Nollywood’s bridal status: How government’s poor knowledge of the creative industry fuels neglect of other sectors

* Easy, accessible visibility of film opens it up to favouritism, Prof. Mabel Evwierhoma submits

* ‘Best approach is to establish a structured endowment fund that will be fair to all genres, Akeem Lasisi urges govt.

* Filmmakers positioned themselves where decisions are made, produced body of work that gives them boldness to approach government, Imal Silva argues

* People just seem to forget that the base of all of art is storytelling, writing, says Dr. Eghosa Imasuen

By Anote Ajeluorou

THE Federal Government of Nigeria recently announced the disbursement of the second batch of the N5 billion Creative Fund, which was established in December 2023 for Nigeria’s creative sector in collaboration with Providus Bank. Special Assistant to the President (Office of the Vice President) on Digital and Creative Economy, Fegho Umunubo announced in a post on Instagram: “N5 Billion Creative Fund 2nd Batch Launch. Under the renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, we successfully launched the second batch in partnership with Providus Bank at Eko Hotels. Following the successful disbursement of the N1.5 billion to four producers/actors for their movie projects, we are excited to support more creative projects.”

Sections of the creative industry woke up with shock to learn that the Federal Government has disbursed another chunk of funding for some individuals in the filmic section of the creative industry. From Bank of Industry’s loan a few years ago to other funding instruments and now N5 billion again, it’s clear Nollywood is the bride government continues to woo with excess funding while other sectors languish in want of such funding boost. What is clear from the latest disbursement is that only Nollywood (producers and actors) got funded yet again while other creatives in areas like music, literature, visual arts, publishing, fashion, dance, festivals and theatre were conspicuously left out. Questions then arise: Is this wilful ignorance or deliberate neglect on the part of government not to take the entire creative industry ecosystem into consideration in its funding plans? Why is Nollywood singled out for this special favour? What is it that Nollywood is doing right that it gets funding from time to time? What can other sectors of the creative industry learn from Nollywood, so they equally attract government’s funding as well?

Former Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) President and retired federal director of culture, Mallam Denja Abdullahi expresses caution about such disbursements, saying they could be fictitious and actually go to waste since no one monitors them for their value addition to the economy. He notes that government’s ignorance about how the creative industry is structured starts from those they appoint to head the various parastatals in the Ministry of Arts and Creative Economy, who largely turn out to be square pegs in round holes.

According to him, “First, you have to establish who and who received the fund and specifically for what? Some of these so-called disbursements may be fictitious, and even if actually disbursed, along the line they are never monitored to see the end-products. I have shouted myself hoarse for years that the government does not regard the creative economy or the creative industry to be beyond Nollywood and the music industry. The publishing and the writing industry is not part of what they consider as the creative economy or the creative industry.

“In the gale of appointments made in January to fill up executive positions in the governmental culture sector, did you find anyone from the writing industry there or intellectuals or practitioners from that axis? Wole Soyinka is being celebrated worldwide as he clocks 90, which plan or support do governments have for the writers’ body or even notable individual writers? Which filmmakers or musicians, apart from Herbert Ogunde and Fela, have brought the kind of worldwide, enduring fame to Nigeria like Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka over the years?”

Best Actor for Breath of Life in Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Award (AMVCA) 2024, Wale Ojo

Although professor of drama and playwright at the University of Abuja Mabel Evwierhoma believes Nollywood is not the only area in the creative sector, she concedes that its visibility and easy access are key in whatever favour it tends to receive from government from time to time.

“Although the film segment of the industry referred to as creative, cultural knowledge comprises of over 60 occupations, my film lecturer told us that the roles and responsibilities that scroll at the end of a film are professions within the industry. By extension, you have music, games and gaming, fashion, advertising, sculpting and other crafts. The creative sector is a conglomerate.

“The easy or accessible visibility of film is an advantage that opens it up to favouritism. One cannot excuse the gains that have accrued on the economy from Nigerian films, and there is the glamour. If only we realised the power of every area of the creative industry, the country would have obtained more profit from the funds injected into the sector. In terms of impact, it naturally ripples on and on. Examples are the economic and other advantages communities used as film locations enjoy. Remember the topic ‘location and localisation of industries’?

“Nollywood is a cultural thermostat. It has functioned as a major growth factor. Banks, branding agents, film distributors, marketers, promoters of film are visible. The unions in the film sector and their ethnic affiliations project identity. The internationalisation of Nigerian film has also helped. Music, sports, games and the knowledge frame of creativity also deserve support.”

Professor Evwierhoma argues for an inclusive engagement of everyone in the cultural sector, noting that continuously favouring only one aspect of the creative ecosystem is bad for the onerous work other sectors are putting in to give the country a good name.

“Those who head the various areas of cultural creativity or their ideation components should amplify their voices,” she said. “If the attention given to sports, games is enjoyed by painters, potters, dancers, singers, among several creative sectors, more gainful engagement would be confirmed. Everyone is to be involved in the extension of similar support, but the government should provide policy backing. One way is the Cultural Attache system (in embassies abroad) to facilitate global engagement with and patronage of our arts.

“The irony of having no respect for actors and according them belated recognition is one reason. There are other labourers in the pool of creativity like choreographers, drummers, magicians. Remember the KSA drummer and the Grammy. The required support is one that should spread across the visual, verbal and non-verbal acts. The recognition of the different forces of creativity and cultural presence or production requires support for patronage, investment and sponsorship for profit. The arts are both for pleasure and profit and should not be supported because money is made. The agencies in charge of culture have to shore up the needed support.

“The environment is ripe for the engagement of the different guilds in cultural planning and production. How many of these guilds do the governments know? We should not have a case where it is those who know those in power that get things done for Nollywood. Creative responsiveness flows from the governed and those who govern. The players on the stage and screen are not mendicants. No situation should arise where Nollywood fails on the day of reckoning, because it has fallen out of favour and another segment of creative is ‘in charge’.”

Publisher Azafi Omoluabi of Parresia Publishers is stunned that disbursements of funds has taken place and she wasn’t aware, since she was in a meeting where government’s support for the creative industry was discussed last year.

“Honestly, I heard of this creative fund sometime last year,” she said. “I know we had a meeting, but I don’t know if this is what it’s titled. But we had a meeting of industries tagged as creatives, which included almost all of us. That they even disbursed money last year; first time I’m hearing about it. Why it’s only Nollywood, I do not understand, of all the departments that the creative industry is comprised of. I do not understand why Nollywood would be made an exemption. And then another disbursement? It would be interesting to know who go what in this batch.

“Of course, those of us in publishing, except there are those who know about it, I do not know about it at all. Of course, I think it’s very unfair that this should be happening and that an entire sector is ignored. I mean, it’s bad enough that we publishers are solely on our own, and it doesn’t seem as if they understand the importance of the work that we do. So right now, it looks as if movies are more relevant than the production of books. Look, I don’t get it. I don’t get it. It’s disheartening. I can’t even say more. Because this thing is depressing; it makes one really depressed. I can only thank you for bringing this up, for letting me know.”

Visual artist and creative entrepreneur, Mr. Imal Silva says although Nollywood is just one unit in the creative sector, it has managed to position itself for attention over the years, and charges other sectors to develop their own blueprint of strategic positioning that has helped Nollywood enjoy some form of funding favouritism.

“I think there are several factors contributing to this (Nollywood’s ascendancy),” Silva says. “There is a popular culture associated with the film industry. Also, being a primary source of recreation through video and streaming platforms, it is one of the most visible if not the most (with) music coming a close second. Thirdly, most persons understand film as entertainment, not realizing that it has the power to socially and culturally engineer human existence. The creative arts are also foundational to education and national orientation which the other forms of creative expression also posse.”

Continuing, Silva said, “However, if those in the corridors of decision-making can only see the creative industry from the place of entertainment and economic gain, they may focus on that at the expense of the other vital contributions such as social, cultural and educational value. There is also a prevalent scenario due to the difficult economic clime where every investment of development finance is expected to be directed towards profit-making ventures. The question that comes to my mind then is: ‘can gain be actually measured in financial terms alone?’ An in-depth understanding of the arts and the creative industry is needful for decision makers to see the economic gains that can be made through the other creative industry subsectors.”

Therefore localised the situation using his own visual arts subsector as barometre, Silva notes that compared to what a single visual art piece can rake as revenue, Nollywood pales into insignificance to underscore the misplaced favouritism it enjoys from government in terms of funding.

“Let me speak from the subsector I am most involved in,” he says. “Would you believe if I told you that a single work of art can actually fetch more than the entire budget of a high quality film in the high end contemporary market? Would you believe that a single work of art can fetch a visual artist the pay offered an actor in a movie feature? The same way proceeds from the business of other sectors such as music, literary arts and publishing, digital arts, heritage sites, functional arts, etc, can fetch substantial gains.”

On what Nollywood is doing better that continues to attract government’s support to it that other sectors of the creative industries are not doing, Silva says, “Unlike some other subsectors of the creative industry, those in film have done significant work to improve their standards, attracted substantial private sector investment, positioned themselves in places where decisions are made and have produced a notable body of work in the last few decades which gives them the boldness to approach government.”

Best Actress for Breath of Life in Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Award (AMVCA) 2024, Kehinde Bankole

While other subsectors of the creative economy wring their hands in self-pity and bemoan government’s lack of interest in their sectors, Silva argues that filmmakers took the initiative to educate government about their business and why it is wise to invest in it.

“I don’t think it was government that educated the film industry to take this trajectory,” he says. “They educated the government on the potential and created a business case for their subsector. I believe it is the responsibility of leaders of industry associations as well as notable achievers in other creative industry subsectors to learn and adopt their own strategies.

“Permit me to add that it is not about going cap in hand for handouts. Rather going to government with proven business cases that are viable, sustainable and have a return on investment. Now, caution has to be applied too because not all creative ventures may give the same economic benefit, but then there must be a well-documented case for social impact as substitute. Such can attract support from development organizations, especially international ones whose objectives are congruent with that of the local creative initiatives.”

Silva does not believe Nollywood enjoys skewed favouritism, but that whatever it got has been through meticulous strategising, healthy balance sheet on return on investment and largely forging ahead without government.

“Skewed?” he asks, noting, “I think it has been a build up. The film industry has attracted way more than government support over the last few decades particularly from the private sector. They have proven that with or without government they can and have thrived. Honestly, in my sincere opinion, this intervention is still small compared to the much larger private sector (local and international) investment they will muster in 2024 alone. In my opinion, rather than just complain we that operate more in other sectors should create our own projects and programmes with visible impact, lay out our short, mid and long term strategies and go for it. Don’t you think that any government that sees you can survive without them will be ready to work with you? Because the return on investment is guaranteed that way. But I stand to be corrected.”

But novelist and publisher at Narrative Landscape Press, Dr. Eghosa Imasuen argues that the literary art is more or less an orphan, as it presumably belongs to two government regulated sectors that conveniently leave it out of funding equation, since none is ready to own it as its child deserving nurturing for survival.

“Creative writing and literature suffer from being the child of two sectors of the economy: education and the arts (Ministry of Education and Ministry of Arts and Creative Economy),” Dr. Imasuen says. “Trade publishing especially, sits in the odd position of presenting the faces that drive publishing – our great writers, while also being the lowest funded of sub-sector of the publishing industry, far behind educational, academic or journalistic publishing.

“The trend continues with interventions like this. People assume that writers work in education and thus the interventions for the creative industry are targeted towards more accessible genres like cultural dance, music, and film. People just seem to forget that the base of all of art (whether music, film, theatre, dance, etc) is storytelling. Writing. I sincerely wish we do better.”

Journalist, performance poet and folk singer, Mr. Akeem Lasisi commends the efforts of government in empowering the creative industry, however, says such state-propelled largesse or empowerment should go round all the culture sectors without exception.

According to Lasisi, “It is good news that the government is empowering the creative industry even if it is starting from a particular sub-sector. Nollywood has done a lot for itself and also for the country and it thus deserves the push.

“But, as you have suggested, the other areas also deserve support. They are, indeed, entitled to whatever government is investing in Nollywood. Writers, dramatists, poets, visual artists, musicians, festival organisers and others are also largely self-made and are as important as filmmakers. They also variously need grants and other forms of support. So, government should do the needful for all. I think the best approach is to establish a structured endowment fund that will be fair to all genres and groups.”

However, theatre director Mr. Makinde Adeniran states that these so-called disbursements haven’t had any appreciable impact on the industry so far, saying, “I am really not bothered about these disbursements stories anymore. You only hear it, you never see the impact in the industry. Then later you’ll hear of how somebody collected money from the government to make a film project and squandered it… I think Nollywood has become an easy route to embezzling government money.

“But you see, the problem with government and Nollywood is about lack of enough knowledge from authorities on how best to finance the creative sector.

“Nollywood is a fragment of the creative sector. What about the feeder sectors in the ecosystem that make Nollywood seen? The government should be putting money into capacity building for the industry players and empowering the private sector with good policies to finance the system. Not this embezzlement-prone disbursement. There’s a huge potential for theatre practice in the nation. One of the feeder sectors to Nollywood and the entire performing arts is continually neglected, so with time, Nollywood and other performative art sectors will diminish in output. In all, I just sympathize with government for their lack of knowledge of the creative sector and how it can become a huge earner. Let them just stop giving free money that’s leading to no impact!”