Adejoh Idoko Momoh.
When the $200m (N32bn) entertainment loan scheme for
Nollywood was announced in 2010, most Nigerians saw it as nothing more than a
political ploy to garner the support of one of Nigeria’s most influential
industries. Now, these people realize they were wrong, and that it was just the
beginning of what would eventually blossom into a love affair.
After admitting the industry still has about N31bn of the
N32bn entertainment loan, the president at a dinner held on Saturday, March
2ndt o celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Nigerian movie to be released
on home video ‘Living in Bondage’ announced a further N3bn grant as part of his
transformation agenda in the industry.
To support the President’s grant, Akwa Ibom Governor and
recently appointed Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum Goodswill Akpabio
announced a further donation of some N50m to the industry as the President’s
award for Creativity. As it is, the award would be given annually to the most
creative Nigerian Actor and Actress.
In spite of the generosity to this industry that has seen
tremendous growth in the last year mainly due to private sector participation;
most Nigerians have expressed displeasure at the additional N3bn grant and
think the sum demonstrates the misdirection of the Presidents spending
policies.
With barely N1bn of N32bn released, why does the President
think a separate grant is required to develop industry infrastructure?
Mechanized farming that should employ a large population of Nigerians enjoys a grant of only N3bn as opposed to Nollywoods N35bn? Why would the President trap
about N34bn worth of funds in Nollywood as part of his transformation agenda
for the industry, when it is not Nigeria’s only ailing industry? Has he considered how far Nollywood’s second
grant of N3bn would go to transform Nigeria’s textile industry? Are there no
transformation plans for our mining or manufacturing industries?
It would have been a better case scenario if these grants
have demonstrated some sort of growth or development for the industry. Looking
at Nollywood movies that have recently recorded breakthroughs like Jeta Amata’s
Amazing Grace and Inale, or Chineze Anyaene’s blockbuster movie Ije, two things
are evident: First, growth in the industry has been largely private sector
driven, and the industry does not necessarily need funds from the government to
produce quality movies.
Now consider the first movie that benefitted from the N32bn
entertainment loan, Tony Abulu’s ‘Dr Bello’, for anyone who has seen the movie
they are left with more questions than answers. For instance, how did a very
poorly scripted movie as that qualify for a part of the entertainment loan? Is
Nollywood not supposed to project the many positives of Nigeria? How then does
a movie that portrays Nigerians as illegal immigrants in the U.S practicing
unlicensed medicine qualify for government support? One certain lesson you
would learn from Dr Bello is that Nollywood producers need to stop wasting
funds on international actors and focus on local ones, as the crop of Vivica
Fox, Isiah Washington and other foreign actors were easily overshadowed by the
acting prowess of industry greats like Genevieve Nnaji and Stephanie Okereke.
This article does not seek to condemn the allocation of
funds to Nollywood, what it seeks to point out is the misdirection inherent in
the allocation. One wonders what thoughts would have informed the decision to
allocate a further N3bn to an industry that in 2013 has only applied for and
obtained barely N1bn of the N32bn loan that was obtainable since 2010.
What the government needs to do is develop adequate
distribution channels for our movies and fight privacy. After all, the industry
would not record any growth if movies are produced, and not distributed. If
privacy is not fought head on, what good is it – giving grants to producers for
movie production when the movies would later be pirated and little or no money
would be made from them?
In conclusion, the president should know that if he wants
better movies from Nollywood, he must provide basic amenities for writers as
well. One of Nollywoods biggest problems is script writing and that is the job
of writers. He should complete the very ambitious Writers Village proposed by
the Professor Raji led Association of Nigerian Authors and the Mamman Jiya
Vasta Writers village in Mpape, where writers can have residencies and access
to grants so they can concentrate wholly on writing blockbuster scripts as opposed
to the current crop of poorly researched, non progressive scripts Nollywood is
plagued with.
If attention is not given to script writers and writing, the
Government’s need to throw billions at Nollywood would be of little good to
Nigerians, the industry and the Presidents Transformation Agenda for the
industry.
