Wale Adenuga: All is not well with Nollywood – The Liberator
The chairman of PEFTI Film Institute, Wale Adenuga, has described the film industry in Nigeria as the only industry that is not coordinated, saying things are not going on well with the sector.
Adenuga, however, said the government of Nigeria had done its best for the sector by providing loans for film making but advocated for total restructuring of the sector.
The veteran filmmaker who made this disclosure while speaking at the opening of a new PEFTI Institute in Ibadan, urged people to disregard the flamboyant life of some of the young people in the industry, adding that many of them made their monies outside film production.
He said in the last few year, he could count 10 Nollywood veterans who had died of poverty escalated diseases as a result of their poor financial status.
According to Adenuga, “Nollywood is not structured, not organised, no national leadership, no united front and the industry is not coordinated”.
He maintained that as a result of all these, the industry has lacked professionalism, and has become all comer affairs.
“Because we are not united, there is no quality control. Anybody can produce film if the person has money, which, is not suppose to be. There should be control, there should be national leadership to run and regulate the sector not sectional leadership. Ibo has its own leadership, Yoruba has its, Hausa also has its own leadership.
“Until all of us come together to have national association, the industry will continue to lack focus and direction, which portend bleak future for the industry”.
Speaking on why establishing PEFTI Film Institute in Ibadan, Adenuga said, “Ibadan is symbolic and strategic to film production. The first set of film producers in the 70s, 80s before the advent of Nollywood are in Ibadan. So it is imperative we have the Institute also in Ibadan, which is capital of the south west zone”.
