NOLLYWOOD: THE FARM THAT GROWS ITSELF

Ibironke Shalom
Sep 1, 2018 · 4 min read

-Ibironke Shalom

What is Nollywood? How does it operate and how much does it mean to the success or failure of the Nigerian Project?

Photo Source: thenationonline.ng

The Nigerian Theatre and Movie Industry popularly known as Nollywood has simultaneously grown in quantity and quality, the former being more pronounced at her emerging years, while the latter is getting even more established as the years go by.

By 2009, Nollywood surpassed Hollywood, the American Film Industry, and became the second largest movie industry, second only to India’s Bollywood. As beautiful and commendable this feat is, it strikes up a number of puzzles, most noteworthy of them is 'how has the Nollywood survived in a system where nothing works?'
America’s Hollywood which commenced operations more than 121 years ago, got it’s roots firmly rooted due to supportive governmental policies. In 1965, the White House announced a move to create the American Film Institute which educates, honours, and preserves the heritage of the American Film Industry. This institute has remained in existence for more than 50 years, in active existence. In contrast, the Nigerian government, in 2016, announced plans to establish a 10-million dollars worth film village in Kano, but soon shelved the idea for religious reasons. The cancellation of this project added to the already existing frustrations of Nollywood stakeholders towards the government.

Kate Henshaw, one of Nollywood’s finest, said Nollywood had realised since inception that "anybody waiting for government will not get anything done."
This mindset of determined independence incontrovertibly boosted the strength of the industry, Chioma Nwagboso, a World Bank finance and private sector specialist, in an interview with UN.org explained that even the World Bank is aware of the vast potentials of the Nigerian film Industry, including the job creation potentials, and the need for a “fruitful export for the country”. Without initial support from the government, Nollywood propelled itself to the position it occupies today, and a little lift could take the industry to even greater heights, she adds. The Nollywood as it stands is said to have employed over a million people and even generate about $590 million dollars annually.

In comparison to Hollywood, critics often dismiss the Nollywood as ‘unpatriotic’, and always putting the nation in bad light to the world. This is often counter-argued with the reflection nature and duty of art. That Nollywood merely reflects the Nigerian reality, holding a mirror up to the society. A frog would look like frog, and a toad like toad in a mirror. Author Patrick Ebewo even posits that the Nollywood produces "(an) indigenous content of issues relevant to a mass audience.” Through a combination of African storylines and Western technology, “these films document and recreate socio-political and cultural events."

However, it is true that the Nollywood can do a better job of reflection, by painting the country more admirable in showing her to the world, this is already being done in the new trend of Nollywood on screen, however, being a farm that grows itself, it is difficult to attain perfection on its own, or even put the negligent farmer in the best light. The farmer, the Government, they are the pillars on which all industries (and farms) stand. In an environment like the United States of America, the movie industry receives subsidies from the government for movie productions.

According to Salmaan Khan, as at 2012, forty-five states (in the US) offer Motion Picture Incentives (MPIs) through a variety of grants, cash rebates, and other special privileges to film crews in order to encourage movie producers to shoot films in their states. These subsidies include money, tax credit, special privileges to archives, military equipment and personnel, etc
Many countries even have a Propaganda Wing/Unit/Department which is under their Defense Ministry and is dedicated to editing, approving, and even ensures that the Film Industry abides by ‘principles of Patriotism’.

Nigeria also has the National Film and Videos Censors Board (NFVCB) which largely does the work of censoring contents rather than dictating or influencing contents in a pro-nationalist direction.

BBC estimates that, on an average, it costs between ₦7,500,00 and ₦25,000,000 ($25000 and $70000) to produce a Nollywood movie. Produced within a month, they become profitable within two to three weeks. As profitable as this sounds it becomes less enthusiastic when one realises that the popularity of Nollywood is greatly marred by the culture of piracy in some Nigerian Markets.

According to the World Bank, for every copy of a movie sold legitimately, 9 other copies are pirated. Fortunately, Nollywood’s popularity extends all through Africa and even to USA and Europe, unfortunately it is believed that almost all the exports are pirated copies. No one is exempted from the victimhood of piracy. Most recently, the Video-On-Download platforms being pioneered by the likes of Jason Njoku’s Iroko TV, and subsequently, Funke Akindele’s Scene One TV, has helped reduced the potency of piracy. However, the Nigeria’s Film Regulatory System must get more firm on the consequences of piracy.
Nwagboso explains the situation to un.org that 'because there are currently few legal channels for exporting movies, few or no returns go to the filmmakers and practically no revenue goes to the government.'

This way our blossoming self-operating farm, which can feed the community, somehow doesn’t feed as much as it should but the straying illegals. A collaboration between the World Bank and National Export Promotion Council and the Nigeria Film and Video Censors Board could bring hope to the making of a better Nollywood.

Though it is arguable that the government should have no hand (financially) in the business of film making, or even Theatre, this argument is however discarded when one considers how much government spends on the 'religion industry' which contributes little or nothing to the nation’s economy, far unlike the Nollywood which is worth over $3 billion dollars. This farm that grows itself will surely grow better with a little lift, care, and nurture.

Ibironke Shalom

Written by

Writer. Thespian. Political Economy Enthusiast.

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