Almighty oil failed us, now we move to Nollywood – Lai Mohammed
– The government is shifting focus to the Nigerian film industry Nollywood
– It was described as a great jobs provider and a high foreign exchange earner
– More investments are expected to bee infused into the Nigerian cinema hub
The government is planning to invest in the cinema of Nigeria, often referred to informally as Nollywood, according to Segun Adeyemi, the aide of Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed.
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The news were made public during a film festival in Lagos on Sunday, November 13. There are hopes that the investments will ensure the growth of the movie industry and its efficiency.
Mr Mohammed said in a statment: “When we trusted in the almighty oil, we built refineries, pipelines, petrol marketing companies, petrol stations etc.
Since we are now rightly shifting our focus to this sector, we must now make the necessary investments in the infrastructure that will grow the film industry.
The film industry has proven itself to be not just a great employer of labour, especially young people, but also potentially a very high foreign exchange earner because of its international appeal and demand.
We need professional studio facilities in every state of the country. You should also not be providing your own power, borrowing at 30%, travelling abroad to do post-production.
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Mr President has publicly put his weight behind the creative industry and has promised to do everything that will make it possible for us to transit from a creative industry to a creative economy.
To this end we are already in talks with state governments and investors to build studio facilities that will equal those in Mexico, India, the US. This will make film making easier and increase the quality of films.”
The minister added that the ongoing transition from analogue to digital broadcasting would also help provide a major customer base for Nigerian films.
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