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Tag: programmes

  • Osinbajo heads policies, programmes, projects audit panel

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday approved the constitution of the Policies, Programmes and Projects Audit Committee.

    He named Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as the chairman.

    A statement by the Permanent Secretary (General Services Office), Olusegun Adekunle, listed members of the committee, Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari; Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF) Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, Budget & National Planning Minister Senator Udo Udoma and Finance Minister Mrs. Zainab Ahmed.

    Others are: Power, Works & Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola; Attorney General of the Federation & Minister of Justice, Abubakar Mallami; Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment Okechukwu Enelamah; Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development Audu Ogbe.

    Read also: Nigeria youngsters impressive at qualifiers despite failing to pick AJC tickets

    Also in the committee are: Minister of Water Resources, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, National Security Adviser, Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office and Deputy Chief of Staff to the President is a member and secretary of the committee.

    The terms of reference include:

    To audit and determine the status of implementation of policies, programmes and projects either inherited or commenced by the out-going administration

    Identify and highlight a residue of works and challenges that may militate against their successful implementation;

    Prepare and produce a detailed working document that would guide the incoming cabinet members on the direction of government regarding policies, programmes and projects;

    Co-opt any organisation(s)/person(s) relevant towards the successful execution of the exercise; and

    Make any other recommendation(s) as may be necessary.

    Members of the committee are to be inaugurated on Friday at the Conference Room of the Vice President Office.

  • Osinbajo heads Policies, Programmes, Projects audit committee

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the constitution of the Policies, Programmes and Projects Audit Committee.

    Chairman of the committee is the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo.

    Members of the committee, according to a statement by Olusegun Adekunle,

    Permanent Secretary (General Services Office), are Chief of Staff to the President, Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Minister of Finance.

    Others are Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Hon. Attorney General & Minister of Justice, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Minister of Transportation, Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development.

    Also in the committee are Minister of Water Resources, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, National Security Adviser, Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office and Deputy Chief of Staff to the President is a member and secretary of the committee.

    Read also: FG constitutes 2019 Presidential Inauguration Committee

    The Terms of Reference include “To audit and determine the status of implementation of policies, programmes and projects either inherited or commenced by the out-going Administration;

    “Identify and highlight a residue of works and challenges that may militate against their successful implementation;

    “Prepare and produce a detailed working document that would guide the incoming Cabinet Members on the direction of Government regarding policies, programmes and projects;

    “Co-opt any organization(s)/person(s) relevant towards the successful execution of the exercise; and

    “Make any other recommendation(s) as may be necessary.”

    The date of Inauguration of the committee is Friday 15th March 2019 at the Vice President’s Conference Room.

  • ‘Set up leadership programmes in varsities’

    First female Vice Chancellor of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State Prof Aize Imouokhome Obayan has advised the National Universities Commission (NUC) to encourage the establishment of schools of governance/leadership as well as leadership development screening in universities.

    She made the suggestion in her inaugural lecture at CU at the weekend.

    She sought the establishment of a leadership academy in each of the six geo-political zones. This, she argued, would kick-start a revolution in right leadership which is critical to development.

    Obayan spoke on the topic: ‘Lengthening cords and strengthening stakes: Leadership praxis and transcendence in counseling practice”

    As the first female VC of CU and the first VC of two private universities  (CU and Landamrk University, Omu Aran,  Kwara State), and  the Education Secretary of Living Faith Worldwide, Mrs Obayan said her forays into management positions gave her the impetus into leadership lacuna in Nigeria and Africa.

    Mrs Obayan listed four leadership gaps – absence of committed drive to leadership agenda; poor amount of leadership in a particular system to drive agenda; inability of a system to cultivate right leadership and miseries genda divide which often places females at the lower rung of leadership ladder.

    Obayan, a professor of Counselling, lamented that the  country has continued to demonstrate negative tendencies, adding that there is a surge in crime, insecurity, ritual killings, kidnapping and terrorism and poverty, indices that mark development.

    “Nigeria ranks 152 among the 188 United Nations member-states in the latest Human Development Index for 2017. Nigeria in the last 50 years has been battling problems of development in spite of huge human, natural and material resources in her possession. Development is critical and essential to the growth of any action, and the quality of leadership plays a critical role in seeing to the fulfillment of such developmental aspirations. In addressing this, the state of leadership will need to be strengthened and the cords that bind the parts together lengthened”

    The don argued against the popular notion that the Nigerian family is extended.

    According to her, rather than being ‘extended’, it is ‘extensive” as the family takes into description from the ancestral ties. This is in sharp contrast to the West where extended family is broken down by edges of separation from the individual.

    This, Mrs Obayan illustrated via a ‘cobweb concept’ which, she said, aside being secure, plays an absorbing and supportive role.

    “The cobweb concept shows that the family, in formation, is like a cobweb which, no matter at what angle or spot it is touched, vibrates to the centre. The extensive family in Nigeria serves as a secure and holding base, playing shock-absorbing role in portraying the care and supportive nature of the Nigerian family and its members.”

     

  • Agric programmes now tuition-free at LMU

    Chancellor and Chairman, Board of Regents, Landmark University (LMU), has approved  free tuition for all Agricultural programmes in the university with the effect from the 2018/2019 academic session.

    This was contained in a special announcement made by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adeniyi Olayanju, at the university’s General Friday Faculty Fellowship penultimate Friday.

    The agricultural programmes are: Crop Science, Animal Science, Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness Management, Environmental & Natural Resources Economics, Aquaculture & Fisheries Management, Tourism and Recreation, Horticulture and Landscape Management, and Agricultural Engineering.

    “All our agricultural programmes are now tuition free, effective 2018/2019 academic session,” Olayanju announced to the excitement of the students.

    Olayanju, who praised  Oyedepo and the entire members of the Board of Regents for this generosity of spirit, added that the students  were still expected to pay other components of the school fees through the payer-friendly mode of payment in two instalments.

    He said the gesture did not only validate Oyedepo’s support for attracting youths to sustainable agriculture and its value chain, but also the actualisation of the vision of Landmark as an institution borne out of a passion for change from uncomplementary identity of Africa to the transformation of the black race across the globe.

    “We, therefore, crave to see this change take place in our land and in our time. We are committed to making agriculture a more attractive and profitable venture,” Olayanju added.

    He decried the poor involvement of youths in agriculture, which he attributed to the lack of interest in farming. He  lamented that majority of the farmers were aged, especially women who populate agricultural practice, noting that any profession that suffers dearth of apprentice is on the verge of extinction.

    “There cannot be a better time to attract and inspire youths to demonstrate youthfulness and usefulness by getting actively involved in agriculture and its value chain for the sake of posterity and prosperity of our nation and Africa at large,” Olayanju continued.

    “In line with our vision to restore the dignity of the black race, Landmark University has a cluster of other established programmes in science, engineering and management as well as relevant facilities in readiness for the training of interested admission seekers into these programmes starting from the next admission exercise.

    ‘’However, it is custom in the Landmark University context for all students to be agriculture-oriented irrespective of their field of study. All students acquire additional skills and certificates upon graduation with a view to breaking new grounds in providing solutions to the world agricultural needs,” the VC added.

  • Fed Govt spends N158b on social investment programmes

    Fed Govt spends N158b on social investment programmes

    The Federal Government has spent N158 billion on its Social Investment Programmes (SIP) in the last two years, the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment Programmes, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, said yesterday.

    But this is only 15.8 per cent of the N1 trillion budgetary allocation for SIP in the 2016 and 2017 budgets.

    Mrs. Uwais addressed  State House correspondents at the end of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting,  chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

    The President’s aide was flanked by Bauchi State Governor Mohammed Abubakar and Lagos State Deputy Governor Dr. Oluranti Adegbule.

    She expressed hope that there would be improvement in fund releases for the programmes.

    Mrs Uwais said:  “Total actual spending in 2016 and 2017 is 15.8 per cent of amount appropriated. This is the amount that has been released out of the budget appropriated for Social Investment Programme.”

    On fuel scarcity, Abubakar said the NEC committee would interface with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on oil pricing.

    He said: “The second issue that was discussed was the issue of the scarcity of petroleum products. The problem was addressed by the Group Managing Director of the NNPC. The issue is, of course, caused by an inter-play of the exchange rate of the naira and the dollar and the price of crude oil at the international market, which affects the landing cost of refined products in Nigeria.

    “In the process, it makes the operation of the current price regime almost impossible without some measure of good returns for whoever is in the process.

    “As at today, all independent marketers have stopped importing refined products into Nigeria. It is only the NNPC that has been doing it. And the NNPC has been suffering a lot of setbacks. It’s the highest amount of under recovery.

    Top among the issues discussed by National Economic Council, he said, was the problem of herdsmen/farmers clashes.

    He said: “The working group on its own also set up a subcommittee headed by the governor of Ebonyi State, who as we speak is working going round all the areas where these crisis are prevalent, consulting with the key stakeholders.

    “But an interim report of the working group was submitted by Mr. Vice President. In that report, they have highlighted quite a number of issues that need to be looked into.

    “They have recommended to Mr. President that in all areas where these clashes are prevalent, the military should be moved in to buttress whatever the police and other security agencies are doing in forestalling the problems.

    “The committee has recommended strongly that the military should move into all forests or areas where the clashes are prevalent with the view to flushing out all bandits hiding in those areas.

    “The committee has recommended also the setting up and training of Afro-Rangers. You know there have been talks of setting up ranches, colonies, a livestock production center, etc. The issue is actually a problem of nomenclature. The most important thing is that some measures should be taken in attempting to settle down the herdsmen so that they will stop moving with their herds  from one section of the country to the other and in the process, create all the problems we are experiencing.

    “So, whichever one a state government that is keying into the programme chooses, either a grazing reserve or ranch, or a livestock production centre, there is need for rangers to be trained. Rangers that will police either ranches or grazing reserves.”

    The working group, he said, made it clear that under the provision of the Land Use Act, it is the governors that superintend over land in the state.

    “Therefore, the Federal Government of Nigeria is in no position; in fact, it  will not impose on any state any type of solution, be it ranch, grazing reserves or whatever. The responsibility is that of the governors because they superintend over land matters.

    The Lagos State deputy governor said the Council received the final report on the Forensic Audit of Revenue Accrued from Revenue Generating Agencies (RGAs) into Federation Account (FA), Excess Crude Account (ECA) and Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

    The report, she said, was prepared by KPMG, which audited 18 agencies, including NNPC, FIRS, Nigeria Customs Services (NCS), NIMASA, NPA, NCC, CBN, DPR, NPDC and many others.

    According to her, the report covers  January 2010  to  June 2015.

    The Council was also briefed by the Accountant General of the Federation that the balance in ECA as at February 14, stood at $2,317,252,449.57.

    It was also briefed by the Accountant General of the Federation that the balance in the Stabilisation Fund Account as at February 14, stood at N11,290,664,060.06.

    Council was briefed by the Accountant General of the Federation that the balance in the Natural Resources Development Fund as at February 14 stood at N123,624,644,411.24

    On the budget support loan facility, the Accountant General also  reported to the Council that 23 states had  accessed the facility.

    He said: “Out of the 23, 11 states received in January; the remaining 12 will soon receive. Five out of the remaining 13 states have complied with the Fiscal Sustainability Plan and will be considered.

    “The eight outstanding states are under consideration under the 22-point requirements of the Fiscal Sustainability Plan. N16.1 billion has been disbursed as at January 2018.”

  • Govts advised to invest in nutrition programmes

    Govts advised to invest in nutrition programmes

    Statistics have shown that  malnutrition is on the increase in  the country. Wasting has  increased from 24.2 per cent to 31.5 percent while stunting has gone up  from 34.8 percent to 43.6 percent.

    Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Philomena Irene made this known in Gombe during the opening of a two-day capacity development programme for Universal Health Coverage by UNICEF.

    The nutrition specialist, who relied on figures released by the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey report, said prevalence appears worse in the northern part of the country.

    She said half of all deaths among children in the country today are related to nutrition while millions of young children are not reaching their full potentials because of inadequate nutrition, lack of early stimulation, and learning and exposure to stress.

    “Investment in nutrition which is cost effective will help reverse these trends as well as boost our GDP as a country. The World Bank in its 2017 report revealed that for every N1,000 invested on nutrition will yield  N16,000 in return; showing that nutrition is for development and therefore any resources invested in it is not a loss, but a boost for the economy,” Irene stated.

    She, therefore, advocated for investment in the physical, mental, and emotional development of children which is critical for the future productivity of individuals and the economic competitiveness of the state.

    Irene said the crucial role of legislators in appropriation, legislation, accountability, representation and oversight towards improving maternal and child health underscored the meeting with them.

    She, therefore, appealed to them to work towards ensuring adequate provision of funds as they prepare the 2018 budget as well as push for the release and implementation of the budget allocated for health and nutrition in 2017.

  • AFRIFF partners French Embassy, British Council on exchange programmes

    AFRIFF partners French Embassy, British Council on exchange programmes

     …As festival opens October 29

    Organisers of Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) have announced the return of the festival for 2017.

    Scheduled to run from October 29 to November 4, 2017, the annual event marks AFRIFF’s 7th season of celebrating African cinema in Nigeria.

    At a glitzy media launch which took place at British Council, Ikoyi, Lagos, Tuesday night, the atmosphere tells of how eager industry players are, for another week of cinematic experience, business networking, movie premieres, film screenings, industry sessions, master classes, workshops, the Globe Awards, and other events that have become the hallmark of the AFRIFF journey since it made debut in 2010.

    It is a season of international collaborations for AFRIFF with the French government coming in to strengthen its commercial and artistic exchanges with Nigeria.

    “The importance of AFRIFF, that is growing year after year, is a wonderful showcase for us,” says French Consul General, Lagos, Mr. Laurent Polonceaux, who described the annual event as “one of the most important film festivals in Africa.”

    Interestingly, AFRIFF 2017 is dedicating two days – November 2-3, 2017 to French films.

    This is just as British Council, UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities is bringing the London BFI (British Film Institute) into a new partnership with AFRIFF.

    Tagged ‘Film Connections’, the British Council’s partnership also aims to share knowledge and give pep to co-production opportunities between filmmakers from Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

    AFRIFF Founder/Executive Director Ms. Chioma Ude announced ‘Waiting for Hassana’, a short film by Ifunanya ‘funa’ Maduka (Nigeria/US) and a feature, ‘I Am Not a Witch’ by Rungano Nyoni (Zambia) as the opening night films while ‘Felicite’, an Oscar contender by Alain Gomis (France/Senegal) is the closing night film.

    Ude said AFRIFF is well prepared to host filmmakers and actors from around the world this year, noting that the festival continues to attract interests with a record of 3,232 film entries received this year alone.

    She announced the films in competition which include 24 shorts, 11 documentaries and 14 feature length films, while all the films in official selection will be uploaded to the festival website on October 9.

    According to British Council Head of Arts, West Africa, Ojoma Ochai, “As part of the Film Connections project, the 2017 AFRIFF will open with the screening of the Rungano Nyoni film ‘I Am Not a Witch’, on the 29th of October. There will also be screening of several acclaimed British feature and short films during the festival – showing for the first time in Nigeria, including ‘Whitney ‘Can I Be Me’ by multi-award winning British Documentarian, Nick Broomfield; ‘Under the Shadow’ by Babak Anvari, winner of the 2017 BAFTA award for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer; and ‘A Moving Image’ by Shola Amoo.”

    “During the two days devoted to French cinema,” says Polonceaux, “we will welcome here in Lagos, high level professionals working in the production and distribution, and last but not the least, because it is a fundamental element in the funding of the cinema industry, I particularly would like to mention the participation of David Kessler, the Managing Director of Studio Orange and the Director of Orange Content. He’s a leading figure in the French cinema industry. He was among other important positions, the former director of the CNC.”

    He noted that, for the first time in France, “two Nollywood movies (The Dinner and 10 Days in Sun City) have been commercially released two weeks ago. That’s a first step, but I am sure it will intensify in the coming years.”

    The five French movies that will be screened during AFRIFF include ‘Step by Step’, an emotional movie about the physical reconstruction of a man after a serious accident; ‘Wulu’, a Franco-Malian film, ‘Boarders’, a road-trip between Bamako and Lagos; French Blockbuster ‘Valerian’ by Luc Besson, and ‘He Even Has Your Eyes’, the story of Paul and Sali, a married couple who have been struggling to adopt a child for a long time.

     

  • Ooni to govts: let your policies, programmes drive job creation

    Ooni to govts: let your policies, programmes drive job creation

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has urged governments to let their policies and programmes drive employment for youths.

    The monarch, who advised governments to ensure small scale businesses survive through their policies, spoke at his palace at Ile-Ife in Osun State during the launch of this year’s Aso Ofi Festival, which will take place in Iseyin, a town in Oyo State.

    According to Oba Ogunwusi, several vocations synonymous with the Yoruba race are big enough to provide jobs for people.

    The Ooni noted that Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race, first discovered the cotton plant and transformed it to wool thread to make aso ofi at ancient Ife.

    He said: “Oduduwa got the inspiration from spider cobwebs and grew a large cotton plantation. The fittings of aso ofi were later perfected by the children of Ogun (the first blacksmith) – Abere (needle) and Obe (knife).

    “Olokun, who is also known as ‘Oluofi’, started the venture with the loom thread weaving along with Segi beads. The remnants of the production site were recently discovered at Ile-Ife and a scientific dating said they are over 4,000 years old.

    “Their descendants migrated to settle at Iseyin and later taught their other descendants – Anu (Ethiopia) and Nubia (Sudan) – all the way to present India (Orissa region, now called Odisha in India) and now all over the world. Iseyin people still practise aso ofi venture till date. If we don’t tell our stories by ourselves, nobody will.”

    The Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Abdul-Ganiyu Salawudeen, who led weavers from his town to Ife for the launch, said Olu Ofi, who he said was of the founders of Iseyin, left Ile-Ife several years earlier and settled at Iseyin.

    The Aseyin, who noted that weaving is a major vocation in Iseyin, said residents, especially youths, engaged in weaving and reduce crime rate in the ancient town.

    The monarch urged trade, culture enthusiasts and promoters to participate in the festival.

  • Emir advocates agric programmes for youths

    The Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Bahago, said yesterday that  engaging youths in agriculture and agricultural entrepreneurship would  minimise agitations across the country.

    Bahago in his Eid-el-Kabir message in Minna, said that when the youths engage in meaningful ventures to earn a good living, there would be less crime and agitations across the country.

    He appealed to the three tiers of government to initiate sustainable agricultural programmes.

    “Our teeming youths should be engaged in meaningful ventures such as the dry and wet season farming to create jobs, wealth and to produce enough food,” he said.

    “It will be an understatement to talk on improvement in the prices of farm produce this year, especially that of yam that has hit the international market.

    “The youths of Minna Emirate and the country at large should seize this golden opportunity in going back to the farm as an alternative to unemployment and restiveness,’’ he said.

    He enjoined the youths to form cooperatives to access the Anchor Borrowers Programme and other agricultural intervention programmes of the Federal Government in order to engage in farming.

    The emir, however, called on the people of Minna Emirate and other Nigerians to live peacefully irrespective of tribe and religion in order to ensure development.

    He said that the multi-ethno religious nature of the country should be used to develop the country and not to as a divisive instrument.

  • My radio programmes target youths – Odutayo

    My radio programmes target youths – Odutayo

    Greg Odutayo is the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Roots Television and owner of R2 92.9 Fm, Ibadan.  He was once the president of National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP).  In this interview with Edozie Udeze, he talks about the prospects of theatre, television and radio programmes, how to capture the youths and lots more.  Excerpts

    This year’s World Theatre Day (WTD) was more coordinated and vibrant.  What was the secret behind it?

    What was the secret, hmh?  Well, without trying to impugn on reputations, I think it was just about time we gave the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) a new lease of life.  We technically had three years of inactivity because the last executives did not really do enough.  May be they would say they tried their best, but they didn’t really do enough for the good of the association.  We now have a change of guard in terms of leadership and I think with that change of guard all of us said to ourselves – oh, it is time to move NANTAP on to the next level.  We said look we need to refocus the association; we need to redirect how the association is perceived.  Therefore, all hands had to be on deck to achieve this.  This was why everybody rallied round based on that perception.  That was why the WTD this year was quite successful, with almost all the former presidents in attendance.  It wasn’t so much a big event, but the quality of people and the content of the plays showed that we are on the right track now.  We are happy it came out that way.  And we hope the association will henceforth take its rightful place in the arena of theatre in the society.  We are not there yet, but we hope that with this new resurgence, we’ll get better.

    Surprisingly, NANTAP did better with the WTD under a caretaker executive…?

    It is an individual commitment; that desire to bring everybody together.  That was what you saw in the caretaker executives.  It is about that drive to get things done better.  At times when you have a better grasp of your past; the history behind it, it is better.  Unfortunately at times we flop in our leadership style.  A people deserve the kind of leadership they get.  A leadership is not by mistake.  It is we who put them there.  So, we use our own hands to put those who cannot perform.  Then when they do not perform, we are still the people to take responsibility for it.  I think it was as a result of making it an inclusive event and ensuring that everybody rallied round to make it a success.  We learn everyday and I hope as a people we will be the better for it in the end.

    What is happening to the Festival of Nigerian Theatre Arts (FESTINA) that has been in limbo in the past years?

    Ah! (laughs) because I am not the NANTAP president now, I cannot speak for the association.  However, I think it is the present leadership that will be able to tell us what their plans are to revive and reinvent FESTINA.  FESTINA is an excellent platform for NANTAP to excel.  Over the years it had not been run properly.  Let me put it that way.  Some of us have always insisted that it has to be run properly so as to maintain its aims and objectives.  I also reiterated in the last meeting that NANTAP is not a production company.  Therefore in organizing FESTINA, NANTAP should only provide the platform for the festival to take place.  Let artistes then donate their plays and let them be commissioned and so on.  Members should see FESTINA as an aspiration.  So if the current leadership is able to propel FESTINA based on that, it’ll be great, be a successful outing.  It will no longer be like what it used to be in the past when the association gave out plays, commissioned productions and so on.  No, that is not the role of NANTAP.  NANTAP is to provide the environment and the platform for the festival to thrive.  This is a platform that can get a sponsorship, a platform that can put money into the pockets of those who put up their productions for people to see.  The theatre itself is enjoying a resurgence.  You notice that in the past one or two years, stage theatre has been on the rise again.  This is good; it is heartwarming.  And we hope it’ll continue; for truly there has never been a time we had these number of theatrical productions in Nigeria.  In Abuja it’s happening.  In Lagos it’s all over the place.  Go to places like Port Harcourt, Warri, it is the same.  See the new theatre outfit opened by Bolanle Austen-Peters in Victoria Island.  It is fantastic.  That new venue should encourage more theatre productions.  Lagos State government has also promised us five new theatres in the state.  Go to Freedom Park every weekend, you will see theatre productions.  See also what Wole Oguntokun is doing with his Theatre Republic at Lekki.  So, we have never had it so good.  It is not really where we should be but we are moving on in the right direction.

    Let’s come to Tv soaps.  We have this tendency to use more of foreign soaps for local viewing.  At what point do you think we’ll begin to have local contents?

    We are almost there.  However, I’ll put the blame at the doorsteps of the board and also self-regulation.  Let me put it that way.  You know there was a time it used to be worst than this.  And NBC did something for us then, that the prime time of seven to ten was enforced then.  That brought a new wave of enthusiasm in producers and the contents of their products.  They said seven to ten prime time is available for you.  Before now, it wasn’t available for you.  But then the regulator needs to do more.  We should be able to tell ourselves that these foreign contents are not the best, they are not good enough for our platform.  We need our own ideas, our own contents; we need to project our own people and so on.  These foreign contents do not bring any values to the people except putting a little money into individual pockets.  In term of cultural values, attitude, way of life, these soaps do not add to our values.  But these things are cheap to acquire.  So, it is for us as broadcasters to change this.  The consumer can only consume what we give to him.  But in terms of technical expertise and so on, we have the people to produce soaps for us.  We may not have the money or the sponsorship yet, but other things are in place.  NBC can shout from now till tomorrow but we as content providers if we are not socially responsible, NBC can only fine once or twice.  We need to rely on our own culture.  Nigerians want to consume local content.  They want to see their own cultures portrayed on Tv and it is our responsibility to do so.  We lack support and good advertisers.  If we have that we can produce two thousand episodes of local contents.  But it is cheap to slam foreign soaps on Tv.  Even if they go on Tv, they should be pushed to those times that are not prime time.  But before then we and the regulators have to do our bit.  The reality is that the content is there waiting to be consumed.  There was a time I got a programme like that on my Tv.  But even me when it was on, I changed channel:  I wasn’t interested.  So what I did was to yank it off.  Today I have up to 97% local content on Royal Roots Television.  If other Tv producers can do that it can then move us nearer to that El-dorado you talked about.

    You can then rely on the existing literatures to form your content – how possible? 

    Yes, it is possible, it is realistic.  We believe it is something that can happen.  We need to have that kind of arrangement because we are gradually losing our cultural values.  We have to rely on some of the works of the masters.  Even when you ask a lot of people they do not know who they are.  Many of our children do not know who Wole Soyinka is or who is Chinua Achebe or Elechi Amadi and so on.  So it is time.  Things Fall Apart used to be everybody’s sing song.  But today if you ask any kid what is Things Fall Apart, he does not know, he doesn’t have a clue.  So we need to bring back this renaissance in order to prosper cultural values.  The only way really is adapting some of these literatures by the masters.

    So, do you see any form of synergy working between ANA and NANTAP at an official level to make this work?

    Yes, of course, synergies are always important.  When I was NANTAP president, I preached a lot of synergies.  In fact, I can say with all sense of responsibility that my tenure was full of blessings for the association.  Then we had leaders in all the Guilds who were eager and ready to collaborate with NANTAP to make it work.  We did a lot of advocacy together, because there’s strength in number.  Today, we try to revive NUTAF and NUTASA in order to incorporate students in tertiary institutions into what we are doing.  By the end of this month the University of Benin, will be hosting NUTAF.  When I was NANTAP president we collaborated with SONTA a lot.  ANA also used to collaborate with NANTAP in area of play writing competition.  So you cannot do or go it alone.

    You have R2 92.9 Fm radio station in Ibadan.  How did the idea come about?

    Yes, incidentally, the history of my Tv, the Royal Roots, cannot be complete without a radio station.  We started as a radio station before we veered into television.  We started with a lot of radio commercials, productions and so on.  We did a lot of major radio dramas.  Then about ten years ago we put in for a radio license.  We were on it till last year when we finally got it.  And we were really licensed to have it in Ibadan.  Radio for me, is my first love.  It may not be as lucrative as Tv yet I derive a lot of pleasure from it.  It has a lot of reach and a lot on how you influence people and so on.  So, why Ibadan?  It is where we got license.  Also we saw it as an emerging city ready to accommodate more radio stations.  There are about 25 radio stations there.  But they have more of Yoruba stations and those who broadcast in funny English accent.  So we needed to come in to be real and capture the youths.  The youths are my target – those in higher institutions and so on.  Both our Tv and radio are targeting our youths.  They constitute over 60% of the population in Africa and we need to carry them along in our programmes and in our content value.  This is what we have done in Ibadan.  We are well-structured and defined to look into drama, entertainment, sports and general youth programmes.  We got our focus right before we began.  Today we are well-received in Ibadan and its environs.  In the last rating that came up, we’ll say that technically we were rated number one barely after one year of operation.  We were above all the English stations before us in Ibadan.  Our setting is content and that is what is going for us.