Mining culture industries for revenue generation and employment (V)

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 […]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

(Conclusion)