Nollywood in Ghana

The brewing face-off between movie makers in Nigeria and Ghana is one development that seasoned entertainment practitioners knew would happen sooner than later. Only recently, Nigeria's House of Representatives had cause to condemn the imposition of $5,ooo and $1,000 levies on Nigerian film producers and actors/actresses respectively, either operating in Ghana or featured in their films. The reasons for this ugly trend may not be far to seek.

After witnessing phenomenal public acceptance since the release of the epoch-making Nigerian home video, Living In Bondage, back in 1981, Nollywood has been decried by critical observers for several lapses believed to be militating against its structural growth. These include sloppy story lines, lack of technical finesse and depth, dearth of state-of-the art equipment as well as the recycling of popular faces.

Some other obvious constraints include the lack of government infrastructural support and inadequate private sector funding. Add these to the criminal challenge of piracy, which the government is yet to fight frontally, and the pitiable plight of film producers becomes clearer. That a world-renowned film maker like Tunde Kelani has had to threaten to relocate out of Nigeria because his recent movie, Arugba, has been massively pirated is disheartening. Yet, the Nigerian film industry is a potential gold mine that, properly developed, could rival crude oil in revenue generation.

In spite of these institutional problems, Nollywood has recorded a remarkable impact in terms of employment generation and social re-engineering. It is currently widely regarded as the world's second largest in quantity. Many of the industry's exquisite works, including Afolayan's The Figurine, have won prestigious awards within and outside our shores. We cannot but salute the typical Nigerian courage and resilience exhibited so far, in the face of all odds. But there has always been a growing concern from relevant stakeholders for Nollywood to re-invent itself.

It was in the film makers' bid to expand their business in the West African sub-region and create a more global distribution network that they reached out to their Ghanaian counterparts. According to Mr. Paul Obazele, President of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) in Nigeria, the average film maker desires a profitable foray into new markets, as shown in the global spread of American (Hollywood) and Indian (Bollywood) films. The move was also in tandem with the goals of the ECOWAS treaty on free trade. In using Ghanaian actors and actresses, Nollywood succeeded in making stars out of some of the artistes like Jackie Appiah, Nadia Buari, Van Vicker and Majid Michel, who were hitherto unknown faces.

Within the short span of five years such actors became hugely popular with Nigerian movie fans. Coincidentally, this came at a time when the likes of Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Ekehinde, Ramsey Nouah and Pete Edochie had been sidelined for some years by Nigerian film producers, sometimes replaced by the Ghanaian stars.

In this light, we consider the Ghanaian film makers' decision to impose stiff levies on their Nigerian counterparts as ungrateful. It is also a breach of the spirit of the ECOWAS free trade agreement. To extort such fees from Nigerian movie producers and insist that they (Ghana's film makers) will not market Nollywood films except they feature Ghanaian actors will not promote the cordial relationship existing between the two countries.

While the right of the Ghanaian authorities to fix levies or taxes, within that country's legal framework, is acknowledged, it should not be projected as plain xenophobia. We say this against the backdrop of similar complaints from other Nigerian entrepreneurs in Ghana that they are being made to pay exorbitant fees to register and operate their businesses.

In the end, these discriminatory practices against Nigerians in some neighbouring countries only challenge the Nigerian government, financial institutions and venture capitalists to take another look at repositioning Nollywood. Infrastructural deficits here in Nigeria imply, for instance, that a Ghanaian film maker, enjoying steady electric power supply, will spend far less to produce a film than his Nigerian colleague, who must rely on self-generated power at a prohibitive cost. There is need for the stakeholders - from the Ministries of Information, Culture and Tourism, Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) and the AMP - to jointly fashion out a viable way forward.

In this era of re-branding Nigeria, what role should the movie industry play? How do we tackle the growing menace of piracy in order to guarantee good return on investment? In what ways should the private sector come in so that adequate financing on favourable terms, similar to the government's N150 billion stimulus package to the manufacturing sector, is made available to Nollywood's entrepreneurs? How do we upgrade the quality of the industry's technical equipment to reduce capital flight to South Africa with more stable infrastructure?

Nigeria has the right calibre of film makers to take Nollywood to the next level. It is time to supply the missing link by exercising the required political will and providing the right infrastructural support, so that less endowed countries no longer take us for a ride.

Daily Independent

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Government to resuscitate dams for electricity generation

As part of efforts to boost power supply in the country, the federal government said it is compiling studies of all the abandoned dams across the country in order to resuscitate them for electricity generation.

The Minister of State for Power, Ach. Nuhu Somo Wya, made this known during a stakeholders' workshop on electricity efficiency, standards in Abuja recently. The minister who was represented by the Director of Electrical Inspectorate, Newton Olagbade, stated that the need to revive these dams was coming on the backdrop that government have realised the amount of electricity to be generated from them to add to the national grid.

Listing the dams to include Oyo Dam in Ogun State, Kere Dam in Oyo State and Dadinkowa Dam in Gombe State, he said the dams can generate 10 mega watts, 6 and 34 mega watts of electricity respectively.

In his words, "Government is concentrating on small and medium hydros. All over the country we have a lot of dams managed by respective agencies through the federal ministry of water resources, this dams were conceived for irrigation, and water supply purposes only.

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Okonjo-Iweala seeks renaissance in science and tech

African Heads of government, scientists and scholars have been urged to develop and diffuse the excitement and promise of the 21st century in science and technology that could lead to an "African Renaissance", if the continent's aspiration for self-sustainability is to be achieved in no distant time.

Managing Director of the WorldBank Group and Chair, Nelson Mandela Institute (NMI)'s Board of Directors, Dr Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala made the call shortly after the second distinguished lecture series, organised by the NMI in collaboration with the African University of Science and Technology (AUST), at the AUST campus in Abuja recently.

The acquisition of knowledge, she said, was not enough. Its utilisation in solving African peoples' problems should be a paramount priority of Africans both at home and in the Diaspora. Okonjo-Iweala delivered the first lecture in the series held last year.

Delivering the Second Distinguished Lecture titled, 'New Frontiers in Science and Technology for African Development, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University, USA, Oluwole Soboyejo presented some examples of recent collaborations between African and international scientists in the area of science and technology, which were yet to be tapped by successive governments in Africa.

Such findings include, possible strategy for African solar cell /LED manufacturing, scaled up pilot plants to manufacture solar cells, early detection of cancer mechanism using therapeutical drugs manufactured from magnetic fields, to mention a few.

Soboyejo, thanked NMI and the leadership of AUST, for finding him fit to deliver the lecture and promised to make himself available in the call for self- independence by Africa in science and technology-related fields.

Guests at the lecture include, Chief Executive of NMI, Prof. Funmi Arewa; Hamza Isa Baba from the FCT Agency for Science and Technology; Dr Boubou Cisse of the WorldBank and NMI Liaison to AUST; Nwosa Lucky of NOTAP, Resident Surveyor, FCDA, Joe Odoh and a host of AUST leadership, led by the Acting President, Prof. Charles Ejike Chidume.

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One year after Boko Haram

The scars are still visible, the people are still scared, Governments are still cautious, and the victims are still waiting for some kinds of relief, one year after the sectarian insurgency that claimed thousands of lives in Borno, Bauchi, Yobe and Kano states. The mention of a planned anniversary protest by members of the dreaded sect, Boko Haram, recently was enough to cause a lot of panic, with the deployment of intelligence officers to fish out suspected members across Borno state. Nobody is ready to take another chance with Boko Haram, even with the death of its leaders.

Suspects arrested during the crisis have not been convicted, while their victims still cry for justice. Those who lost properties are claiming that they have not been compensated. Religious leaders are still busy trying to reorient their followers and build their confidence in adherents of other faiths. Islam as a religion which name was dubiously employed to execute that devilish act has been trying hard to clear its name and make others realize that it is indeed a religion of peace. Indeed, Boko Haram has left a sour taste in the mouths of Nigerians, especially in Borno state where it had its operational headquarters.

The Nigerian Police, the biggest casualty of that war, is still suffering with its personnel being dismissed for their alleged roles in the elimination of the ring leaders of the sect, even as it is being cajoled to pay compensations to aggrieved families of the supposed victims of the violence. At the last count, all principal officers of the police who held sway during the crisis have suffered some form of punishment or deprivations, even as the fate of many junior officers hang in the balance. The same police that sacrificed their lives to save citizens from the sect are today being persecuted, and nobody seems to have any kind words for them.

As Nigerians mark the first anniversary of that mindless war, the police have become increasingly passive and apparently uncooperative because of what has befallen its officers and men in the aftermath of the uprising. The second in command to the sect leader is reported to be hiding out somewhere within the shores of Nigeria from where he gives instructions and even granted press interviews, with apparently no fears of any possible arrest. With the agency that is supposed to arrest him decapacitated, it is very unlikely that if a similar crisis occurs today, no security agency will be willing to intercede for Nigerians given the fate that has befallen the Nigerian police for suppressing the Boko Haram insurgency.

Members of Boko Haram are having the last laugh, now that they are no longer under any sort of threat. Even those arrested and are being prosecuted do not appear to be under any threat whatsoever of being convicted for killing fellow human beings, given the shoddy manner the prosecution is going on. More worrisome to many people, especially victims of the carnage, is the apparent sympathy those facing trial for involvement with the sect seem to be enjoying from highly placed Nigerians. And against a recent judgment to the effect that the Police and Borno state Government were ordered to pay money to the family of a suspect killed during the fracas, Nigerians are beginning to despair in fighting Boko Haram.

Whether adherents of Boko Haram mark the anniversary or not, and even if their victims mark one of the demise of their lost one, and attendant loss of property or not, the fact remains that the post Boko Haram era is being badly managed, and the Nigerian police that deserves a pat on the back for suppressing it are being persecuted. Short of defending the Police, I hasten to say that the authorities are gradually killing the spirit of gallant men and women in the Police who are willing to lay down their lives in the defense of citizens.

Policemen, as the initial primary target of the sect, coupled with the fact that the force lost men and officers, including trainees while the crisis lasted was enough provocation for the police to kill their attackers, no matter the mode of killing. That today residents of Borno state are clamouring for a return of the Anti Crime squad, Operation Flush II, following renewed threats of another insurgency and other related security problems, is an ample pointer to the fact that the police did the right thing after all. It is rather unfortunate that people failed to appreciate the actions of the police within the context of the threats to it as an institution, and to the lives of individual policemen on or off duty in Borno state at that time.

In a war situation like the one the police found themselves, there are no ground rules; those killed deliberately or mistakenly fall under what is regarded as casualties of war. I know as a matter of policy that there are provisions for casualties in crisis situations and nobody bears the blame for incurring casualties, especially in trying to suppress an insurrection against the state. I know that those who lost their commissions or jobs as fallout of the boko haram crisis have grudgingly accepted their fates, but the truth remains that they are victims of a wrongly conceived situation.

Perhaps, the confidence of many other policemen who may be called upon for similar assignments may be restored if those punished or dismissed are treated as gallant officers, called to duty as a response to an obvious threat to national security. I think the police authorities have been playing to the gallery in punishing their men over the Boko Haram debacle.

Daily Independent

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Jonathan hails female football team

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday praised the Nigerian Falconets for their historic performance at the just concluded 2010 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in Germany, saying he looks forward to hosting them on heir return.

In a message to the team after the final match which Nigeria lost to Germany, Jonathan expressed the nation's "sincerest appreciation of the exemplary dedication, patriotism, commitment to national service and excellence which the Falconets displayed".

He saluted the courage, determination, doggedness, stamina, skills and sense of national pride which were visible in all the matches they played in the tournament.

Noting that doing one's best whenever the opportunity presents itself to serve one's nation is the most any country can ask of its people, the President said the entire nation was proud of the Falconets in spite of their loss to the hosts in the final match.

This is because "the girls clearly tried, to the very best of their God-given abilities, and against all odds, to win the ultimate prize of the competition for Nigeria", said Jonathan.

According to him, "wearing our national colours as you did in Germany, with self-belief, patriotic commitment, discipline and a burning desire to achieve victory for our dear nation is what we expect from all our sportsmen and women.

"The entire nation followed your matches with keen interest and we were all positively inspired by your very apparent dedication and commitment to national service.

"I fully believe that with the great human and natural resources our country is blessed with, there can be no limits to our progress as a people if more of our compatriots follow your fine example and put their very best effort into all that they do in whatever area of human endeavour they are called upon to serve Nigeria".

Daily Independent