The Nation Newspaper

Category: Victor Akande

  • Koga next move is ‘The Visit’

    Producers of Heroes and Zeros, Koga Studios, are said to have concluded works on its next movie project, The Visit.

    Interestingly, the movie is a four-cast movie, starring Bayray Mcnwizu, Femi Jacobs, Nse Ikpe-Etim and Blossom Chukwujekwu.

    Directed by Funke Fayoyin, a source said, “The kind of efforts that went into the making of The Visit communicates intent. The producer, Koga Studios didn’t want to play small and they made it clear with the quality of investment in the project. For the first time, a production house is using two world-most expensive camera to shoot and has quality members of cast. That is huge.”

    Speaking on the production, Fajoyin was full of praise for the cast.  “Nse is phenomenon. Femi Jacobs has been fantastic. He’s the kind of actor who gives you what you want. Bayray has been enjoying meteoric rise and Blossom is the kind of actor we call director’s delight. Working on this project with this kind of investment is an honour. I can’t wait for this movie to be out. This is the kind of ambitious project Nollywood should do. Am proud of Koga Studios,” she said.

    The movie is expected to hit the cinema soon.

  • Fundraiser established for piracy-afflicted Russian film

    Fundraiser established for piracy-afflicted Russian film

    Following the leak of Golden Globe winner Leviathan’s on Russian piracy sites, a local producer unrelated to the film has set up a website to collect voluntary donations from those who have illegally downloaded the movie.

    In a situation that is highly unusual for the Russian film industry, independent digital producer Slava Smirnov set up the website Leviathan-film.ru, aimed at collecting donations, explaining his move as a desire to fight pirated distribution and make sure that users pay for online content.

    “Piracy harms production of content, so it’s vital that creators are compensated and online content is paid for in one way or another,” Smirnov said on his Facebook account. “I promise that all collected money will be handed over to the film’s crew.”

    The website was set up recently, and money collection ended February 5, Leviathan’s official release date in Russia.

    Alexander Rodnyansky, Leviathan’s producer, was quoted by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, as saying that the film crew had nothing to do with the initiative but welcomed it.

    “We are very grateful for this show of empathy,” he said, adding that all the cash collected through the website will be directed to the children’s charitable fund, Give Them Life, run by actress Chulpan Khamatova.

    Leviathan, arguably the most anticipated Russian movie in recent times, won the best screenplay award at Cannes and Russia’s first Golden Globe since 1969. The pirated online release of the movie, which deals with acute social issues, caused a massive discussion in the Russian press and the social media, with some people hailing it as a masterpiece and others accusing the film of presenting Russia in a negative light. Officials from the Russian government snubbed the movie, claiming that they had problems with the level of profanity in the film.

    A pirated copy of the film appeared on Russian torrents on January 11, just hours before Leviathan was announced as a Golden Globe winner in the best foreign language film category. Producers attributed the leak to a DVD sent to one of Academy members as Leviathan was also nominated for the best foreign language film Oscar.

  • Oscars brought the Academy $97.3 million in 2014

    Oscars brought the Academy $97.3 million in 2014

    The Oscars was said to have brought the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences $97.3 million in 2014. That figure was up slightly from 2013 when revenue from the Academy Awards and related activities like Governors Awards amounted to $93.7 million. The bulk of that income comes from the sale of broadcast rights  ABC has domestic rights to the show through 2020, while Disney’s Buena Vista International has the foreign TV rights through 2020.

    The Academy’s total 2014 revenues totaled $151.5 million, up from $134.4 million in 2013, the Academy said in its latest annual report. Total expenses also grew from $97.3 million in 2013 to $105.1 million in 2014. The report noted that in 2013, the Academy closed the sale on the Homewood land and the building it held in Hollywood, which had originally been acquired when the Academy planned to build a motion picture museum in Hollywood for $45 million, incurring closing costs of $622,700. In 2014, it completed the sale of a neighbouring piece of land on DeLongpre for $3.75 million.

    The Academy signed a lease agreement to build its new museum in the old May Co. building, belonging to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2012. According to the report, the base rent for the 55-year lease (which is renewable for another 55 years at no cost) is $28 million. During 2013, the Academy made $5 million in lease payments, and in December 2013 the lease was amended to include an adjoining parcel of land that increased the total base rent by $8.1 million.

  • Omoni Oboli speaks against election Violence

    Omoni Oboli speaks against election Violence

    As the nation begins the much-anticipated general elections, a lot has been said about the need to curb violence during the period.

    While concerned senior citizens, NGOs, political bodies and even international organisations have all lent their voices in the call for a violence-free election, palpable anxiety still rent the air.

    Adding her voice to the campaign, Nollywood actress, Omoni Oboli, is calling on all Nigerians to let peace reign and love their neighbour.

    “I love you! Yes you!!! It doesn’t matter who your choice is, I believe you have a good reason, just as I have for my choice. So, I respect and love you because you are my brother and my sister! I beg you, come out and vote! Your vote is your voice! It doesn’t matter how much noise you make on social media, if you don’t vote, you don’t count! But as you vote, shun election violence! Don’t let anyone push you to fight your brothers and sisters. We are one,” she posted on her Instagram page.

  • AGN and matters arising

    THE Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) has been enmeshed in leadership crisis, and this has existed for as long as the birth of the association itself. Suffice to say that the current development, a court injunction restricting Ibinabo Fiberesima from carrying on as AGN President, after almost three quarter of a two-term of four-year tenure, is a mere scene within a fertile storyline scripted as a never-ending serial.

    Let’s take a look at this statement by Justice Tsoho in respect of the case: “It is not in doubt that the parties in this suit are entertainers but the business of court is a serious one and it cannot be turned into a legal play and for this reason, the election is hereby declared null and void.”

    I have often heard of the phrase, ‘Better late than never’, but this judgment, to me, is not only late, but makes a huge fun of our judicial process. Unfortunately too, the process has again played into the hands of entertainers, whose part training, is to amuse. Incidentally, this is coming at a time in the political history of Nigeria, where so many dramas rent the air. I dare say that events have overtaken the freshness of this case, one which preceded the start of Ibinabo’s election in 2012.

    I think that these entertainers, in their honest obedience of Justice Tsoho’s ruling might not really turn this into a ‘legal play’ but may just explore some ‘legal politics’ with the matter. What do I mean?

    A court judgment delivered on October 26, 2011, had ordered that status quo be maintained by the then Segun Arinze-led exco and another faction of AGN led by Emeka Ike, which had the support of Kanayo O. Kanayo. However, in the face of that violation by the Segun Arinze administration, not only did his tenure hold sway as the faction to reckon with, they exhausted their term in office and organised the next election that produced IbinaboFiberesima.

    With such popularity and recognition that Ibinabo has received, considering her romance with Aso Villa, which has helped  most ailing members, enhanced the fortunes of others and garnered some goodwill for the guild, telling her to back off now would sound like a joke to her supporters who, I believe, constitute the majority of AGN members.

    Let it be clear that the suit that brought about this judgment was the one filed, not by Emeka Ike, but one St. MaradonaMikevine, who was the national treasurer in the then factional election that produced Emeka Ike as AGN President.

    Ike, in an earlier suit had challenged the formation of agovernment of ‘National Unity’, which brought Ibinabo to power. He had also sought an order of court reviewing the guild’s 2007 Constitution as it relates to the tenure of members of Board of Trustees (BOT), averring that the board, comprising: Mr Segun Arinze, Prince Ifeanyi Dike, Mr Emmanuel Oguguah, Mr Murphy Stephen, Mr Sunny McDon and Mr OkeyMcAnthony, had remained in office since July 13, 1999 when the guild was incorporated.

    I think that the relative peace that has existed within the guild should be maintained, while efforts are made by the leadership of the guild and warring parties to settle out of court. Apart from the provision in AGN’s constitution that does not support vacuum, it will take some more time to get a replacement for Ibinabo. And if the prayer by Ike that the guild’s 2007 Constitution be reviewed is granted, the process is expected to lead to a new resolution on the reformation of its BOT, new electoral procedures, and indeed, preparations for fresh elections.

    On the other hand, if Ibinabo decides to appeal the new judgment, which is likely to span another three years, by which time she would have completed her second term, the race becomes that of her successor to carry on. How long will this trend continue?

    However, considering that the AGN constitution says there should be no vacuum, Ibinabo’s loyalists have said she remains their national leader. In other words, they could decide to have her drop President, pending the appeal in court, while she continues her tenure under a nomenclature like AGN National Leader.

    In this game or drama or politics, I imagine the form which the appeal case would take and I see a situation whereby in retrospect, Segun Arinze could claim to have maintained status quo by not acting in the capacity of AGN President towards the tail end of his tenure, but as President of the National Unity of AGN, with the authorities of the BOT, thereby pleading the ‘sanctity’ of Ibinabo’s election as one borne out of the incontrovertible powers of the BOT rather than the controversial position of Segun Arinze, as AGN President.

    The matter is so complicated and I think members should read between the lines and embrace peace, because maintaining status quo could also mean going back to the regime of Ejike Asiegbu, who handed over to Segun Arinze. After all, the law, they say, is an ass.

  • Celebrating Peace on AMVCA stage

    While some would shy away from mentioning what they consider a rival brand on a particular similar platform, there are times it doesn’t just matter whose ox is gored.

    Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, founder of the prestigious Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) got a recurring mention on the stage of the glamorous Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA), broadcast across 50 African countries last Saturday.

    Of course, Peace, as she is simply called, couldn’t be said to have scored cheap publicity through those accolades; her name and that of her brand, have traversed Africa’s entertainment landscape in the last 10 years.

    Let’s take a look at how these people, whose lives have been affected positively by this philanthropist and Lawyer of passion for the entertainment industry, eulogised her.

    OC Ukeje who won the Best Actor (Drama) award, in his remarks, dedicated his award to Peace Anyiam-Osigwe for, not just providing a guide to his career path, but also helping him with such exposure that gave it a lift.

    “I want to dedicate this to people who support you when all you have is potential,” Ukeje said while receiving his award.  “…When all they can see is a diamond in the rough. I want to dedicate this award to a woman who opened my eyes to what I am doing now, who paid for my very first flight out of Nigeria to Berlin (Berlin International Film Festival, Germany). I want to thank you very much for all the support.”

    Cynosure of all eyes, KunleAfolayan, whose psychological thriller, October 1, carted home nine diadems, also had kind words for the AMAA boss.

    “…In lending much for the industry in one decade; that is Peace Anyiam-Osigwe of AMAA awards platform. AMAA was the platform that launched me with Irapada and I say thank you. I’ll never forget that.” He said, but not without thanking the first ‘thanker’, Ukeje. Afolayan said, “OC, thank you for recognising a wonderful woman who has done so much for the movie industry in Africa.”

    Dorothee Werner, a Programmer for Berlin International Film Festival had captured some of the impacts of Peace Anyiam-Osigwe inPeace Mission, an 85min Nollywood documentary which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2008.

    “All the filmmakers who have a say in ‘Peace Mission’ pursue a common vision of the future: To tell African stories through Africa’s own voice. ‘Peace Mission’ narrates the stories of this vision in an inspiring, lively and exceedingly intense manner,” said Lena Blaudez

    In line with Blaudez’s thought, the future is a journey in continuity. At each bus stop, there is a review of the starting point and how well the journey had fared. Today, part of that journey for this extraordinary woman, is the testimonies these individuals now give her; such reckoning which, in my estimation, all the government agencies in the entertainment industry put together have not earned. And she is just an individual. Such reflection also brings to mind, the journey of AMAA for a decade and what the brand has done to give Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the kind of tourism and hospitality industry glow it now enjoys.

    Bayelsa had hosted the award show for eight years and, no doubt, other guests from across Africa would recall that through the AMAAs, they got to know the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria and Lagos, Nigeria’s former capital and commercial hub of the country. These two, hosted the event at different occasions.

    Not many people knew that in almost every professional discourse that had kick-started what today is recorded as a milestone for Nollywood, Peace was either the convener or a leading voice. As a woman who stepped out of her robe as a lawyer to explore her passion for entertainment craft and business, not many knew that Nollywood practitioners began thinking futuristic with the birth of Filmmakers Cooperative of Nigeria, which was championed by this woman. Not many people also knew that Peace had a voice in the creation of Africa Magic channels, upon which the celebrated AMVCA is built. Her role in Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), the most successful film festival by a Nigerian to date, can also not be overemphasised.

    Interestingly, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe’s imprints cut across the movie and music industries, as not many knew that she gave P-Square a voice in their ‘struggling’ days. The cameras and other equipment used to shoot their Senorita video were sourced from this woman. One should not be surprised if, digging deep, we find one or two celebs from the visual and performing arts also attesting to her mark in those genres.

    My contact with Peace Anyiam-Osigwe was not different from the experience of OC Ukeje. All she needed to do in 2005 was to tell my then Editor at the defunct New Age newspaper, Mr. MuritalaSule, while they were together in faraway France, attending the annual Cannes International Film Festival was, ‘tell that your reporter to register for Cannes next year and I will sponsor his trip. He is such a dedicated and passionate reporter.’ And although my dreams for the prestigious Cannes did not work out in 2006 as planned, I was soon to find myself on the same flight with Peace, going for Sithengi Film Festival, in Cape Town, South Africa. Few months down the line, we were again on a chartered private aircraft to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, for the biennial Festival of African Cinema (FESPACO). The rest, today, is history. However, more than some of our elongated Nollywood films, my experience with Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, could fit well into part 2, 3 or more narratives.

    Today, she is on the street campaigning for a peaceful 2015 elections through another initiative called ‘No Baga’. Indeed, the industry is yet to the see the last from the visioner, whose umbilical cord seems buried in some virtual space of Nollywood.

  • Digital Migration: Lesson from Kenya

    KENYANS are already complaining about the semblance of a Greek gift in their country’s migration from analogue to digital television.

    In protest, four of Kenya’s main private TV stations; KTN, Citizen, NTV and its subsidiary QTV went off air recently in most of the country due to a row over the switch from analogue to digital transmission. State-run broadcaster KBC and K24 TV, which is owned by the family of President Uhuru Kenyatta, have remained on air.

    The analogue signal for the four TV stations grouped under the African Digital Network Consortium was turned off by the authorities, leading the media houses to switch off their digital signals in protest.

    They argued that there is need for more time to import their own set-top boxes that would distribute their content.

    The Communications Authority of Kenya says 60 percent of the people have now acquired a set-top box to receive a digital signal, wondering why the media houses would be dragging their feet.

    Although the media houses asked for 100 days extension to comply, the Supreme Court rejected the TV stations’ request.

    The Kenyan authorities are acting ahead of the June 17, 2015 deadline by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the global migration from analogue to digital broadcast. They argued that there is the need to test-run the operations and fix any glitches ahead of the June deadline.

    It will be recalled that neighbouring Tanzania went ahead with its digital migration on 31 December 2013, the first country to do so of the five members of the East African Community.

    Already, two providers – Signet, owned by the Kenyan government and PANG, a Chinese firm- are already in operation.

    This for a moment is where I paused to think about the implication of such a provider(s) in Nigeria.

    If you take into cognizance, a heated political period like now in Nigeria; a time when despite our constitutional standpoint, people are still wary of the extent of independence of the INEC, you would begin to imagine what the composition of our service providers will be under the digital TV regime.

    As laudable and ample as the spectrum of the digital model, its disadvantage lies in the regulatory platforms which has the tendency to stifle the operations and independence of private owned broadcast stations over some political differentials.

    Whereas under the analogue system, every broadcaster establishes, manages and maintains its transmission infrastructure, the digital system is not like that, because channels give up their signal distribution function and simply hand over their content to a licensed signal distributor for onward transmission to the viewer.

    In Kenya, as we have clearly seen, the government is a joint provider with a Chinese firm, which many suspect has some faceless Kenyans as shareholders.

    At the few fora held in Nigeria on the transition to digital TV, little or no attention was paid on whether or not the digital system will not deter the freedom of information and media independence that Nigeria is still trying to sustain.

    As it is now, if Channels has a problem with its transmitter, TVC would still be on air. If NTA switches off its signal, AIT would still continue with its normal broadcast. However, under the digital system, all the channels cede their signal to, for example, Startimes, which has affiliation with NTA, a government-owned television station.

    Beyond this seeming challenge, the advantages of digital transition are enormous, especially going by its more efficient use of frequencies and lower cost of setting up a TV channel, among others.

  • Cut! And filmmakers join the political dance drama

    Obviously, there is a lull in film production, but some filmmakers and actors appear far from being idle. And I am not talking about some political skits and lousy campaigns, detailing the achievement of some political parties  but the actors as campaign tools for the political parties.

    Well, maybe, this might excite some electorates and draw votes for the choice candidates of the actors; this may not be far-fetched for many electorates who are die-hard fans of some political parties and candidates.

    There is less impact on the part of actors who rarely follow their choice politicians around for public campaigns, except for their hard-hitting arguments and propaganda posts on the social media.

    There is no gain saying that the real voters; a good number of them for that matter are not on Facebook, BBM, Twitter etcetera. And except a politician does not think that the celebrities he has paid for his campaign need to deliver, he should let them go on a tour of house-to-house campaign.

    Interestingly, there are more dramas to behold from our filmmakers even if they chose to snub location at this time. While some remind you of the days of the travelling theatres when they go round performing for kings and the influential, the others talk behind themselves of how they are short-changed of the money collected by their colleagues from politicians.

    Incidentally, the music artistes appear to be the saner party in this momentary boom, earning clean pay from political song contracts.

    In all, are artistes asking the right questions from politicians? Are they concerned about the benefits that will come to the industry as a whole; about enabling environment and government policies that will help the growth of their craft?

    If you ask me, until there is full disbursement of the Distribution fund under the Project ACT Nollywood grant, the fund remains a dangling carrot; as the initial Capacity Building and Production funds are far less an achievement like the Distribution fund would be.

  • Judith Audu, Tope Tedela, others shine in ‘Plus 234’

    Judith Audu, Tope Tedela, others shine in ‘Plus 234’

    AS the year 2015 enters its second month, it is looking to be an interesting one for the TV entertainment. Joining the list of new productions is an exciting TV series titled Plus 234. With its focus on the upwardly mobile, the new television sitcom prods into the life of working class Nigerians and how they cope with being in an environment with same people for a minimum of eight hours a day, five days a week and every week and every year.

    Explaining the concept behind the movie, writer of the script, Lani Aisidi, says that it is basically about a call centre where they win accounts for corporate brands, especially telecom networks.

    “As different people come together with different personalities and different backgrounds, their personal lives begin to intertwine with the work environment. This naturally creates bonds, conflicts and drama. It breeds love, betrayal, office politics and laughter  all of which is captured in the television series,” he said.

    The drama is created by Lani Aisida and Soji Ogunnaike, and is co-produced by Oje Unuigboje. According to Unuigboje, airing for the 13 episode series begins next quarter.

    Plus 234 features Kiki Omeili, Tope Tedela, Tosyn Bucknor, Anthony Monjaro, Paul Alumona, Whochey Nnadi, Paul Utomi, Judith Audu and Bimbo Ademoye.

  • Reviving a distressed film industry

    THE Nigeria’s movie industry ails seriously; lying prostate and haemorrhaging! This means that it is at present, inactive, as a result of the profuse bleeding from its internal injuries. When a patient suffers from internal bleeding, the ailment is usually not known or visible to the outsiders. That precisely is the situation with the industry. To the unwary onlookers, the industry appears to be riding the crest of stupendous success, but that, in the technical term of the trade, is no more than a photo trick.

    Next to agriculture, the industry today is the largest employer of labour but given that it is largely unregulated and invariably taken as another platform for constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of expression, it has over time attracted the influx of those that saw it as an avenue of escape from their grinding poverty. They had in due course learnt the rudiments of the trade and now have nowhere else to go because their acquired skills can only make them relevant and functional only within the industry. The professionals, old and new, formally and informally trained, that constitute the upper echelon are equally stuck because their identities, basis of relevance and livelihoods are inextricably tied to the industry.

    All over the world, Nigerians are the only people, who when pushed to the wall, do not surge forward. Rather they make the wall gives way for them! This axiom attests to the legendary capacity of Nigerians to find their ways out of a corner no matter how tight! The ingenuity; hallmark of an average Nigerian, shaped the resolve of the various practitioners to have worked out different strategies to survive and because they continue to keep their heads above water, outsiders believe that all is still well with the industry.

    Reality on the ground differs significantly. The professionals in the upper echelon, now contending with dwindling incomes from their works have gathered resourceful group of youngsters around them and a thriving industry has been created, packaging glamorous events around their biographies, birthdays and longevity in the industry. To augment their earnings are the formal and informal public relations jobs they occasionally get to handle for their luckier friends in the private sector and governments. They are also into productions of documentaries, advertisements jingles and TV contents. The middle and lower levels cadres have perfected sycophancy into an art, eagerly serving as the lackeys of the elite, controlling productions and distribution to guarantee them the crumbs from the masters’ table as they are now regularly included in their productions, the pittance they receive notwithstanding!  The glitz and glamour of the industry continue to ensure constant fresh inflows of ladies aiming for their share of the industry’s stardom. They provide the new source of funding for almost all the new productions outside the traditional marketing elite investments.

    In passing, let it be quickly noted that this is not limited to Nigeria but the peculiarity of our situation embodies the tragedy of our case as distinct from what obtains in other climes. Whereas, the systems in both the Hollywood and Bollywood incorporate and require all such stardom-seeking entrants to adhere to certain modicum of professional ethics, Nigeria has no system at all, which is why we are daily confronted with storylines so banal and pedestrian; they offend all sensibilities since they are all about ego-pumping of the financiers. And finally, the sudden realisation of the corporate world to the crowd-pulling power of the stars have created a new source of employment for the top actors as solo comic acts and or corporate events’ anchors. All these taken together, give the impression of a flourishing industry, contrary to the sad reality on the ground.

    Having written reams of papers on the situation, I am minded to keep my counsels but two new developments have now forced my hands to intervene again. First is the continuous downward spiral of the oil prices; the mainstay of the economy which dictates that government urgently seeks alternative revenue earner for the country. The other is the submission of Dr. Joseph OkwuNnanna, the Deputy Central Bank Governor at his clearance session at the Senate. As an alternative revenue earner to oil, the choice of the entertainment industry is automatic since the recent expanded economic revaluation of the country was largely attributed to it. Therefore it is not so much to pamper the stakeholders but rather the need to commence the salvaging of the threatened future of the country that government now needs to immediately put in place policy to arrest the drift of the industry, revitalize and strengthen it. The major problem is the lack of auditable distribution structure which besides aligning the industry with the global best practices will also link it up with the local organised private sector as the most effective way to secure structured access to working capital for the practitioners to practice their trade. Of the three development banks owned by the federal government; Bank of Industry(BOI), Nigeria Export Import bank(NEXIM) and Bank of Agriculture, I will focus on NEXIM for the job of assisting the entertainment industry out of its present morass on account of the bank’s exclusive mandate to develop the Nigerian entertainment and creative products as exportable goods. Right now, the products cannot be gainfully exported because they don’t have requisite industry quality, real protection and they cannot have the needed protection unless and until there is an internal and manifestly auditable distribution structure. What is at stake now is not another intervention fund or grants but a decisive policy that will see the bank directly working with the stakeholders to implant and entrench the structure.

    Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country is not a small nation with 36 states and 774 constitutionally-listed local governments. The size of the country and the huge capital required to have and maintain presence in all the states, local governments and communities which going by INEC data is over 120, 000 is the reason why brave attempts by some individuals to evolve the structure is yet to bear fruits. The internal distribution system here canvassed is strictly for the physical public video distribution. Cinema houses, although essential, are not part of it because the focus is on the 99% of our producers whose output is Direct-To-Homes (DTH). The present intervention fund with BOI and NEXIM Bank are no more than special focus commercial loans which only those with acceptable collateral can access, while the Presidential grants, though laudable is no more than a block of ice in a cauldron; it is generating ripples but hardly enough to bring about any major impact!

    What is recommended is for NEXIM to be appropriately empowered to take the evolution of the internal distribution structure for our entertainment products as a deliberate medium range strategic policy that will end in the products eventually becoming regular exportable products as Nigeria’s immediate answer to the volatility of global oil prices and politics. But to appropriately empower NEXIM, we have to reckon with the submission of Dr.Nnanna at the Senate. Hear him; ”we just have to make up our minds as a nation on what we really need, bearing in mind that we cannot have the three things together. We cannot have a low interest rate, low inflation and strong currency at the same time. It is when we make up our mind that the CBN will pursue the policy for us. Since we have development banks like the Bank of Industry, NEXIM Bank, Bank of Agriculture, and so on, we can recapitalise all of them and mandate them to lend at a fixed interest rate for the entrepreneurs and other investors willing to invest in the Nigerian economy which for the purpose of this article should read exportable entertainment goods. “Government cannot force a private bank to lend at a fixed rate because it will take into consideration, the risk premium especially when most people have been borrowing without the intention of repayment.”  Now even government-owned banks too are operating under strict policy guidelines, and they cannot also go outside their respective mandates no matter how much their managers may privately identify with the yearnings of their environments.

    I am now saying that the government should as the CBN Deputy Governor has canvassed, appropriately empower NEXIM then give it a marching order to help the entertainment and creative industry implant a visible and auditable distribution structure. It is a sure way to salvage and secure our economic future; now heavily dependent on the depleting asset we call crude oil.

    –’Yinka Ogundaisi is a movie marketer and film policy consultant