The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Corps members bid colleagues farewell

    Corps members bid colleagues farewell

    Corps members in Bakassi Local Government Area, Cross River State, have organised a week-long event to mark the passing out of the 2013/2014 Batch “A”.

    The event brought corps members together and facilitated networking.

    It started with an endurance trek and drills by soldiers, after which a football match was organised between outgoing corps members and students of Ikang Central Government School.

    The youths also had the “swagger” Community Development Service (CDS), where they adorned traditional and old school attires.

    The event ended with a party, which lasted till dawn. The outgoing corps members could not hide their joy for completing the compulsory service.

    One of them, Solomon Arulogun, said: “I am happy that I was able to contribute my quota to the development of my host community. I had time with orphans and residents of my place of primary assignment. In a way, it was challenging living in a rural community. But, it was a nice experience and part of education for me.”

    He said life after service would not be a bed of roses,” adding: ”I am optimistic about life. I understand that life, sometimes, may not go the way we wish. But, with God on my side, I know all will be well with me.”

    For Uchenna Okeke it is an achievement. “I am elated that a particular phase of my life has been accomplished. For me, this is the best way to learn how to cope, tolerate and persevere,” she stated.

  • Doctors in the house

    Doctors in the house

    The College of Veterinary Medicine of the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, has  inducted its fresh graduates. ABIOLA SOLANKE and TUNDE ADEROUNMU (600-Level Veterinary Medicine) report.

    The men looked resplendent in their well-tailored suits; the women appeared gorgeous in their skirt suits. They are graduates of the College of Veterinary Medicine of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State set to take the oath of their profession to be administered by Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN).

    Of the lot that enrolled six years ago for the course, 26 were lucky to complete the programme.

    They smiled as they were joined by family members, friends and well-wishers for the induction at the Prof Mahmood Yakub Lecture Theatre.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof O.B Oyewole led other principal officers to the ceremony, which was attended by wife of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Bola, former General Overseer (G.O) of the Foursquare Gospel Church, Dr Wilson Badejo, VCN officials and veterinary medicine practitioners, among others.

    The Dean of the college, Prof R.O. Arowolo noted that the college had turned out over 130 graduates since inception. He urged the inductees not to tarnish the reputation of the profession. “Always seek for knowledge and make the best of your career,” he urged.

    The VCN president, Prof Garuba Sharubutu, who was represented by a senior VCN official, told the inductees to respect senior colleagues and pay attention to rules as they begin their practice. “One area that the council finds disturbing is lack of respect for senior colleagues and superiors in the profession by the younger ones. You must avoid that. Also, you must be very conversant with the rules governing the veterinary profession,” he advised.

    President of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association Interim Management Committee, Prof Onifade Tomori, represented by Dr Kunle Abiade of Pet Care Services, urged the graduates to improve on the knowledge they learnt in school, saying they must always be conversant with new techniques.

    He said: “The knowledge you have received is just the foundation; you are expected to improve on it. You must be abreast of the trend on the field and make a success of it. You need to continually develop yourself because the practice of today is different from what we had 10 years ago.”

    He added: ”You must uphold the culture of excellence the university is known for.”

    Prof Oyewole said: “Just as you have been advised, you must have mentors and define what you want to achieve with this profession. You need to be courageous and be change agents in your environment. You must distinguish yourselves as professionals and uphold excellence which the university is known for.”

    The highpoint of the occasion was the administration of the veterinary oath on the graduates. The session was performed by Dr Amang Markus Avong, VCN Registrar, who was represented by the Deputy Registrar, Dr Josiah Kantiyo. The ceremony also featured awards of excellence to private veterinary practitioners and fund raising for the furnishing of the newly-built Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

    The best graduating student, Miss Jahsola Quadri, who spoke on behalf of her colleagues, thanked their lecturers and parents for labouring to make their dreams come true. “We thank the management, the college authorities, our parents, friends, and well–wishers for the roles they played in ensuring that we are being inducted today. We specially appreciate our parents for the financial support,” she said.

    She was awarded N50,000 as cash-prize for being the best graduating student.

    Other guests at the ceremony included Dr Tunde Lawal, Managing Director of Turner Wrights Limited; Dr Musa Alasa, Chief Executive Officer of Adamore Nigeria Limited; Dr Tunde Agbato, President, Animal Care Consult; Dr Dotun Sorunke, Director, Ogun State Veterinary Services and Dr O.B. Adedeji of Vet Public Health, University of Ibadan.

     

     

  • The Wendell Simlin scandal

    Mr. Agbo Agbo, I hope you are following the Wendell Simlin scandal closely,” an anonymous caller asked me last week. “Wendell Simlin? I asked, I’m sorry you are calling the wrong number.” I was about hanging up, but he persisted and said: “I am one of ‘Nigeria’s promising youths’ that read your articles in The Nation Newspaper and I am sure I’m calling the right number.” “Okay sir,” I replied, “What can I do for you?” That was how I got to know about what is now termed the Wendell Simlin scandal. So, what is all the fuss about anyway?

    Well, the fuss is both revealing and embarrassing because of the purported actor involved. It turned out that Wendell Simlin – who some smart young Nigerians later claim, is Pastor Reno Omokri, Special Assistant on New Media to President Goodluck Jonathan – sent an email through wendellsimlin@yahoo.com with an attached Microsoft Word document on Wednesday, February 26, this year. The recipients of the email were selectively picked newspaper houses and bloggers. In the email, Simlin tried to create a ‘believable’ and logical chain of events between the suspension of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and the increased spate of terror attacks in the northeast. Simlin’s goal and intention in the article were clear: paint the suspended CBN governor as a major financier of Boko Haram and a veteran terrorist. Since Sanusi’s last port of call before becoming the CBN governor was First Bank of Nigeria plc, He cleverly linked him to Alhaji Umaru Abdul-Mutallab, who was chairman when Sanusi was MD/CEO of the bank. Why this linkage, you may ask?

    Rewind to 2009 and you will recollect that Alhaji Abdul-Mutallab is the father of Umar Farouk Abdul-Mutallab popularly referred to as the “Underwear Bomber.” You will also recollect that the younger Abdu-Mutallab was convicted of attempting to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board a Northwest Airlines Flight en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, United States on Christmas in Day, 2009.

    The fact that Alhaji Umaru Abdul-Mutallab was the first person to report his son to the American authorities after observing some extremist tendencies in him was not taken into consideration by Wendell Simlin, who still portrayed him as a terrorist, hoping that the elder Abdul-Mutallab’s previous relationship with Sanusi would make his argument more believable and stick.

    I later found out that twitter sphere and other social media sites had been awash with the scandal. It started when one of the recipients of the purported email, Feyi Fawehinmi, with twitter handle (@DoubleEph) checked the properties of the document sent by Wendell Simlin. The revelation was staggering: the author was Pastor Reno Omokri – the pastor of the Mind of Christ Christian Centre in California and Abuja. Yes, Reno Omokri, the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on new media! His findings indicated that the computer on which the document was prepared was registered with the name “Reno Omokri.”

    It later became evident that the mail was sent by “Reno Omokri” because of digital footprints that the Microsoft Word document and the Internet Protocol address revealed. Expectedly, “Tweeples” on Twitter last week were raw in attacking him for his “unethical use of the new media.” It was, therefore, not surprising that the hashtag #Wendellgate trended on twitter.

    Could this allegation be true? This is the million naira question that is begging for answers. Nigerians on twitter and beyond are worried that in the face of renewed and bloody onslaught of Boko Haram – which, according to Amnesty International, has left 600 dead in just two months – someone will be aiming at scoring cheap political points with no foundation. So far, and to the best of my knowledge, the Presidency has not issued a statement on the issue and Pastor Omokri is still tweeting on behalf of the government.

    If the allegations are true – the facts that stare us in the face points to that – then questions will arise: did Omokri act alone? Is he merely writing the script of an oga at the top somewhere? No matter how things are in the country, I cannot expect the Presidency to stoop to be part of an amateur smear campaign like this. This notwithstanding, could it be that some members of the cabinet are throwing everything they can at perceived political enemies?

    If we work on the theory that the Presidency cannot stoop this low, how come there has not been a comment from there? There is the possibility of Omokri acting alone. If he did act alone, why hasn’t he been sanctioned, sacked or suspended pending investigation?

    To show that you don’t mess around with the World Wide Web, Omokri’s profile on Wikipaedia now carries this information with hyperlinks. The last sentence of his profile reads – “In February 2014, New York-based Sahara Reporters linked him (through his IP address and email address) to a fake document purportedly used as evidence by Nigeria’s President to sack Nigeria’s Central Bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.” That’s it for you.

    The new media is part of the www ecosystem. It is immense, colossal and rich. Its contents are also historical materials that can be assessed by coming generations. Besides its historical value, it is also largely the story of people and their activities. Our inevitable dependence on new media means that its shadow is constantly with us; except that this shadow has a footprint to tell us – as well as those who care to know – that we have been somewhere. It also carries with it the ability to be specific. In some of the platform, you cannot hide or run away from it or have an alibi because it can tell the exact time you were in cyber space, what you did and for how long you did it.

    If you think you’re inconsequential then undertake a Google search of your name if you’ve ever done anything on the www. Called a vanity search, it will show you your footprints. The naïve would ask: Does Google knows me! It, he or whatever knows you because what you find is the visible footprints you have left behind. There are however the invisible ones that would take various levels of new media knowledge to unlock and access, but be sure it can be unlocked.

    For every time we like a page on Facebook or leave a comment on a site that one feels no one knows we visit, we leave a trail behind. Sadly or happily, the Internet has a memory that is sharper than that of an elephant! Online digital footprint is real. Nothing that is put out in the cyber space disappears. It stays there forever. Our digital footprints can only hurt us or enhance our work

    With the social media for example, users should never assume that what they post or share will only be seen by a few individuals. Going back to delete the post, as we have seen on several occasion, is not a guarantee that it is no longer online. It only takes one click on the ‘Print Scr’ key to retrieve documents.

    Of all the things in the world to use to ‘implicate’ an opponent why a government representative would chose terrorism beats me. Terrorism is not something to toy with. Countries such as Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and others, will tell you in clear language that it is not child’s play as it is becoming evident in Nigeria. Advanced countries such as US and the United Kingdom with superior intelligence and technological capabilities have suffered heavy casualty and spent billions of dollars fighting terror. If this scandal is found to be true Omokri must apologise to Nigerians, especially to those who have lost loved ones to Boko Haram attacks.

    As I tried all through last weekend to digest this unfortunate incident, I came to the conclusion that we are really living in interesting times, and that our youths are definitely no push overs. We still have young Nigerians who stand for something, Nigerians who know the potential that their country have and are doing all in their very limited capacities to cause change, no matter how little the change may turn out to be. These young and courageous Nigerians will definitely have their finest hours in the years that lie ahead.

     

  • A sweet goodbye

    A sweet goodbye

    The National Association of Imo, and Ebonyi States’ Students (NAIAESS) has organised a send-off party for members.  The event was held at the Urban and Regional Planning Department.

    In his address, Chairman on the occasion Prof C.I. Owuama congratulated the graduating students for successfully concluding their studies. He advised them to be submissive and humble.

    He stressed the need for hard work, saying it was important for the realisation of their dreams.

    “We Ibos are known for our hard work, and nothing pays like hard work. There is dignity in labour,” he said.

    The highlight of the occasion was the presentation of certificates to the graduating students, cultural dance, plucking of the farewell fruit and presentation of awards to deserving members of the association.

    Those given awards included Dr Bamanga Ribadu,  Joseph Tivary and Uche Kalu, who are lecturers in the Department of Information Technology and Industrial Design.

    Others were Ekwuzie Osondu Victor, Bappare Mohammed, Chidebere Offordieze, Valentine Uzoma and Dr Jival Panama, who was posthumously honoured.

    Speaking on behalf of the recipients, Dr Ribadu thanked the organisers  for finding them worthy of the awards, promising to support the association.

    Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Chairman of the organising committee Ekwuzie thanked God for the success of the event, in spite of financial difficulties.  He called on members to strive for academic excellence and to keep the association united.

  • Propagating the gospel

    Propagating the gospel

    Despite security challenge in Adamawa State, members of the Winners’ Campus Fellowship (WCF) of the Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH) in Yola went on evangelism to the neighbouring Lainde town. PHILIPS OGBAJE  (500-Level Information Technology) writes.

    Lainde Town, about two kilometres from the Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH) in Yola, Adamawa State, received members of the Winners’ Campus Fellowship (WCF) last Saturday, who were on an evangelical mission.

    Despite the security challenge in the state, residents trooped to the open field, where the crusade tagged: Lainde Night of Grace was held. The programme started at 6pm with songs of praise, worship and exhortations. After a few hours, it was time for a healing session and altar call.

    In his sermon, Chris Enemaku, supervising pastor of the fellowship and a 400-Level Building Technology student, told the congregation that a man could only be called the child of God when he is born again. Quoting Mathew 11:28, Enemaku said the aim of the devil was to kill, steal and destroy the humanity, adding that God sent a messiah to redeem people from the path of eternal destruction.

    The student-pastor told the crowd that going to church or sowing seed did not mean one could be saved, noting that being born again and baptised were the conditions for anyone to be totally saved. He exhorted the faithful to turn away from evil and embrace God, because “He is always ready and willing to forgive and accept us as his children”.

    Mr Wilson Beni, a resident, praised the students for bringing the crusade to the town, saying it was first of its kind in Lainde. “This crusade is first in the history of this village. God has manifested in our lives today through this revival,” he said, praying for God’s blessings on the members of the fellowship.

    Another resident, Rejoice Ayuba said she learnt of the crusade late, but was surprised by the large crowd that gathered at the venue. She said: “I felt the presence of God in my life despite my lateness.” She urged the students not to stop visiting the town in order to “bring Christ closer to the people”.

    Enemaku said the inspiration to organise the crusade came from the Bible verses he read, which says: “Go out to the world and proclaim the good news.” According to him, the gospel of God is to “too precious” to be hidden, which was why he decided to take members of the fellowship for the crusade in Lainde Town.

    He thanked God for the success of the programme and praised members that ensured the success of the crusade. Enemaku attributed the turnout to the work of the Holy Spirit and love the residents had for God. “The rush was so much that we lost count during the alter call,” he added.

    Blessing Ekato, a final year Management Technology student, said she attended the crusade to support the Enemaku and to be of help. She said the turnout showed that the residents needed the presence of God in their community.

    For Hope Ayuba, a 300-Level Computer Science, the crusade gave her an opportunity to serve God and win souls for Christ. “I promised God to serve him this year and the crusade gave me an opportunity to do that,” she said.

  • The price of peace

    The price of peace

    The greatest evil in the world today is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference towards one’s neighbour who lives at the roadside assaulted by exploitation, corruption, poverty and disease.” – Mother Teresa

    In every civilisation, humanity witnesses countless wars. We have endured, for centuries, episodes of tyranny, anarchy and murder. Beyond doubt, the quest for power, economic independence, psychological wellbeing, technological freedom as well as territorial dominance can be said to be raison d’etre for the conflicts and rivalries that have ruined our world today.

    However, with increasing knowledge and wisdom, war is proving to be the least option in the quest for political dominance. If war is supposed to be less fashionable, then I must hastily ask these questions: Will our world ever be devoid of wars, genocide crimes, terrorism, tribal clashes and communal conflicts? Particularly, when will Nigeria be released from the shackles of oppression, torment and grief? When will Middle-East know peace?

    I can remember that tales of wars and battles were captured in the Holy Bible, which gives accounts of how empires were destroyed, how troops were conquered on battlefields and how thrones and dominions were overthrown. This means that from time immemorial, the world has not known peace. Why is peace elusive? What then is meant by peace?

    Peace can be described as a state of civil harmony, societal sanity, mutual co-existence between immiscible tribes and cordial interrelationship between societies, communities and countries of the world. In other words, peace means freedom from conflict or disagreement among people or groups of people. Where there is no peace there cannot be development. But how can we seek an end to wars, if it serves as an avenue for political propaganda and a means to generate wealth?

    Nigeria is not the realm of peace. Daily, we hear news of bloodbath and gory narratives of massacres. We are held hostage by agents of lawlessness, who have in recent years shatter the tranquility we enjoy as a nation. In our search for peace, our leaders throw money at every cause of our problem. The question then is: how much do we have to pay to enjoy peace?

    In the wake of the pervading insecurity rocking the Northeastern part of the country, General Yakubu Gowon said: “What is happening today is not the kind of country we inherited and for us, it cannot be the North we desire to bequeath to the children. The present state of the Northern Nigeria was not bequeathed to us neither are our children responsible for it.”

    For turning that otherwise peaceful region to a theatre of war, our founding fathers will never forgive us. This is a country they laboured to build. They wanted us to live in a society anchored on equity, justice and accountability. But these values have disappeared. Our roofs are on fire with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

    We wake up each day with fear that insecurity may consume this country. This is a country that had once witnessed economic prosperity and quality leadership and peace. In fact, tolerance was the very pillar that defined our existence.

    What then happened to peace, unity, harmony and progress? I thought those were our trademarks as a nation; what happened to our belief in unity in diversity? The country I grew up to know unexpectedly has changed before my eyes; the dreams of our youths are short-lived, even the younger generations are not allowed to exercise their patriotism anymore.

    As terrorism creeps into the country, tyranny becomes the order of the day. From incessant blowing up of our towns, cities, universities, media houses, and religious temples, we have witnessed suicide bombings and killing of innocent people for no just cause.

    Yet attempts to dialogue with the culprits hardly become successful. As we march forward in our struggle to regain harmony, we should not be swayed by the lackadaisical attitude put up by the ruling class towards the attainment of this goal. Rather, all hands must be on deck to collectively advocate the need for a peaceful co-existence with one another regardless of ethnic, tribal and religious differences. This is the price we all have to pay for peace to reign in Nigeria.

    Let us promote the cause of peace to honour our fellow compatriots, who have lost their lives in the course of making Nigeria a united nation. There is no great nation that did not pass through its own trying times. This is perhaps ours; and we should strive to survive it. I believe our action today can end hostilities across the land.

    Tolulope, 400-Level Urban and Regional Planning, FUT MINNA

     

  • Association gets leaders

    The Osun State Students’ Union (OSSU) has elected its national leaders to pilot the affairs of the association for the 2014/2015 academic year.

    The election was held at the Royal Glory Hotel, Oke-Baale, Osogbo, the State’s capital. The election, which was conducted by the Ayobami Odeyinka-led Electoral Commission was monitored by security personnel.

    Waheed Omisakin emerged as President. Other incuded Adetunji Oduyemi, Vice President I; Omolola Akindele, Vice President II, Olumuyiwa Ogunleye, Vice President III, Daniel Akande, General Secretary; Oladele Makinde, Assistant General Secretary; Nurudeen Adeleke, Treasurer; Oluwayemi Popoola, Welfare Director and Lukman Olatoye, Director of Social.

    During the campaigns, Odeyinka warned the aspirants to do away with any act capable of truncating the electoral process, urging the electorate to comport themselves responsibly.

    “I urge candidates to maintain decorum and orderliness throughout the elections. Defaulters will be appropriately sanctioned,” he said.  In his acceptance speech, Omisakin thanked voters for giving him their support, saying, “I appreciate you everyone from every local government and higher institutions of learning across the country for making today a historic one. I thank you for electing me to serve you in the next one year. I promise to walk the talk.” He said he would ensure the provision of a bus for the union, creation of permanent secretariat, promoting the welfare of members, adding that he would bridge the gap between the Osun State Government and students.

    A former president of the association, Tolulope Babatunde urged the new executive to unite and work as a team for the interest of the students.

  • The return of terror

    The return of terror

    After a lull, terrorists have returned in full force. Bombs are booming again in the Northeast. In the renewed hostility, more than 300 hundred have been killed by insurgents. Last week, suspected Boko Haram members went on a gory campaign in Buni Yadi in Yobe State. When the dust of the operation settled, 43 pupils of the Federal Government College in the town lay dead.

    Fear has again engulfed the northern states. Since the eruption of violence in the region, following the 2011 election, the Northeast has continued to search for an elusive peace. Lives are being lost; properties burnt.

    Like never before, everyone in the North feels the threat; people cannot sleep with their two eyes closed. Peace has become a nightmare. I recall an incident in my school, Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Sokoto (UDUS). An air-conditioned gadget developed a mechanical fault in the university library, a deafening sound that came from the device sent students and staff running. They thought it was a bomb. Students were injured in the chaos.

    This made the management to convene an emergency security meeting. For many institutions in the North, the fear of Boko Haram is the beginning of wisdom. But it was only a drill in UDUS. Bayero University, Kano (BUK) and Gombe State University (GSU) literally turned to war scene when Boko Haram detonated their tools of death. The incidents left many dead.

    In spite of these security breaches, action of the president, who is supposed to work to ensure peace, can aggravate the security situation in the beleaguered region. A few weeks ago week, President Goodluck Jonathan visited the Seat of the Caliphate for his Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) rally. Thousands of youths thronged the street of Sokoto brandishing dangerous weapons and chanting war songs, threatening an attack on anyone who dared to oppose the PDP. It was a tensed atmosphere.

    There were reports of harassment of innocent citizens, who were trapped in traffic caused by visit of the president along the Usmanu Danfodiyo University new road. Even the presence of armed security operatives did not deter them from issuing their threat. For the period, tranquility in the neighbourhood was shattered.

    I am sure the president is aware of the fragility of the peace in the North since the Boko Haram mayhem began. As the chief security officer of the country whose responsibility is to protect the lives of citizens and also maintains the security of the county should know that threats by political thugs in rallies such as the one in Sokoto can only lead to more violence.

    If the security of the country is giving a priorty before anything, President Jonathan should have cautioned his supporters whose threat could set the nation on fire.

    We don’t need to heat up the already overheated polity. The North is yet to recover from the countless attacks perpetrated by the Boko Haram sect. The victims of Bama massacre and genocide in the School of Agriculture in Yobe are still crying for justice. The Christmas day bombing in Madalla, where 44 worshipers were wantonly killed is still fresh in our memory. The UN house bombing in Abuja where 23 people died has yet to disappear. How many more threats can we entertain?

    There have been claims that some people in government sponsor violence. If this is so, the ‘untouchable’ people can as well take advantage of the threat by the thugs to unleash mayhem on innocent people under the guise of Boko Haram.

    The prediction by some analysts that Nigeria may breakup in 2015 may be as a result of the conduct of politicians in the build up to the general election. The president has told us many times that the unity of this country is not negotiable. He must match his word with action.

    Youths being used as thugs in political rallies can metamorphose into monsters, thereby recruiting like-minded people to the criminal venture. How will this set of youths be useful for development and unity of the country? We have a task on our hands to ensure that peace is returned to all volatile areas of the country. The first thing to do here to devise means to tackle the insurgency threatening our collective existence. Then, politicians must engage the growing population of youths productively instead of using them as thugs to attack their enemies. The onus to keep Nigeria as one lies on our action today.

     

    Ibrahim, 400-Level, UDUS

  • Students elect union leaders today

    The management of the Kogi State University (KSU) has set up a 16-member committee to conduct the 2013/2014 Students’ Union Government (SUG) elections billed for today.

    Members of the Electoral Committee include Dr N.E Daluba, Chairman; Dr M.B.S. Jibrin, Deputy Chairman; Mr S. J. Sheneni, Secretary.  Others are Dr Y. Abdullahi, Dr Ken Eneojo, Mr J. U. Amodu, Major M.J. Adama, Dr. Faith Saleh, Dauda Yunus, Salifu Samuel, Bebeyi Peters, Ikuenayo George, Dele Bebeyi and Seidu Ejura. The committee has released the election time table and also started the sales of nomination forms.

    Dr Daluba said the committee would do its best to ensure credible polls. Students told CAMPUSLIFE that the election should be free and fair.

  • Nollywood: The cry for good movies

    Nollywood: The cry for good movies

    Since the inception of film production in Melbourne, Australia in 1906, the film industry has, over the years, experienced rapid growth, which has made it to become one of the biggest in the world today. The sector has enjoyed huge successes all over the world, boasting of several billions of dollars in the film market.

    Another successful industry is the American film industry, which is referred to as Hollywood. It came into existence in 1913 with the production of Squaw man. About a century into the business of film production, the Hollywood has witnessed an upward swing in sales, viewership and number of movies produced. Same story can be told of other big names in the industry such as India, Japan, Hong Kong and France.

    In recent times, however, the quality of films being produced has been a major source of concern for many viewers and stakeholders. While some think of quality in view of costs and technology associated with the production of a movie, others see it differently. The latter would rather see quality in terms of the content of the movie. Quality, no matter how you choose to define it, remains a major determinant of the success of any movie industry.

    Recently, I took a look into the average cost associated with movie production and I was startled to discover that while an average Hollywood film would cost over $50 million, an average Nigerian movie only costs a paltry $20,000!

    Unbelievable, isn’t it? Well, while some would blame the rather cheap cost of movies in Nigeria on favourable factors like cheap labour and location, it will also be right to say factors such as cheap equipment, the crudeness of the plays and, more importantly, the fact that most Nollywood movies are made via the straight to video production method are responsible for the low quality. It will also interest readers to know that analogue cameras are still being used in the Nigerian film industry.

    Surprising is the alarming rate of chauvinism as depicted by the ever- growing Nigerian populace towards such movies; this is evident in the massive sales and support enjoyed by Nigerian film makers. While interacting with people, I found it rather interesting to discover that most admirers of these numerous Nollywood junks hinge their admiration on the so-called family orientation and cultural values they depict.

    Isn’t it quite laughable that Nigerians are gullible? In as much as I appreciate our cultural values and heritage, it is no enough reason for me to throw my weight behind craps being churned out on daily basis by countless Nollywood producers. I think proponents of the whole “family affairs” stuff should check out one or two Mexican or Philippine movies and see how professionally movies can be done without sidelining one’s cultural values.

    There is a popular cliché that says: “It is not how far but how well”. Indeed, I applaud the successes recorded so far by the Nigerian movie industry, most importantly her marketing prowess, which has seen the industry plunge into the global scene and become the second largest in the world in terms of the number of movies released annually and also the second largest employer of labour in Nigeria with a net worth believed to be around $3.25billion. However, it must be stated clearly that the industry still has a long way to go if it is to meet up with other advanced film industries across the world, at least outside Africa in terms of the quality of our films.

    To achieve this, I think it is high time stakeholders in the industry sat to map out ways to improve the quality of our movies; this would set a paradigm shift from the archaic, crude and on-location production to a more sophisticated cinematic (in-studio) production. It is only when this is done that the criticism of the Nollywood critics would be unjustified.

     

    Joseph, 300-Level Business Administration, UNIBEN