FG seeks India’s support for Nigeria’s film industry

Committed to the growth and development of the Nigerian film industry, the Federal Government through the Ministry of Information and Culture, has enjoined the Indian Government to support the country’s film industry with the technology that will enhance the quality of films produced.

Minister for Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, made the call in Abuja yesterday when he received the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhay Thakur, on a courtesy visit to his office. Mohammed also urged India to extend its support to the area of capacity building for the lecturers of the Film Institute in Jos, in order to enable them to acquire the requisite and relevant knowledge, which will be imparted to the filmmakers.

“I want India to avail Nigeria the opportunity to train not just our budding producers and film directors, cinematographers and the like but probably if India can stretch its hands of friendship to our Film Corporation, especially the Film College in Jos, so that they can be able to improve the technical quality of our films.

“I still believe that in the area of content, we have very rich content, very fecund imagination but I think in terms of the quality of the films, we still need to do much more and I don’t think there is a better place we can look forward to than India for this,” Mohammed added.

He noted that in spite of the huge population of India, it still shares some similarities with Nigeria, particularly in the plurality of culture and religion. He, therefore, sought the assistance of India in the area of capacity building for Nigeria’s cultural officers, as well as the provision of scholarships for Nigerians in culture-related fields.

In his remarks, Thakur said in order to further deepen the ties between the two countries, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is organising Journalists Exposure Visits for a select group of Nigerian journalists to expose original message to them, specifically Africa-focused business events in India.

He also extended an invitation to Nigerian cultural troupes to participate in the India-Africa Cultural Festival, which is coming up in December, as a platform to showcase the cultural endowment of the country.

The High Commissioner, further states that his country is enjoying a long-standing relationship with Nigeria, especially in the areas of trade, film, media and culture. He disclosed that India is also organising special events in the area of Performing Arts, music and painting.

Describing Nigeria as India’s biggest trading partner in Africa, Thakur stated that over 50,000 Indians are currently residing in Nigeria.