Mohammadu Buhari’s first anniversary as President of Nigeria has been perhaps one of the most talked about events of the century. Long before May 29, the social media has been abuzz with what the new government that campaigned on the slogan of change has failed to change and how to go about it. One year after, the talk seems to be louder with stakeholders from arts and culture adding their voice to the fray. In this special report, TheNiche captres what they have to say verbatim.
Fidelis Duker (filmmaker/festival director)
I will give the government a pass mark of 50 per cent because they have shown some level of interest in the sector. For the movie industry, they are trying to regulate and structure the industry through MOPICON (Motion Picture Council of Nigeria) Bill.
In other areas, there has been a summit on the need to revitalise the culture and tourism sector. However, a lot still needs to be done in the area of the economic policy of government, as this has an effect on the culture and tourism industry. They have fared badly in one year considering the level of interest and their understanding that the sector is a major alternative revenue-earner for government.
It is my considered opinion that they will use the next one year in consolidating on the milestones recorded by the previous government when the entertainment sector reflected as a major contributor to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Grace Edwin Okon (actress/filmmaker)
It is just recently that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has started interaction with Nollywood; to the best of my knowledge, in the last two months. He has been meeting with producers regarding the MOPICON Bill. For now, to the best of my knowledge, that is the only interaction we have had with the Presidency…but we don’t have any direct interaction with him.
This is almost a year and I want to believe that he should have at least made an effort like his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, who really helped Nollywood. The impact of Jonathan in Nollywood resulted in a more viable economy and that sector was seen as one that can draw investments. A lot of people made good returns from films during that period and I just expected that being one of the areas that really helped to improve the economy, he should have actually taken it and ran with it. You cannot just focus on oil alone.
We all know what Hollywood does for America. Even Bollywood for India. So, he should make sure that practitioners are working on selling Nigeria in good light, especially with all the corruption allegations all over the place. People generally just perceive every single Nigerian walking on the streets as a corrupt person, but that is not the case. And what we do in terms of filmmaking and in the media are the things that will help to change the face of Nigeria and give us a facelift before the world. By the time you put this content out there and people see it, they will say that these people are not as bad as we thought they were. It will shore up our image and help to improve our economy.
On a movie set like mine for example, on the average I work with at least 50 people for production. So, on my own, I am making sure that at least 50 people and their families are feeding off what I do. But if I get support from the government for my project, Derwin First Shot Initiative for instance, you can imagine how many more families will have food to eat or many more people will be employed.
So he should be more proactive, more involved and have more interactions, especially with the producers who employ every other person like the directors and actors.
I can’t speak for music or comedy, but I really haven’t seen much that has happened in those sectors.
Agozie Ugwu (theatre director)
I have not seen anything this government has done in all areas of governance in the country, let alone arts and culture. If there is, I have not seen. Arts and culture are wobbling because people are not financially-capable. So when you do events, very few people come out not because they don’t want to but because they don’t have the money to come. I am not seeing any clear programme on the ground to address this. If there is any, I don’t know about it. There is no governmental policy that is geared towards the nation’s arts and culture. In fact, I am not sure if Abuja Carnival held last year. If it did, it must have happened behind closed doors because the carnival we know did not hold. Even the Enugu Carnival did not hold.
I think the entertainment industry, arts and culture have gone comatose under this administration with just stakeholders trying on their own. I am not sure if government has even had any performance in the National Theatre in Lagos or anywhere in the country.
I don’t know of any policy trying to promote arts and culture or even any other art fest in this country. We are just watching and waiting, and languishing in penury.
The election is over. The time for propaganda is over. I think this government should go back to the basics and articulate policies that can be implemented not lofty policies that have no prospects. The entertainment industry is one of the largest and has the ability to create jobs for many people. For instance, we are planning to set up The Abuja Theatre Festival for which we hope to create 5,000 jobs for like three to four months. But we are not seeing any policies that encourage us to go ahead. So what I will advocate is for the government to articulate policies that can encourage arts and culture, encourage the entertainment industry because if we help create jobs it will keep youths from violence, terrorism, insurgency because these are jobless minds. Most Nigerian youths are interested in entertainment. So if you create a favourable environment for us to operate, they will be greatly employed. If this issue of unemployment is addressed, the economy is enhanced and crime rate is reduced.
Eddie Ugbomah (veteran filmmaker)
Unfortunately, everything is upside down in Nigeria. In other parts of the world, entertainment gets better during recession. But because everything is upside down in Nigeria, entertainment is getting worse. When prices of foodstuff skyrocket, who has time to go to nightclub or to drink or to enjoy? It is a pity.
They (Buhari’s administration) are just ‘making mouth’ as if they know, but I don’t think they know anything and they don’t want to know. Recently, I suggested a national jingle against this crisis, but nobody in government replied me. Nobody said thanks for the idea or forget it. The ordinary people I showed it to were very enthusiastic about it.
It is only a fool that thinks he can fight four wars; they are fighting Niger Delta Avengers, Boko Haram, Biafra, no. I have written to them; I have sent text (messages) to the government. This is our country, and if we destroy it, we destroy ourselves and have nowhere to run to.
(This government) is not friendly to anybody; they are making a big mistake. They want to go it alone and it is impossible.
They just tied Nollywood down on MOPICON that is over 30 years old, and you are doing MOPICON without the original people. How can you be doing MOPICON without somebody like Zeb Ejiro, Eddie Ugbomah, Jimi Odumosun? I am talking about the originators of the industry. I have been talking about MOPICON for more than 28 years. I knew the value of MOPICON when every Dick, Tom and Harry were jumping in. When I brought up the idea, nobody answered. Now the whole thing has gone haywire. These South Africans have gone deep in our industry and have done more harm to Nollywood.
However, you cannot rate a man who met an empty house. It is left for him to stop looking back in anger and say, where do I go from here? What is wrong with APC (All Progressives Congress) is that they were so bent on taking the government and now they got the government, they don’t know what to do with it. The peace and unity story I wrote is how we can tell every Nigerian, whether Boko Haram, Delta Avengers or whoever, you have nowhere to run to, destroy (the country) and it is yourself you are destroying. Let us prick people’s conscience; let the word crush be the last language; crush this, crush that. How many of them are you going to crush?
The soldier in him is just too much. He forgets that he is wearing agbada. The unfortunate thing is that all his advisers are afraid to confront him and say, no, calm down.
Betty Abah (writer/social advocate)
A lot has remained the same, if not worse, in several sectors of the economy and country. Contrary to high expectations that there will be an astronomical rise in the fortunes of the arts, there is no spectacular form of support.
The government has been fixated on an anti-corruption fight to the negligence of other areas of the economy and national life. We are in recession mostly attributable to initial missteps of Buhari, who has been rigid and retrogressive in policy formulation. Of course, when the economy is limping, most people can barely feed, (hence) they would not have the luxury of patronising the arts.
Besides, the cruel demolition of the Artistes’ Village at the National Theatre (Iganmu) does a lot of damage to the government’s fragile image.
Hope Obioma Opara (festival director/publisher)
It is always a very challenging time when you change over to another government. But I want to give (the President) one more year to find out whether he will start implementing the promises he made.
I never voted for him; but because he is the President, we all have to support him.
If they have actually removed fuel subsidy, it will make me happy because it is only in Lagos and Abuja that you can get the correct price of fuel. It is sold at exorbitant prices everywhere else in the country. It is better you forget about subsidy because it is not meant for Lagos and Abuja.
On Fulani herdsmen, he is not tackling it at all. I don’t see the rationale behind cattle-rearers going around with AK47 rifles. Who gave them the AK47? Who taught them how to shoot? The grazing land they are talking about is out of place. Only Taraba and Niger states are bigger than the whole eastern states, including Cross River and Akwa Ibom. What they should do is fight desert encroachment they way it has been done in Dubai and other places.
I will not rate the President low because there are things that they are trying to do, which I believe if he can implement very well, Nigeria will move forward.
On the issue of energy, the government should start thinking like Tunisia by going into the development of solar energy. There is vast land in the North where solar panels can be displayed to attract the sun. In 2018, Tunisia will export substantial electricity to Europe. So the government should go that way to provide the elusive electricity for Nigeria.
Ras Kimono (veteran reggae musician)
He hasn’t done nothing. Without music in a country, the country is dead. He should carry musicians along, because anything they do in this country they involve musicians. During his campaigns, musicians were there. Whether you are mourning, you are happy, everything you do, music must be there.
They are not doing the right thing yet, because music is kind of secondary. When you are under pressure, music is not part of it. When you are under pressure, you think of shelter, food, health and the rest before music. Now, the government has not done all the others. (The President) has done nothing in the music sector, but we are not complaining yet because there are a lot of things in the economy he has not done. So music is a different matter. Until all that is done before we can even talk about music.