By Chris Ihidero
Here we are once again, gathered at the Ballroom Hall of Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, to pick up from where we left off at this same venue last year. It’s been a fun year in many respects for the entertainment industry in Nigeria, especially with the recent rebasing of the country’s GDP and, for the first time, putting a figure to the scope of business being done in the entertainment industry. $5.6 billion is that figure, covering largely the music sector and Nollywood. It is commendable that the government has deemed it fit to acknowledge the immense contributions of the entertainment industry to the nation, not only as fun providers but as important contributors to the economic well-being of the country. It is of course debatable whether the figure is a true representation of the industry’s realities or a mere speculation of its possibilities. Whatever be the case, $5.6 billion is an under-representation of the potential of the Nigerian entertainment industry.
In his opening address last year, former honorable minister for information, Mr. Frank Nweke Jr., insisted that our collective failure to put proper structure in place in the entertainment industry has sadly ensured that we cannot extract maximum returns from the value chain of the industry. This is a sad reality and, twelve months later, we are not closer to putting those structures in place. By and large, the same issues still bedevil our industry, led by the hydra-headed monster: grossly inadequate distribution channels. From film to music, to design, to photography, to dance, to paintings, to the theatre, we haven’t solved the issues around getting the product to the consumers in a manner that allows the artiste to maximise profit from his/her artistic endeavour.
This year, we have chosen ‘Creating Pathways to the Future’ as our central theme for the conference. To put it mildly, the future is changing at an alarming rate such that whatever we know at present pales into insignificance at an alarming rate. All over the world, rapid manifestations are occurring in the production and distribution of entertainment while we are still largely playing catch up with outdated platforms. If we were behind by a few decades before, we may be moving behind by perhaps half a century if we do not properly chart pathways to the future of the Nigerian entertainment industry.
In all of this, however, worthy praise must be given to those who continue to trudge along in spite of the many stifling conditions associated with working in the Nigerian entertainment industry. Day by day, it seems as if the reality is beginning to dawn on many of us that the redemption (or otherwise) of this industry is in our hands, individually and across sections. Our distribution issues stand a better chance of being sorted out if we took a holistic view of distribution, not just as it concerns music or movies in isolation. We also stand a better chance of getting copyright laws enforced if we present a common front to concerned authorities. The more we are, the louder our voices will carry our issues to ears that will listen and therefore be forced to act.
On behalf of the Editorial Board of Nigerian Entertainment Today (NET), organisers of Nigerian Entertainment Conference, I thank you for coming and look forward to your worthy participation.
