Dear President Buhari,
I know your new administration will have a long list of items on its change agenda – poverty, domestic terrorism, power, fuel shortages, educational reform , unemployment – but I’d like you to consider another area that actually has the potential to address unemployment, one of the major challenges Nigeria faces today. You need to prioritize regulatory reforms that will provide an enabling environment for growth in the media and entertainment sector.
Nigeria is home to the second largest movie industry in the world – rivaled only by India’s Bollywood. Our media and entertainment is said to be the second largest employer in Nigeria after the Federal and State governments. Our Nigerian movie industry is currently estimated to generate $500 million annually, and this amount is growing. But producing more than 50 movies a day for Nigerians and Africans with a growing appetite for entertainment is not easy in a country besieged by power outages, fuel shortages, piracy, and an unpredictable regulatory environment.
The entertainment industry needs an ecosystem realignment that will encourage and promote competition, creativity and investment in the sector.
My hope is that your administration builds on some of the goodwill generated by the previous administration by rolling out the expected digital migration, conducting a review of regulations with a view to reforming certain elements to make it fit for the 21st century and capacity building to deepen knowledge and skill set amongst existing and new practitioners to match the best in the world.
Nigeria along with other African countries is not going to meet the ITU (International Telecom Union) deadline of July 2015. This is bad for Nigerian consumers, operators and the government. By switching to digital transmission Nigerians will benefit from greater picture quality. Digital migration has not happened not for lack of will but for lack of funds, this is one of the key objectives that this administration must get done as soon as possible if we want to compete in the 21st century. More importantly digital migration will free up much needed spectrum for improved broadband service that could increase revenue for the government. The beauty of this is the investment required to improve broadband services will come not from the government but from the private sector.
The regulators in the entertainment sector need to take leadership in creating an environment that promotes and encourages competition and investment. At the same time intellectual piracy continues to bug content creators thus making it difficult to make money across the media value chain. Regulation also needs to break monopolies by creating fair and healthy competition. It is not enough to criticize big media operators in the market if content exclusivities are not addressed. We need to create a fair playing ground for all players, big and small, to compete effectively to encourage investment in the industry. With greater regulation in the entertainment industry we will see more growth which means more tax revenue for the government. At the same time the government should make sure not to over regulate or even censor the creative industries.
Building capacity in the media and entertainment industry needs to go beyond lip service one-week courses at international film schools. Our country needs to invest in world-class facilities and education infrastructure for developing the creative minds and talent that craves professional writers, directors, producers, sound engineers and editors. We need to invest in developing the technological expertise and infrastructure that can support our industry. The entertainment industry is one of the fastest growing industries in Nigeria but it needs a support system if it is to grow further. Your administration should work to provide this.
In spite of the present challenges ahead, Nigeria’s media and entertainment industry is still one of the most buoyant in the region balking trends and disrupting itself everyday. We are telling new stories from fresh perspectives, testing new distribution models and increasing our global reach everyday. Netflix has recently added Nollywood films to its offering. According to Reuters News, the Nigeria based Iroko TV has over 5000 Nollywood films available on its platforms with over one million unique hits from 178 countries. Irokos’ expansion is inevitable and there are more platforms in the pipeline to serve those with a love for Nigerian content at home and across the world.
As your new administration steps up to the podium making history as the first opposition party to unseat an incumbent, I hope your team also makes history by creating a robust and continuously striving media and entertainment industry. Mr. President, our future as a country depends on what stories we tell about ourselves and how we tell them. You’d be amazed at how many Nigerians want the to tell our stories.
