TO THE PRESIDENT.
FEDERAL REPUBLIC
OF NIGERIA
GENERAL MUHAMMADU
BUHARI GCFR.
ASO ROCK
PRESIDENTIAL VILLA,
FEDERAL CAPITAL
TERRITORY,
ABUJA.
 |
| GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI GCFR |
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA; CREATIVE
INDUSTRY FINANCE INITIATIVE (CIFI) LOAN PROGRAM.
1. The Nollywood
Guilds and Associations of Nigeria with over Five million active members seize
this opportunity to thank President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration,
for affirming the critical role of the Nigerian Creative Industry especially
Nollywood as the main empowerment instrument for millions of Nigerian youths.
Nollywood is a frontline partner with the Federal government of Nigeria to
actualize President Buhari's laudable vision of creating 100 million vital
youth jobs in four years. It was therefore welcome news when the President
announced the single digit 22 Billion Naira loan facility to the Creative
industry, to spur the immediate creation of millions of youth jobs annually.
2. The entire
Nigerian Creative Industry greeted the Federal government's intervention with
initial euphoria, but immediately after engaging the leading Nigerian Banks
spearheading the actualization of the program, we have since sadly realized
that the structure of the program as being implemented by Central Bank of
Nigeria CBN, and the two leading Banks (Access Bank and Guarantee Trust Bank)
is completely flawed and will not achieve the expectations of Mr. President.
3. It was expected
that both CBN and the two main Nigerian Banks would at least consult with the
Nollywood leadership, blessed with over 500 years of combined applicable global
experience in the entertainment industry, to jointly craft an innovative,
technologically advanced film production and distribution strategy and master
plan that will not only sustain the Nigerian Creative industry, but will
ultimately satisfy President Buhari's critical mandate of massive job creation
for the teeming Nigerian youth population. Though the Nollywood leadership had
already internally developed a unique and strategic master plan for the
Creative Industry based on 25 years of tried and tested solutions with
excellent Proof of Concept applications, CBN completely ignored and relegated
the 15 Federal government registered Nollywood Guilds and Associations and
shockingly imposed impossible conditionality for the CIFI loan application
which no single practicing creative industry company can meet. This rather
unfortunate action by CBN portrays a very sad, haughty, paternalistic and
disdainful view of Nollywood, the Industry that single handedly raised
Nigeria's economy to the number one position in Africa. The result of CBN's
ill-advised strategy has left Nollywood aghast. Worse still is the potential
waste of Nigeria's hard earned financial resources simply because of
bureaucratic arrogance and a lack of required due diligence.
4A. To buttress
the mistake, CBN and the Banks, only created the category of high end extremely
costly Cinemas as the only viable distribution option for Nollywood films. This
is shocking and completely counter-productive since most industry practitioners
understand and appreciate the new global distribution opportunities of 5G
Digital Monetization through the internet and several innovations in symbiotic
relationship with Fintech, 25 Billion Dollars annual remittances, Nigerian
advantageous Five Fiber Optic undersea cable companies and the well developed
Nigerian advertising industry.
(B) The archaic
brick and mortar Cinema distribution opportunities have been rendered not
viable especially in Nigeria where the average cinema is built with a whopping
cost of over 500 million Naira with only 400 seats with expensive Digital
Cinema Print (DCP) projection technology. A simple alternative would have been
to build Five Cottage Cinemas of 400 seats each at the over 700 local
government centers, with the same amount, with attendant world class,
affordable BLURAY 1080p projection technology and Digital Knowledge Process
Outsourcing (DKPO) international monetization capacity.
(C) Ironically,
the entire Nollywood shoots in 1080p, the global standard digital format. The
CBN preferred massive cinema edifices force Nollywood film producers to convert
their content to DCP at an additional cost of One Hundred thousand Naira per
cinema screen. Meanwhile the discombobulated film Producer can only expect Thirty
Percent of Cinema gate takings, after paying Sixty percent of the gross to
the Cinema/ distributor (who is actually also the same cinema owner) and
mandatory Ten percent gross as Federal government Tax plus an additional Five
percent Lagos State government VAT.
(D) This lopsided
arrangement ruins the ability of Nollywood film producers to continuously produce
quality content and directly frustrates their capacity to create much needed
employment for Nigerians. Ironically, the cinemas can only create maximum Fifty
jobs per cinema location. Twenty cinemas at the proposed Five Hundred Million
Naira each (Ten Billion Naira) can only generate at best, One thousand jobs
total.
5. Nollywood
Guilds trepidation therefore stems from the naivety of the Banks in executing
the CIFI loan funds without any knowledge whatsoever about the industry. Four
years from now when we all look back and reminisce over the disaster, the
Nigerian youth population would have been cheated out of the great opportunity
presented by President Buhari's kind intervention. It is therefore simply
because of this
critical
reason that the Nollywood Guilds and distinguished Associations, have come
together in one voice, to raise alarm to caution against the impending
catastrophe.
6. The
far-reaching deplorable Nigerian Banks attitude towards the Nigerian Creative
Industry subjugates Nollywood and the entire Creative Industry to a shameful
dependence on foreign controlled media of archaic, non-interactive set top box
Satellite Technology. Apart from the national disgrace, the foreigners make out
like bandits, taking undue advantage of the Nigerian Creative Industry art and
talents. For those bold Nollywood film and music entrepreneurs who are forced
to seek venture capital elsewhere, they are subjected to agreeing to
incorporate neo cultures completely alien to indigenous Nigerian culture and mores
in their content and programming. Unfortunately some Nigerians have acquiesced
to their subtle yet potent demands so as survive. We will witness the
repercussions of their choice soon in the Nigerian creative space.
7. Nollywood
Guilds are ready, willing and able to actualize President Buhari's vision for
the empowerment of millions of Nigerian youths. With a singular four year
budget of Ten million Dollars, the industry has the structure,
experience, capacity, global relationship equity and overall wherewithal to
practically and realistically create and sustain Five Million youth jobs by
producing, distributing and monetizing 5,000 movies globally in Four years and
in the process, champion the positive propagation of the distinguished Nigerian
personality worldwide, thereby facilitating much needed marketing opportunities
for foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Nigerian economy.
The ball is in Mr.
President's court. We await Your Excellency's decision.
SIGNED BY
* PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF MOVIE PRODUCERS (AMP)
* PRESIDENT, DIRECTORS’ GUILD OF NIGERIA (DGN)
* PRESIDENT, ACTORS GUILD OF NIGERIA. (AGN)
* PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN THEATRE ARTS *
PRACTITIONERS (NANTAP)
*PRESIDENT, MOTION PICTURE PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (MOPPAN)
* PRESIDENT, INDEPENDENT TELEVISION PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA
(ITPAN)
* PRESIDENT, SCREEN WRITERS GUILD OF NIGERIA (SWGN)
* PRESIDENT, CINEMATOGRAPHY SOCIETY OF NIGERIA (CSN)
* PRESIDENT, CREATIVE DESIGNERS GUILD OF NIGERIA (CDGN)
* PRESIDENT, CONGRESS OF EDO MOVIE PRODUCERS (CEMP)
* PRESIDENT, THEATRE AND MOVIE PRACTITIONERS ASSOCIATION OF
NIGERIA (TAMPAN)
* PRESIDENT, FILM AND VIDEO PRODUCERS MARKETING ASSOCIATION
OF NIGERIA (FVPMAN)
* PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF VOICE OVER ARTISTE OF NIGERIA (AVOA)
* PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF CORE MOVIE PRODUCERS (ANCOP)
* PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF MOVIE CONTENT OWNERS AND PRODUCER / MARKETERS
OF NIGERIA (AMCOD)
*PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN THEATRE ARTS PRACTITIONERS (ANTP)
CC:
CBN GOVERNOR
CC: HON. MINISTER
OF FINANCE
CC: HON. MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND
CULTURE
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