Posted by By Shaibu Husseini on
A notable motion picture practitioner got his colleagues nodding in agreement recently at the premises of the Lagos Business School in Victoria Island area of Lagos when he summed up his impression of the round table discussion on the Nigerian motion picture culture that was held at the instance of the Centre for Applied Economics of the Lagos Business School.
A notable motion picture practitioner got his colleagues nodding in agreement recently at the premises of the Lagos Business School in Victoria Island area of Lagos when he summed up his impression of the round table discussion on the Nigerian motion picture culture that was held at the instance of the Centre for Applied Economics of the Lagos Business School.
The fellow, a movie producer, who also doubles as an actor and scriptwriter beamed a heavy smile of satisfaction, and dropped this terse one liner. "Things are beginning to get better for Nollywood", as he reached for the hands of the visibly elated Director General of the Nigeria Film corporation (NFC), Mr. Afolabi Adesanya.
Obviously satisfied with the outcome of the conference which was slated for 9. am. but which started behind schedule as a result of the heavy traffic occasioned by the early morning down pour, the fellow had further remarked that he was convinced that Nollywood as the Nigerian movie culture is dubbed would soon become so active and robust considering the level of intervention and assistance which the Lagos Business School says it is willing to offer the industry.
Professor Pat Utomi, proprietor of the school who facilitated the engaging session that attracted a few popular names in the industry such as actor Enebeli Elebuwa, Zik Zulu Okafor, Charles Novia, Mahmood Ali Balogun and the scriptwriter Emem Isong told the gathering that the round table forum was primarily convened to develop a research agenda that would assist the school in its quest to identify key growth obstacles with a view to evolving strategies that would address the problems militating against the healthy development of the Nigerian motion picture culture.
Utomi expressed the delight and honour of the school in hosting the forum for a sector which as he remarked has inexplicably transformed into an area of national life that is receiving tremendous attention. He added that the forum for the LBS represents the first and most crucial step towards identifying the right route to efficiency and viability for the motion picture sector.
"We want to engage in some focused advocacy for the industry to thrive. We would like to commit research energy and advocacy capacity that would make the industry achieve competitiveness both locally and internationally", he said.
When discussion opened, Utomi found some wisdom in the contribution that 'high uncertainties' constitute the major reason why the motion picture sector is yet to properly align with the other sectors of the national economy 'particularly the financial sector'. He stressed that investors would normally shy away from investing in businesses where there are high level of uncertainties.
It was thus suggested that what is readily required is change in orientation and practice of the profession. Although the professor stressed that such a change seem the important dimension of growth and survival of the movie, such changes as he observed must be scientifically implemented or else they would be detrimental to the growth and development of the industry.
Utomi earned an applause when he expressed the readiness of the LBS to invest in some research work so that the uncertainties in the motion picture sector would be reduced. "We need concrete and evidenced based prescription that would help us in our advocacy. We hope in this process we shall engage the various stakeholders particularly the agencies that can enable the industry and ensure that uncertainties are eliminated".
Prescription came in droves. First, practitioners canvassed for some kind of system that would guarantee the availability of sales and distribution statistics on the industry. There was also a call for stakeholders to invest in some training and retraining and for government to ensure that the practice environment is effectively regulated and made conducive with the Nigerian Film Corporation and other government agencies playing a transitory role.
There was similarly a strong agitation for higher levels of professionalism in the motion picture industry and the immediate establishment of the much-talked about Motion Picture Practitioners Council (MOPPICON). Most practitioners believe that the MOPPICON, which government had promised it would establish is the sine qua non for meaningful growth and development in all the facets of the Nigerian movie culture.
Towards the tail end of the round table session, the question that was almost left unanswered was that which bordered on when the council would be formally established. Luckily there was a representative of government at the forum, Afolabi Adesanya. The filmmaker who until his recent appointment was Secretary General of the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (ITPAN) assured that the MOPPICON would soon come on stream. Adesanya also assured that the council, contrary to fears expressed in some quarters that it would be hijacked by some 'government jobbers' would be driven by practitioners.
And true to his words, the council was inaugurated last Friday in Abuja by the Information and National Orientation Minister Chief Chukwuemeka Chikelu though amidst protest by some practitioners who subscribe to the Conference for Motion Picture Practitioners of Nigeria CMPPN, the acclaimed umbrella organisation of all guilds and associations headquartered in Lagos.
The group had alleged 'sidelining' and had accused the NFC boss, Adesanya, of "deliberately shutting them out of the council because of the fear that they, (the representative of the CMPPN on the council) were likely to resist the attempt to have an NFC driven and not a practitioner driven Council". They alleged that the sidelining the CMPPN is an attempt by the new NFC boss "to pursue an ITPAN agenda". Particularly Chief Eddie Ugbomah was miffed that most practitioners as he claimed "were not in the know of the inauguration and the constitution of such an all important council." He accused Adesanya of harbouring a hidden agenda and expressed the determination of the members and leadership of the CMPPN to resist any attempt 'to sideline' the CMPPN, a group he described as the umbrella body of "the movers and shakers of Nollywood" from the council. He also said that the CMPPN would resist what he described as "the seeming attempt by Adesanya to run the NFC without the inputs of the genuine stakeholder of the industry."
But Adesanya has said that it would be unfair to suggest that he was 'biased' or that 'he had any interest or that there was any deliberate attempt to sideline any group'. He explained that he had asked all associations and guild in the Nigerian Film industry including the CMPPN during a meeting in April "to put their house in order" if they intend to be represented on the council. Adesanya said that the charge to the leadership of groups including that of the CMPPN followed the observation that some associations and guild in the Nigerian Film industry have been embroiled in crises, a development which many agreed has not augured well for the image of the stakeholders and the industry. It was thus in line with that observation that the NFC, according to Adesanya directed all associations and guilds including the CMPNN whose elections and annual general meetings were due, to hold the events in the spirit and letter of their various constitutions. The implication of "their not agreeing to sheathe the swords" as Adesanya's statement to the associations and guilds read, would be that such an association would be deregistered and refused recognition by the NFC