Nollywood slams N250,000 clearance fee on foreign Actors

The recent decision by the authorities of the Ghanaian movie industry to compel Nigerian actors who are plying their trade in Ghana to pay the huge sum of $1000 for every movie role or risk losing the job in that country may have incurred the wrath of their Nigerian counterparts who have risen to the occasion by returning fire-for-fire.

In a direct reaction to that ugly development, heads of Guilds of the Nigerian motion picture industry under the aegis of Coalition of Nollywood Guilds and Association(CONGA) last Tuesday rolled out stringent measures for foreign actors working in Nigeria.

The coalition said, the new guidelines are put in place to protect the Nigerian movie industry as well as regulate the activities of foreign practitioners in the country.

Speaking during the presentation of the guidelines to the movie journalists last Tuesday in Lagos, Mr. Bond Emeruwa, who represented the coalition explained that the new guidelines are not put in place to discourage foreign participation in the Nigerian motion picture industry, rather, the idea is based on the need to regulate the industry.

By these new guidelines, Emeruwa who is the president of the Directors Guild of Nigeria said, any foreign actors or producers wishing to work on a project in the country would be required not only to obtain clearance from the Interpol in his or her country of origin attesting to his or her status, but importantly, he or she must apply as a matter of fact for and obtain a written permission from the Nigerian film corporation.

Also, the coalition expects the prospective practitioner to apply for, and obtain a written approval from the coalition of Nollywood Guilds and Association through the appropriate guild or association that best represents the film practitioners' area of practice.

The coalition argued that given the conducive atmosphere which the industry provides for the foreign practitioners, there is imperative need for them to contribute financially to the growth of the same industry.

"Any foreign actor participating in any of Nollywood productions will be compelled to pay the sum of $2,500, while any producer or director working on a production in the country will pay the sum of $2,500 . Others include screen writer($2,500), production company($10,000), creative designer($2,000), production manager($1,500) and Assistant Director($1,500) amongst others." he listed.

On distribution, according to Emeruwa, "the coalition wants the National Film and Video Censors Board(NFVCB) to ensure that any foreign film seeking to be distributed in the country is censored in addition to having such film registered with the film and video producers as well as the marketing association of Nigeria with the following;

*A none refundable fee of $10,000

*A censorship certificate from the country of origin

*A copyright certificate from the country of origin and from the Nigerian Copyright Commission.

However, noting that the new guidelines were put in place as a further effort to protect and inculcate laudable ethics in the nation's film industry, the coalition remarked that any local film producer who parade one or more foreign artistes in his or her film will be treated as a foreign film at the point of distribution except, a situation where a proof of having satisfied the conditions as stipulated above is demonstrated.

According to the coalition chairman,"it is time to begin to protect the Nigerian film industry with a view to enable it grow bigger and better as well as increase its capacity to assist other emerging film industries all over the world. Having given a voice to the black race and sempowering the struggling film makers of Africa how to express themselves using the tube."

Speaking in the same vein, Paul Obazele, president, Association of Movie Producers (AMP), said the coalition is working in conjunction with the Interpol and security agencies in the country to ensure that the new guidelines are enforced without hindrance.

Meanwhile, reacting to this development, Director-General of the Nigerian Film Corporation, Mr Afolabi Adesanya, when contacted distanced his establishment from the new policy, saying "they are on their own."

However, while the new guidelines are a welcome development to the industry, observed have expressed reservation over a possible clash of interest coupled with disagreement with the regulatory bodies.

Vanguard

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Lars Lagerback leaves coaching job

Amuni Maigari, president of the NFF (Nigerian Football Federation), has made it clear that Swedish gaffer Lars Lagerback will not continue as head coach of Nigeria's national side. Lagerback had only started the job a matter of weeks ahead of the 2010 World Cup.

"Lagerback told me he could not continue as the coach of the Super Eagles because he feared that he might not be able to pen a four-year deal that would keep him in Nigeria for that long," said Maigari

"He thanked the NFF for the opportunity given to him to take the Eagles to the World Cup. He said the experience was worth it and that he would always remember Nigeria and her good people."

Maigari added that the NFF are keen to sign Samson Siasia as Lagerback's replacement.

"We have had talks with Siasia. The talks have been fruitful and all things being equal, he will put pen to paper next month subject to negotiations. Siasia is the coach Nigerians want and we shall give him all the support to succeed in this new job."

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Siasia says Eagles cowardice cost Nigeria a place in history

Former U-23 national team coach Samson Siasia is known for his candid comments on football issues. He is one of the few coaches on the local scene who has been able to look straight into the eyes of NFA officials and tell them the truth.

His views often times have seen him on the black books of those who ran the NFA in the past but that has not stopped the ex-international from saying it the way it is.

Siasia, presently on the pay roll of Heartland FC of Owerri as Technical Adviser, described most of the Super Eagles players who represented Nigeria at the World Cup hosted by South Africa as cowards.

According to him, it was obvious there were problems in the team but none came out publicly to say it because they were afraid of being ejected from the team.

"They knew there were problems in the team and they refused to speak out. They could have spoken with members of the NFA or the Presidential Task Force members.

These people would have been able to solve the problem but they simply refused to talk. When they finally decided to open up, it was too late for anyone to do anything about the situation.

That is certainly not the right approach. That is why they do not want some of us in the system, because we will not keep quiet while things go wrong. As a result of that attitude, Nigeria is smarting from what can be said to be her worst outing at the World Cup, while Ghana is enjoying her best outing at the World Cup and taking all the accolades", Siasia said.

As regards the quality of people who should be in the new NFA, the former Flash Flamengoes of Benin striker said he believes we need people who can take football to the next level.

"First, we need some form of a forum where we can put heads together and discuss and appoint people with the interest of the game at heart. I am confident that we have people who can bring Nigerian football out of the woods.

The ex-internationals can also be very useful in the new NFA. Look at what France is doing. It is not possible for everybody to be a national team coach, so we need to use ex-internationals to scout for Nigerians playing in Europe and other parts of the world.

"Every day, some of us get calls from the United States and other countries where our players ply their trade. They do not know how to get in touch with the federation. The ex-internationals can come in handy here.

There are Nigerians in Europe who want to play for the country but do not know who to contact. The ex-players can come in and serve as a link between the players and the NFA", he said.

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Artist of the day - ZIRIUMS

Nazir Ahmed Hausawa, a.k.a Ziriums, is the first son of eleven children. Hausa-Fulani by tribe, he was born in the conservative state of Kano in northern Nigeria.  He was inspired by his Dad, an Islamic gospel artist, to enter the world of hip-hop and was later influenced by western rap artists such as Eminem.

Nazir grew up in a society whose elite leaders felt they could do anything they wanted in the name of religion, while everyday people didn't have access to good schools, hospitals, roads, and security.  People who spoke up were often imprisoned. He feels that rap / hip hop culture is the only weapon left to express himself freely and communicate the situation in Nigeria to the world.  Nazir raps in Hausa and Fulfulde and wants to set an example to youth today so that they can wake up and preach against violence and enlighten society.

Nazir’s debut album is set to drop in 2010. He is currently managed by intersection Entertainment [I.E] in Abuja. His first single of the album ‘This is me’ video was directed by Korex of Intersection DMA.

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Unending misery of pensioners

The recent death of four Federal Civil Service pensioners while waiting to collect their terminal benefits in Lagos State once again brings to the fore the government's criminal neglect of our senior citizens.

According to the Campaign for Democratic and Workers' Rights (CDWR), the incident brought to 179 the total number of pensioners who have died in similar circumstances in recent years. One of the latest victims, who retired from the Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, slumped and died while protesting the non-payment of the retirees' 49-month pension arrears. The three others lost their lives during a verification exercise. What makes it so painful is that the tragedies were clearly avoidable.

Indeed, the tales of woe of most pensioners are heart-rending. And for those still alive among them, there seems to be no light at the end of the long tunnel. Recently, a NIPOST retiree wept openly on television because of his inability to pay the school fees of his children. The kids have since been forced to withdraw from their tertiary institutions. As one retired teacher lamented: "They have made things difficult for us, as if we are not citizens of this nation. I do not know if it is a crime to be old or a retiree. There is no respect for the weak in Nigeria." We share this pensioner's grief on the blatant betrayal of trust suffered by those who have served this nation meritoriously. Another retiree lashed out: "We are yet to see any former state governor or president do verification before his unwarranted and unjustified pension, gratuity or severance package was paid!" A sound, if caustic, point: indeed, herein lies the irony and injustice of it all. Those who received peanuts while in service, who had no access to pillage the national till, are denied their rightful benefits even when they retire and left in the cold.

There is no doubt that the implications of sentencing ex-employees to a retirement of hardship and wretchedness are grave for the nation. Those still in service are inadvertently made to feel that honesty, diligence and hard work do not pay. In this environment, the temptation to engage in sundry sharp practices becomes harder to resist. This has contributed in no small way to the pervasiveness of corrupt practices in today's civil service.

In a bid to avoid this pitfall the Olusegun Obasanjo administration passed the Pensions Act of 2004, with the salutary aim of helping to wipe the tears off the faces of retired workers. The concept was to make both employers and their workers contribute a percentage of the employees' monthly earnings to a Retirement Savings Account, RSA. For this also the Nigerian Pensions Commission (NPC) was established. As at August 2009, about 3.8 million civil servants across the country had signed into the new pension scheme. An estimated N1.2 trillion is said to have accumulated in pension fund accounts since then. Also, 26 pension fund administrators and seven pension fund custodians were put in place to ease the disbursement of their entitlements. But late last year, the Pension Commission raised the alarm that poor contributory culture and corruption were rearing their ugly heads in the implementation of the new scheme. As at mid-2009, only 10 states out of 36 had enacted the pensions fund law. To worsen matters, the Commission alleged that "most employers [were] deducting 7.5 percent pension contribution; yet they fail to remit same to the pension fund" - a criminal act.

Subsequently, there came a serious allegation of fraud made by the Joint Workers Association for Good Governance against a top manager of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSTIF. He was alleged to have diverted a whopping sum of N1.6 billion of the pension assets, in addition to his alleged refusal to transfer over N200 million to the Trustfund Pensions Plc.

That such allegations of monumental sleaze keep recurring while the supposed beneficiaries of the pension funds are subjected to dehumanizing bureaucratic bottlenecks, such as recurrent 'verification' exercises, leading to the preventable death of many retirees, is unacceptable. It is a cruel society that will persist in treating its elderly citizens so shabbily. We call on the Goodluck Jonathan administration to do a critical review of the implementation of the current pension system, so as to determine what constraints are frustrating its benefits to retirees. The case of pensioners who retired prior to the coming into effect of the new Pensions Act deserves special attention to ensure that old malpractices are not being perpetuated. The anti-graft bodies should take measures to expose and prosecute any criminals, however highly placed, converting the sweat innocent ex-workers into their own private gain. Furthermore, state governments that have not done so should urgently enact and enforce the new pensions law within their own domains. Above all, the process of pension disbursements should be streamlined and simplified to reduce the incidence of pensioners dying while waiting in vain.

Let the Nigerian government borrow a leaf from Chile. There the president, Michele Bachelet, signed a pensions scheme into law in 2008, intended primarily to benefit the poorest of workers. The Pension Basica Solidara covered the 45 per cent of lowest earners in 2008 and has since been reviewed to cover 60 per cent by 2011. In addition, the government paid 60,000 pesos per month to the beneficiaries that same year and upped it to 75,000 pesos per month in 2009. Currently, Chile boasts of five competent private fund managers, with assets worth $100 billion.

In the absence of any form of social security buffer here in Nigeria to cushion the misery of the aged, jobless, disabled or otherwise severely handicapped, let those Nigerians who sacrificed their productive years in service to the nation be paid their retirement benefits as and when due.

Daily Independent

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