Why Unity Among Stakeholders In Film Industry Is Desirable, By Adenuga

A silent war ragging among producers of Igbo and Yoruba ethnic groups over the history of filmmaking in Nigeria came to the fore recently when Mr. Wale Adenuga was forced to address the issue at a media interactive session. Chairman of popular Wale Adenuga Productions (WAP) stated, “I imagine that this is at the root of all other problems as a house divided against itself cannot stand much less make progress. A corollary to the foregoing is the unhealthy situation in which we now have Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa operating separately under the aegis of Nollywood, Yorubawood and Kannywood respectively.

“Even within these groups, we still have infightings and misunderstandings over leadership. In spite of the lack of cohesion, however, each of the ‘woods’ have their own guilds where separatism is very apparent in their dealings, especially during casting”.

Adenuga noted that although many Nigerian might find this shocking, he said he was confident the media knew it, adding, “Our industry is the only one in Nigeria where you do not have a national body or association. This country cannot speak of a national association of filmmakers the way doctors talk about Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), lawyers talk about Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the press has Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ). It is true that we have all manners of guilds, but these are all based on the sentiments like I earlier stated.

“I am persuaded to believe that our (filmmakers) inability to come together under an umbrella is one of the reasons why we have some of the problems that detract the development of the business in Nigeria,” he stated.

On quality control and piracy, Adenuga noted that the all-comers nature of the business of filmmaking in Nigeria is the reason for the low quality of a lot of films being produced, noting, “We do not have any quality control mechanism. This has resulted in loss of confidence by patrons over and over again. The inability to fight the hydra-headed monster of piracy with one voice has frustrated so many practitioners to the extent that many have jumped out of the boat to join politics or take up some other form of employment.

“A survey by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said that nine out of 10 copies of Nigerian films are pirated. This real passion for acting is fast becoming a thing of the past as a lot of our actors move on to big spenders the moment they become popular. The truth is that less than 10 per cent of practitioners make money from filmmaking. Majority of the Lekki houses and posh cars that we see are acquired from other sources other than filmmaking.”

While commending President Goodluck Jonathan’s government for the support given to the industry, the award-winning Superstory and Nnenna producer stated that both the federal and the state governments have done little or nothing to assist the Nigerian film industry until the Jonathan administration initiated a N3 billion intervention fund. He added that although the state governments have, over the years, supported individual practitioners there was no known impact of such support on the industry.

On the way forward, Adenuga said there was need for filmmakers in the country to work together as one no matter where they come from. According to him, “Just like doctors don’t haggle over who started the practice of medicine, I think what should concern all practitioners is harnessing all the resources available to us toward becoming the best that we can be as a people with a common destiny.

“The Yoruba say you cannot carry your luggage with only one hand. To put your bag on your head, you need to bring both hands together or possibly seek the extra hand of your neighbour. I suggest that practitioners find a way to work together as one no matter where we come from. This, for me, is the only way we can move our industry forward. Surely, there is power in unity”.

He further suggested the urgent formation of a national body of filmmakers in the country, as an inevitable thing if practitioners are serious about making the best out of the industry. “My suggestion is that we start with the formation of truly national guilds for all the professions that form the industry. These include producers, directors, makeup artistes, editors, actors, production managers, set designers, location managers, cameramen, continuity men, costumiers, lights men, sound recordists and marketers among others.

“All the guilds will elect their individual presidents and these presidents will come together to elect the president of the overall association of filmmakers. The association can then have a secretariat in Abuja where all the guilds would have offices. The national executive of the association will then be able to work with government at all levels and corporate bodies on issues affecting the industry like piracy and funding.  Such a body would be in a position to lobby for the review of laws guiding piracy and ensure that government funding gets into the right hands through the state or zonal offices”.

On quality control, Adenuga said the national body would ensure that all guilds sanitise and organise themselves in such a way that practitioners would be of the highest possible qualification, adding that this would invariably enhance the quality of films produced and engender public confidence as it would be impossible for people who do not belong to the appropriate guilds to produce movies.

He noted that a major reason for the high level of piracy in the country was the direct to home video format. He, therefore, urged government to ensure that cinema culture was promoted by the three tiers of government all over the country.

“I suggest the establishment of cinemas in all the 774 local councils in the country. If producers have the opportunity to screen their films all over the country before releasing on home video, piracy would be greatly reduced. It is also important that we have a review of the Copyright Act in line with modern realities. This will ensure that pirates receive punishments commensurate to their crime.”

He argued that government needed to institutionalise any funding plan it might conceive for the industry, adding that there should be a film fund where every legitimate filmmaker would be able to access loans, grants or other forms of financial aid the government makes available, and said the poorly constituted guilds were being exploited for personal needs of certain individuals.

Adenuga called on industry practitioners to put their personal ambitions aside and work together for an industry with a future, and stated that some people would not support the initiative unless they were sure they would emerge as leaders.

He said, “My hope is that we would work together to see that we attain the heights possible, take our rightful position in the comity of filmmakers globally and stop our beggarly disposition when we have every opportunity to glow like princes and princesses.

“With the talents that God has endowed the industry with and the inspiring population that Nigeria is blessed with, nothing will be able to hold us back from shaking the world if only we are able to harness our resources. At the moment, we need what I would describe as the ‘broom and umbrella philosophy’. We need the broom to sweep away all the issues militating against the industry and an umbrella to accommodate us all”.