Mining culture industries for revenue generation and employment (III)

Governments tried to address the dominance of the West in the publishing industry by nationalising the book industry, setting up many committees and task forces which eventually led to the promulgation of the indigenisation decree for the book industry. Publishing and reading are estimated to be underdeveloped in Nigeria. The first printing outfit was established […]

Governments tried to address the dominance of the West in the publishing industry by nationalising the book industry, setting up many committees and task forces which eventually led to the promulgation of the indigenisation decree for the book industry. Publishing and reading are estimated to be underdeveloped in Nigeria. The first printing outfit was established in Calabar in 1846. Newspapers, political and religious literature constituted the bulk of publishing activity in Nigeria for nearly a century. It is estimated that Nigeria now has over 500 publishers and there are many registered member-firms in the Nigerian Publishers Association. They are expected to serve many millions of Nigerian students and general public.

Now, in spite of this nationalistic fervour and action of indigenizing publishing in Nigeria—with such back-up, but un-sustained gestures like the establishment of paper Mills in Jebba, Oku Ibokun, and others, with the intendment to make the nation less reliant on the importation of raw materials for book publishing, the publishing industry, as a culture industry, remained a private affair. More painfully, because of the crass absence of political will of government, manifest in the non-articulation of a national book policy, the book industry, especially the publishing leg of the triad (which includes writing and book-selling), remained an unregulated, unstructured private affair – an all-comers game where publishing houses did not even have identifiable office, not to talk of a House!

The implication of all the points above is that the potentials are not well tapped and something must be done about it. This we shall address later. It should be noted that only one or two components of the Cultural industries have been considered because of time and space constraints. However, the ones considered are pointers to the potentials in all other elements of the industries.

It has been noted that the cultural industries can be used as a veritable means of generating the much needed employment in any country. A good example is the broadcasting system of the United States, which, as at 2007, had 354 Public Broadcasting Service stations with about half of the licences belonging to community organisations, and one third to colleges and universities. 12% is state-owned, while some belong to local educational and municipal authorities. As noted by Dominick (2009:171-2), about 110,000 people are employed at radio stations and radio networks in the USA. He states further that:

…radio stations are not the only places of potential employment. Program syndicators hire announcers and those experienced in programming music formats. Companies that produce packaged feature programs (independent producers/productions) need producers, writers, and directors, satellite radio offers further opportunities.

On the other hand, employment opportunities in the film industry could be through the acquisition of degrees in film (like some artists do) or starting an own film (the way Nollywood started). Dominick (2009:223) argues that there is an advantage in taking a degree because the student will have the “opportunity to practice with technical equipment: lights, meters, editing machines, cameras, and so forth. Second, students can take courses in film aesthetics and film history, learning how to make their own films by observing how others have made films. Third, students can take courses in other areas relating to film such as, art, literature, history, music, and photography. Finally, during the course of his or her studies, a student may have the opportunity to make a film as a final classroom project.”

The above projects a functional system where things work as they should and where the states is committed to planning for employment. Truth is, for the industries to be able to play the expected role, the educational system must be put in proper perspectives and be properly funded. As noted earlier, in the United Kingdom the cultural industries employed about 1.3 million people in 2001and the number has been on the increase since then. By inference, the Nigeria Cultural Industry has a significant role to play in shaping the socio-political and economic problems plaguing this country. Many have argued that the menaces of Area Boys, Niger-Delta militancy and even the Boko Haram insurgency are products of unemployment, yet, here are cultural industries begging to be deployed to solve the acute unemployment problem of our country.

Continued next week

Mining culture industries for revenue generation and employment (IV)

All the elements or areas that comprise the Cultural industries, have the potentials of job creation, and the Minister of Finance, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, who articulates jobs creation as pivotal concern of the nation’s current transformation project and need to take a close look at cultural industries. For instance, Mark-Onyegbu (2011) noted that available statistics reveals that crafts account for over 70 per cent of the output of the informal sector in Nigeria. As deficient as the crafts industry appears, its potential for employment-generation, especially in the rural communities cannot be overlooked, in the quest to stem the tide of rural-urban migration. In his words, Nigeria is blessed with a variety of crafts products and skilled crafts persons, as there is hardly any community in Nigeria that is not endowed with one form of crafts or the other. These crafts, notably, includes Benin bronze, Sokoto leather, Aso-oke from Osogbo, calabash decorations from Oyo, Bida glass and bead works, Akwete woven cloth, Efik raffia works, cane works, Okene cloth etc. It is best imagined the quantum of jobs that can be generated from these craft cultural industry.

For us to continue to see the Cultural Industries as carrying the capacity to propel economic sustainability of the country, we examine the opportunities they offer here.

i.    There are abundant human and natural resources that are waiting to be explored. That is, we are already blessed with the raw materials needed to put the industries on the path of development. These resources are in different forms and in different parts of the country. Many of them are already identified while others still lie fallow; waiting to be deployed and galvanised. This is one big opportunity that the industries offer. While the manufacturing industries may be looking for raw materials from overseas, the cultural industry provides them for us from within. The raw materials from industrial breakthrough are in abundant supply in our country.

ii.    Next is the availability of a ready market for products from the cultural industries. For instance, Nigeria’s artefacts are needed around the world; the Nigerian movies sell like hot cake in many countries around the world, and they have dominated the markets in almost all African countries. Tourism is also in the same category. If we can put our house in order and provide the much needed security, Nigeria is boundless cultural destination. So the market is available for films and entertainment locally and internationally. In fact, Nigeria has started exporting the Stand-Up comedians as part of her dominance of the entertainment industry in Africa. As we all know, Stand-Up comedy began like a joke in Nigeria but it has been transformed into a money spinner and export commodity within a short period.

iii.    Another very important area of interest to Nigeria is the seemingly unlimited but realistic possibility for the cultural industries to generate more employment for young and old. This is significant because of its trickle-down effect on the society. When there is employment, there will be less tension in the land and this will lead to increased security of lives and property and all this will, inadvertently, lead to better life for all Nigerians.

There is also the opportunity of providing adequate training for those interested in the cultural industries. Today, there are many institutions offering courses in the cultural industries – schools of journalism, film, television, tourism, theatre arts, fine art, musicology National Institute for Cultural Orientation, acting, and so on.

Promising as the cultural industry is for the development and emancipation of our society, it is disheartening to note that there has not been any serious effort at harnessing it for optimal production. Some of the challenges bedevilling the proper utilization of culture industries for sustainable economic survival are:

a.    Lack of adequate policies to harness the potentials – The country has not put in place a clear-cut policy on how to gear all the industries towards economic sustainability. The National Cultural Policy, as revised (and I served on the Review Panel) is yet to become an Act of government, nearly eight years after it was reviewed. What has been done is to largely leave the areas to economic determinism. A situation where the stakeholders use only their initiatives without concrete direction from the government leaves much to be desired. For one, there must be a policy thrust which will guarantee the much needed atmosphere for the industry to develop. Yet, it is in the interest of the country to do this, considering the many benefits that are derivable from it and the trickle-down effect that is expected. Take for instance the film industry. There must be some form of synergy between what the producers are doing and national interest. However, this can only happen if the government has put in place a favourable policy that will see the producers and stakeholders keying-in into what government wants. This is the more reason why the recent approval of some funds to be accessed by the film industry by the President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, should be commended. Even at that, it should not stop at the level of just approving funds (which some people may still hijack anyway), it should extend to well- coordinated policy statements that will convince every stakeholder of the sincerity of the government. It is believed that when the right policy is in place, the country will benefit immensely from the cultural industries.  This is the first challenge that must be tackled.

b.    Lack of political will to execute the policies in place – The next challenge is for the government to have the political will to implement articulated policies. It is a truism that one of the banes of our development is lack of political will to implement some of the good policies that have been put in place, particularly when they affect the continued designs of the power-that-be. Thus, for us to succeed, when the right policies are put in place, the state must muster the appropriate political will to execute them.

c.    There is also the dangerous tendency of overlooking or underplaying the abundant potentials that the cultural industries carry. For many years, stakeholders, including the Federal government, have been singing about how much a proper organisation of the Tourism industry, one of the elements of the cultural industries, could fetch the country. Yet, in spite of numerous efforts, including the approval of the Tourism Master Plan it remains at the level of potential level. The question then is why is this so? The answer is simple, more often than not, we do not mean what we preach, policies are not backed by implementation. This presupposes that whoever is going to be in charge of the cultural industries must first be convinced, beyond reasonable doubt (as the lawyers would say) before venturing into harnessing the potentials. There are so many aspects of the industries that are begging to be tapped and unless we properly identify those areas, the tendency to underplay their potentials will continue, to the nation’s peril.

The unwillingness of the private sector, particularly the business and banking sector, to invest in the areas – to complete the cycle of underplaying potentials – is the curious unwillingness of the private sector, particularly the banking sector, to put enough investment in the cultural industries. It may be argued, as some are wont to do, that the private sector is principally capitalist in nature and is therefore concerned only about profit. However, this argument may not suffice because there are enough reasons to convince anyone that there is profit in venturing into the cultural industries. Some of the music and sports promoters have proved this appreciably. Unfortunately, the banking sector seems to remain very conservative regarding to what constitutes the “traditional” businesses, thereby making it difficult for them to venture into the cultural industrial domain. Investment in this area is both marginal and grossly inadequate. What this means is that the pressure on the society is advertently caused, by way of collusion, by the investors. If we must generate the kind of revenue and employment that can keep our economy buoyant, the time is now for us to start looking into these areas and committing enough investment into it.

(Concluded next week)

Mining culture industries for revenue generation and employment (V)

Government appears needlessly timid in opening up the atmosphere for broadcasting. The Federal and State governments still perceive it as an area to be controlled. Another palpable challenge is that which portrays the government as being scared to open up the atmosphere for communication. In this information technology age, it is inconceivable that the government will still be holding on to the control of the airwaves, thus limiting the capacity of investors to have broadcasting networks. For instance, the idea of approving licences for only FM radio stations is archaic. With the incursion of the internet, governments have lost control of the airwaves. However, the danger is, if the Federal Government is still holding on to this and refusing to register interested people, they will drive many onto the net where they will get unprofessional and unverified information like the one being churned out by some sites like Saharareporters. There is no reason why there should not be many television networks in Nigeria in this age. Also, there is no justification for not having community radio stations in Nigeria. Let no one live under any illusion that he can control what the people read. We are in a global village now and there is competition of information; only the verifiable ones will sell. The broadcasting industry is the pivotal for the success of the cultural industry.

Policy Recommendations

Coming from the National Institute, I know that there is huge expectation that I proffer policy recommendations. Thus, to tackle the above challenges and to bring the best out of the cultural industries for sustainable economic development of Nigeria, the following policy focus are suggested:

a.    The fight against piracy should be intensified

There is an on-going war against piracy, thus, the government and all stakeholders must join hand to win this war. Piracy and infringement of copyrights are crimes that are seriously impacting negatively on the performance of the cultural industries. Tackling it, head-long, is one of the most important strategies to get the industries going. However, government should articulate a well-defined policy focus on this. When this is done, the industries will attract more people and will engender competition. This will, in turn, increase their contributions both economically and employment-wise to the sustainable development of the country.   The effort of the Copyright Commission in this direction is apt, if inadequate.

b.    Increased funding for education

Another important strategy is to increase the funding of education. It is common knowledge that the educational system is in a state of sorry decline presently. This is largely due to poor funding. This is affecting many sectors, including the development of the cultural industries, which is predicated on the quality of skills and equipment available. For the products of the culture industries to compete favourably in the national and international arena, the educational system must not only be refocused, it must be properly funded. When this is done, it will have ripple effect on the whole industries. The era of paying lip service to education or people and lamenting that the Nigerian educational system has collapsed must be over. We should start hearing about concrete steps being taken, starting with funding. It should be noted that the idea of divesting from education cannot do the country any yeoman service, particularly when adequate alternative source of funding have not been provided. Thus, there must be a policy that will guarantee the consistent increase of funding for education until the recommended 26% of the budget for education by UNESCO is reached.

c.    Provision of soft loans for the cultural industries

Nigeria should enter the era of granting soft loans to facilitate production in the cultural industries. This should not be limited to the film industry alone. It should be extended to other sectors of the cultural industries. What most areas of the industry, like traditional crafts, need modest access to soft loans. When this is done, we shall be on our way to turning around the economic fortunes of the country for the better.

d.    Guarantee security

In order to guarantee adequate participation and improvement in the level of concentration, and by implication, creativity in the cultural industries, security of life, property and environment must be guaranteed. The government must see this as part of creating a conducive atmosphere for business to thrive. For instance, without adequate security, the tourism industry cannot flourish, the cinema cannot survive, sports cannot progress, arts and exhibition cannot move on. The theatres will maintain a ghost-line existence. Thus, any strategy that does not include guaranteeing the security of lives and property cannot succeed. A nation endangered by crime-waves, kidnapping, armed-robbery, and bomb-blasts cannot be a tourist destination.

e.    Encourage marketers to fund good films by providing conducive atmosphere for foreign partnership in funding

In addition to the above; when the confidence of the people has been rekindled on the security situation, there must be concerted effort to attract investors from outside the country. This may be in form of foreign partnership. According to UNESCO, “collaboration in regional ‘creative clusters’ is a strategic approach that will enable synergies between such countries and cities to promote the creative sector as a driver of development, able to penetrate even the most entrenched pockets of poverty. At the same time, a clustering strategy can serve to leverage the competitive edge of each distinct regional product in the global marketplace.” Partnering foreign investors in the cultural industries is still in its infancy in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the down-turn in the security situation in the country has further aggravated the scepticism of the investors. While they are enticed by the potentials in the business, they are scared about their safety. Thus, to bring back the enthusiasm of foreign investors, we must find a solution to the precarious security situation in the country and a deliberate policy of partnering should be in place.

f.    Encourage stakeholders in the industries to pool resources to finance good products

This strategy may become important if the expected foreign partnership and local investments are not forthcoming. We may find ourselves in a situation where the stakeholders would have to pool together their resources. This entails a lot of cooperation and unity. This state of affairs exists in broadcasting, where members of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) actually pool resources together to broadcast major events.

g.    Encourage Community Broadcasting and Grant Licence to Private Individuals and Communities

This strategy is to tackle the problem of continued State monopoly over the airwaves. The potentials of the cultural industries can be explored, maximally, only when the people are well-informed. Yet, people can only be well-informed when they have easy access to information. The developing countries are encouraging community broadcasting as a developmental strategy and Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind. We have to be practical and pragmatic in our approach to this. As such, we must deregulate the licensing process for broadcasting because the present one is too cumbersome and it is not in line with the digital age where there are other sources. In this direction, the Freedom of Information Act should be made radically operational.

Conclusion

It has been often justifiably remarked that Nigeria has no business being poor. In this regard, cultural industries, when properly harnessed, are capable of making this remark a reality in making Nigeria a better place to live in. The issue of resource diversification can be tackled from that perspective. The potentials are many and waiting for the appropriate approach to be tapped. When this is done, the country will put behind her both the economic and social problems bedevilling her. The cultural industries are there for the government and the private sector to utilise same to move the country forward. It should be deployed for the material and ineffable advancement of this country, which has no business being poor or being a failed state.