What would Nigeria be like without entertainment? - RMD

RMD

BY ADA DIKE

Despite his busy schedules, veteran actor and the Honourable Commissioner For Culture and Tourism, Delta State of Nigeria, Barrister Richard Mofe Damijo, popularly known as RMD, has continued to make positive contribution to move the Nigerian entertainment industry forward.

This came to fore in a recent paper he presented at Prof. Pat Utomi Foundation Annual Lecture, on Thursday, December 4, 2014, at the Civic Center, Victoria Island, Lagos.

With theme: “The Impact of Entertainment on the Nigerian Economy”, RMD began with a question: ‘What would Nigeria be like without entertainment?’

He further said that that the question has been nipping at the back of his mind for quite some time now.

 “If I were to talk about what entertainment has contributed for the total wellbeing of this great country, there will be no time left for any other matter in this event. I hope there will be another day to do that. Meanwhile, I will stick to my topic and I promise I will not waste your time,” says RMD.

While addressing above topic, he also posited four questions to drive home his points:

        I.            What is entertainment?

      II.            What is the structure of the entertainment industry?

    III.            What is the meaning of economic impact?

    IV.            What economic impact has entertainment made to Nigeria?

He explains:

“I intend to treat these questions as an insider in the industry and not as an economist. As one who has worked and lived my life from the entertainment industry, wisdom demands that I share from my experiences with you.”

What is entertainment?

“Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, defines entertainment as a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. What this definition does not tell us is that entertainment also educates the mind, releases harmful stress, unlocks our imaginations and frees us to express our inner beauties. It is a force for social and economic good of any society. Without it life would be grim and dreadful.”

The structure of entertainment industry

“The entertainment industry is collection of several sub-sectors comprising of:

·         Motion pictures, video and related businesses.

·         Sound recording and production.

·         Radio, television and cable.

·         Life entertainment/performing arts.

·         Agents, managers and independent artists.

In Nigeria this is big business. And it continues to expand as we embrace technology. Nollywood, the film and video segment, is the clear leader. In the last couple of years, our music has taken the world by storm. Our art is making inroads into the global marketplace. Fashion has set its footstool in the global arena. Life theatre has come alive and the new media has continued to make these different aspects of entertainment available to the world in real time.”

Economic impact of the Nigerian Entertainment Industry

“Cambridge Online Dictionary defines economic impact as “a financial effect that something, especially something new, has on a situation or person.” Economists tell us that the best way to measure the financial effect of an industry on the economy where the industry operates is to look at the output of the industry, the labour income generated and the employment figures of the industry.

 “With these measures of economic impact in mind, I can say without any fear of contradiction, that our industry has made some impact on the Nigerian economy. Here are the facts:

·         In terms of GDP, which is a country’s economic output for a year, Nigeria became the largest economy in Africa and the 26^th in the world after the rebasing of her Gross Domestic Product (GDP) now estimated at about $510 billion. This new figure was supported by emerging industries in the economy including the entertainment industry with a contribution of 1.2 percent. This has helped put Nigeria on track to becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by year 2020.

·         The Nigeria Economic Report published by the World Bank in July this year puts the GDP growth rate of the entertainment industry at 24.1 percent. What do you say to that?

·         African Report published on August 1, 2014 puts the current estimates of Nollywood’s annual revenue at $590 million. Note that this is just a sector in the industry.

·         The same magazine also rated the entertainment industry as the second highest employer in Nigeria after agriculture with about one million people particularly the youth.”

Stretching the impact

“It is true the entertainment industry has done well in the last couple of years, but it can do more. I believe it can replace oil as the mainstay of our economy if all the right things are done. I acknowledge the effort of the Federal Government through the Nigerian Creative and Entertainment Industry Stimulation Loan Scheme, but I think much more need to be done to redefine and reposition the industry to take its rightful place in our economy. I will suggest we:

·         Tighten regulation of the industry to ensure international standards are met and maintained.

·         Ensure existing laws are enforced to the letter and make new ones to fill the voids.

·         Encourage training and retraining of practitioners. We are already too ripe for film, music and art academies.

·         Develop worldwide distribution networks

·         Launch a real fight against piracy

·         Engage in global partnerships in all aspects of the industry to take it to the next level.

·         Lobby the federal government for more tax incentives for investors in the sector.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, what is happening to oil prices at the moment is instructive. There is no time to waste. As a Chinese proverb teaches, the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The next best time is NOW. Thank You.”

Born on July 6, 1961 in Warri, Delta State, Damijo attended Midwest College, Warri and Anglican Grammar School. He was a member of the Drama Club. The lawyer cum politician studied Theatre Arts in the University of Benin and Law in the University of Lagos.

He was a reporter at Concord Newspapers and Metro Magazine. RMD’s acting career began in the 1980s when he took part in a television soap opera called ‘Ripples’. Some of the movies he featured in among others include: Out of Bounds, Hostages, Scores to Settle, Diamond Ring, Critical Assignment, The Bridesmaid, Darkest Night, Bridge-Stone, Behind The Closed Doors, Angels of Destiny and Caught in the Middle.