the level of corruption in the country, there is genuine concern that the funds could be channeled into private accounts and the industry might not benefit as intended. It is a fear shared by Tosin Martins.
“I hope the money would be accessed by the people it is meant for and not be hijacked by politicians,” he said.
But that should not be the only fear for now as no one is yet certain how the funds will be accessed as the modalities are still being worked on. It is only hoped that when they are made known, the average entertainer with something to offer could benefit from the funds. But with piracy seriously undermining efforts of those in the industry, there is also the fear that those who access the loans may not be able to recoup their investment and pay off the loans. This would inevitably cripple productivity. The need to tackle piracy now could not be more pertinent.
In the face of this unprecedented development, there should be a cautious optimism as the industry awaits the modalities being worked out.