250M NOLLYWOOD

The Nigerian movie industry popularly known as “Nollywood” has indeed evolved from Kenneth Nnebue’s much remembered “Living in Bondage” of 1992. This movie paved the way for the present- day Nollywood which has astonishingly become a $250 million enterprise as reported by Hala Gorani and Jeff Koinange formerly of CNN.

Nigerian movies are a favorite pastime for Nigerians both home and abroad because of its rich indigenous cultural content. It’s intensely enjoyed by Nigerians in Diaspora for the understandable reason that it reminds them of home. Nollywood has rapidly become Africa’s largest video feature film industry with an average output of 200 films per month. For illustration, probably owing to the accessibility to affordable digital filming and editing equipment a prolific director, Chico Ejiro – a director of over 80 movies in 8 years - claims he can produce a movie in 3 days – no mean feat if you ask me.

I must say that Nollywood deserves rounds of applause for promoting the Nigerian heritage and culture in the African and international forum. I was pleasantly surprised some time ago in Accra when some friends of my Ghanaian cousins upon discovering that yours truly is a Nigerian asked me so many enlightened questions about our diverse cultures and ways of life. It was a bit of a shock that they knew so much just from watching our movies. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have believed they’d spent some time in Nigeria, even though the only Nigerian town they’d heard of at the time was Lagos.

A headache of migraine-like proportions of the industry is piracy. It’s a cancer that has doggedly fought to outlive the attempted purges so it can bleed the industry dry like the bloodsucking parasite it is. It seems once production is wrapped up, pirates jump in from thin air, as it were, and reap the accruable returns before the producer can say jack. They’ve made the situation so difficult for marketers who want to avoid pirated copies that they – the marketers – have to be ingenious for the profits to come rolling in. Too bad for the filmmaker, don’t you think? As the saying goes: It’s the person that knows you that can kill you. Pirates aren’t the elusive phantoms we think they are; they are very human. Additionally, they live and they work amongst us. For them to carry out their dastardly acts, they must have an insider who informs them at every stage of production. It goes without saying that a lot could be done about security especially when it comes to selecting personnel.

On the one hand, I get disappointed when producers are inclined to cast artists in the same mold movie after movie. For example, Pete Edochie is almost as taciturn and manly as his character – Okonkwo - in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”; Jim Iyke is always the bad boy in love, school or business; Emeka Ike is always the besotted lover; Patience Ozokwor the wicked and unscrupulous mother or step-mother; Sam Dede the slow-talking tough guy; Van Vicker the handsome and most sought after prince, player or plain hunk; etc. The list is endless. Please could somebody tell me why Pete Edochie can’t play the part of an eccentric academic, or Jim Iyke an emotional softie, or Emeka Ike an unrepentant sadist, or Patience a disciplinarian and home-maker, or Sam Dede a talkative drunk, or Van a model husband and father? One could assume that these seasoned artists are no good in any other role. A conclusion I find insulting to these prizewinning gladiators in the Coliseum of African entertainment, as well as ridiculous considering their individual distinctive pedigrees.

 And on the other, considering the tributes the industry has earned over the years - from the early days of Beta-cam tapes to the latest in digital video technology - one would expect the storylines to have developed over time, you know. Instead the movies are so stereotypical that a friend of mine once alleged that you could predict the plot of a movie just by listening to the soundtrack. Originality and creativity are to be desired to a great extent. Though I must say the marketers are at the foundation of this wahala. As a result, the average actor is motivated not by his passion for the art but by the ready cash obtainable from the expression of his artistic talent per movie demand. The powers that be in the industry who have the means to change the status quo must find themselves overwhelmed by the vast majority whose primary objective has shifted from propagating our national make-up to making immediate mega-bucks. It is quite difficult, therefore, to swing the big stick against the artist since he has to make a living thus, he finds himself without an alternative but to accept any role that comes his way and do the best he can with the opportunity.

It is evident that the Nigerian artist is at the bottom of the industry’s food chain as opposed to the reverence and financial rewards their international counterparts have the benefit of. Artists like Will Smith, Al Pacino, Wesley Snipes, John Travolta, Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, amongst others, have alternative businesses and/or investments. In addition, multi-million dollar companies are never slow in getting these stars to endorse a product or service. For them, avoiding scandals and controversies is a tacit religion. They try to maintain a stellar reputation, institute foundations for the less privileged and as much as possible steer clear from brushes with the law. This way, they can avoid being at the mercy of the moguls and godfathers who would like to advertise a scene of a disheveled Mercy Johnson running all over the place in the middle of the night from a coven of witches.

Another panacea I’d suggest would be for big businesses to borrow a leaf – or two - from Globacom. This telecoms titan awarded a two-year contract of a total N500 million to about 10 Nollywood stars to serve as its ambassadors for the period. This deed is laudable not just for the public relations or customer-base build-up, but for the financial independence it has afforded Chioma Chukwuka-Akpota, Nonso Diobi, Monalisa Chinda, Jim Iyke, Funke Akindele, Rita Dominic, Ini Edo, Ramsey Noah, Desmond Elliott, and Uche Jombo. As it were, such gestures would embolden stars to pick roles that would uphold our national heritage and better serve their individual careers.

When our icons are free to spurn motion pictures that cast Nigerians in a fetish light, I believe filmmakers and marketers would have no choice but to churn out quality films that portray Nigeria as a developing country with a lot of serious ideas, technologically, politically, and socially. Let’s not think for a second that what other nationals see in our movies does not give them a rock-hard impression of the average Nigerian. Reflecting on the last American movie you watched; what impression did it give you of Americans, their lifestyles, their attitudes, their aspirations?  Now you have an idea of what they think of us as a people and as a nation.