- Sets agenda for new AMP president
- Cable TV company ruining Nollywood
- Firm disagrees
By Anote Ajeluorou
ALTHOUGH he is the oldest
filmmaker in the best tradition of the term in the country, his unbounded
enthusiasm for a better Nigerian film industry has no rival. He doesn’t quite
make as much films anymore, but he keeps fighting for a stronger filmic
environment for the younger ones. Unfortunately, the quest for better films,
better returns, a more sanitised industry by regulatory agencies often brings
him at loggerheads with those he fights for and anyone else who fails to see
things from his standpoint.
This is the fortune of Aboh, Delta
State-born, veteran filmmaker Chief Eddie Ugbomah whose 13 celluloid films and
other home video movies unarguably stand out. In the last few years, he has
been working to establish a film village for the industry. Babatunde Raji
Fashola and Emmanuel Uduaghan, past governors of Lagos and Delta States, sorely
disappointed him after promising land and sundry take-of facilities. They both
left offices without making good their words.
But feelers from Asaba, Delta State capital,
according to Ugbomah, indicate that there’s renewed hope for what the director
of The Death of a Black President, Oyenusi,
The Boy Is Good and The Mask
calls a major legacy project that will be beneficial to the entertainment
sector on may levels. The new government of Ifeanyi Okowa seems receptive to
Ugbomah’s idea and activities may start soon.
The Asaba Film Village, which he conceives as
a joint project of Delta State, Edifosa Film Production and Hollywood-based
Califco, will save Nigeria N9 billion yearly lost to music video shoot,
computer graphics effects (CGE) and editing in South Africa and India. He said
a whooping N4 billion would be saved yearly patronising Asaba Film Village, as
it would be complete with hotels, studios, film training school, editing suites
and all the modern facilities of filmmaking.
In all thousands of jobs will be created in the
village, as it would be a composite facility that would truly make Nigeria
Africa’s film hub. Ugbmaoh advised governments to urgently appraise themselves
with the power of entertainment and its image-making potentials and make the
most of it by also investing in it, as a way of diversifying the economy.
He noted, “It’s a mistake for government not
to see entertainment and Nollywood as
priority. It can and has been creating jobs; it should not be politicised or
tribalised”.
Ugbomah expressed gratitude to President
Muhammadu Buhari for giving ascent to fighting piracy, but advised that he
should co-opt committed movie practitioners into the fight to make it
effective. According to him, “Nigeria Film Corporation (NFC) and Nigerian Film
and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) have failed; they should sit with practitioners
to get a controlling body to be known as Movie Pictures Practitioners Council
of Nigeria (MOPPCON) that is answerable to the industry and government. MOPPCON
will sanitise the industry”.
MPPCON has been lying at the national
Assembly for over eight years without action. Ugbomah chided government for
pandering to those ruining the industry, saying losers of guild or association elections
rush to set up parallel associations to cause division in the industry and
advised that the trend must stop for a cohesive industry to emerge.
“If Nollywood
isn’t stupid, why should it allow a water engineer to be NFC
Director-General?” he asked.
He accused former boss of NFVCB, Mr. Emeka
Mba, of indiscriminate licensing of film distributors who have no facility to
distribute films.
“Of the all-comers who got licenses, how many
of them distribute films? Distributors now buy petition from NFVCB’s staff that
Patricia Bala is not competent. Censors’ board should revoke all the licenses
given to non-performing distributors”.
He also chided the board for not doing enough
to fight piracy, “What has censors’ board done to those dubbing America films
into Yoruba and millions of foreign films in our country at cheaper rates? Six
weeks ago, Federal Government and Lagos State signed agreement to fight piracy,
but nothing has come out of it yet. What are they doing to rid Idumota, Alaba,
Trade Fair and streets hawkers of pirates in Lagos? There are more than 50
films in the market that are uncensored”.
AS Chairman, Board of
Trustees of Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Ugbomah has set conditions
for whoever wishes to contest for its presidency. Mrs. Lilian Amah-Aluko and
Mr. Ifeanyi Nwachukwu are the frontrunners for the post.
“All past presidents in the last 10 years –
Madu Chikwendu, Zeb Ejiro, Zik Zulu Okafor – failed because they compromised for
personal gains at the expense of the industry,” said Ugbomah. “The next
president must support me to set up MOPPCON and build a film house, set up a
film village for Nollywood and be
vigorous in the fight to salvage the film industry by sanctioning MultiChoice
cable TV, which has eaten too deep into the industry”.
For Ugbomah, MultiChoice represents the single
most destructive agent hampering the growth of the Nigeria’s motion picture
industry. He said this was being done in connivance with some Nigerians even as
government and filmmakers stand and look another way. Although the South
African cable TV company has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying instead
that it was doing its best to help the industry, Ugbomah remains unconvinced
and categorically canvases that government should sanction the company for
illegally encroaching on the industry. Ugbomah said apart from showing Nigerian
movies more than agreed number of times, MultiChoice shows Nollywod films in 37 countries without paying the dollar equivalent
to local producers.
What is worse, Ugbomah accuses the cable
company of undercutting the film industry by engaging little known directors
with poor technical ability to make bad and uncensored films that are shown on
the cable to pass for Nollywood films.
Eh said this was undermining genuine filmmakers and giving the industry a bad
name. For instance, he said these directors, mostly based in Asaba, are paid to
produce no less than five ‘Mega Movies’ a week. Ugbomah decried such practice,
saying MultiChoice would not attempt it in its home country South Africa,
without attracting severe sanctions.
He also accused NFVCB and NBC of looking the
other way. Ugbomah tasked the board to take a cue from Nigeria Protection
Council which recently raided the cable TV company for rights violations.
According to him, “Nollywood used to
be something. But now, MultiChoice has made it to be Nothingwood. Save Nollywood before
we all drown. Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) should stop MultiChoice
from producing films locally”.
Ugbomah points accusing fingers at former
NFVCB and current NBC’s D-G, Mr. Emeka Mba for MultiChoice’s unbridled, brazen
and condescending attitude towards Nigerians and the film industry. He said the
argument that the activities of a cable company cannot be censored or regulated
is indefensible in the face of what he called massive economic sabotage.
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