Y! Report: Nigeria’s emergence as Africa’s media and entertainment superpower

‘Duh! Talk to the hand’, the little girl said to the boy. She raised her hand, snapped her fingers and twisted her neck in an exaggerated imitation of actress Queen Nwokoye’s role in the movie ‘Ada Mbano’.

The boy had accused her of cheating at the game they were playing.

‘Gerrahere mehn!’ the boy retorted, his face contorted in anger and shoulders puffed up in an equally exaggerated show of masculinity.

The girl appeared to be nine or eight years old whilst the boy, a neighbor’s son, was seven. Their unintended mimicry of movie acts reminded me of how, as a primary school boy, I developed a fear of the staircase at night after watching a Nigerian horror movie.

NOLLYWOOD

Known by its popular sobriquet, Nollywood, the Nigeria film industry has become a major influencer as people, regardless of age or gender, imitate acts portrayed in films. Aside from the Nigerian music industry and social media, Nollywood has become a major means of influencing pop culture and generating public opinion. Growing up in Nigeria, Nollywood was a huge part of our lives and it played a part in our socialization almost as much as age mates, peer groups and family did.

The film industry contributes significantly to the GDP of the predominantly oil-dependent economy of Nigeria. According to several estimates, Nollywood is said to generate more than $250 million dollars annually and is the third highest employer of labor (after oil and agriculture), employing over a million people in different roles from acting, marketing, and production to costume and cosmetics.

Nollywood has grown to become the second largest producer of films, trailing India’s Bollywood and ahead of America’s Hollywood –although in terms of quality both countries are ahead of Nollywood. In terms of earning, Nollywood is behind Hollywood and Bollywood.

The growth of the industry could be traced to the prolific production of low quality and low budget films (more than 2000 films are produced in Nigeria annually), and also the conversion of the films straight to DVDs that are viewed at home instead of the cinemas.

British filmmaker, Geoffrey Barkas, produced the first feature film in Nigeria titled ‘Palaver’.

The film which told the story of a rivalry between an English District Officer and a tin miner, also starred indigenous actors and was shot in the north-central states of Bauchi and Plateau states. Films, and cinema viewing, soon became a common aspect of social life in Lagos –the de-facto entertainment and business hub of Nigeria- from the 1930s till date.

Nollywood movies often reflect the cultural and social identity of the several ethnic groups in Nigeria. It tells the African story in a down to earth manner -often utilizing humor- that is easily relatable and familiar to most African (this I believe is the reason why despite the poor quality of Nollywood movies, it still sells hugely.

Nollywood has become the proverbial mirror on the wall telling our stories and describing our pains, in a language we understand). Majority of the films produced are shot in either English language or any of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria (Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba) and Pidgin English.

The influence of Nigerian films has also crossed beyond the Nigerian borders. Late Tayo Aderinokun, cofounder of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), in a 2004 speech said:

“According to the Filmmakers Cooperative of Nigeria, every film in Nigeria has a potential audience of 15 million people within the country and 5 million outside. These statistics maybe somewhat conservative considering that half of West Africa’s 250 million people are Nigerians.”

Nigeria’s biggest export to the world comes from her entertainment sector. In recent years Nigerian home videos, music and culture have found their ways into several African countries where they are dominating the local film industry.

A 2010 article by The Economist said thus: “Nigerian films are as popular abroad as they are at home. Ivorian rebels in the bush stop fighting when a shipment of DVDs arrives from Lagos. Zambian mothers say their children talk with accent learnt from Nigerian television. When the president of Sierra Leone asked Genevieve Nnaji, a Lagosian screen goddess, to join on the campaign trail, he attracted record crowds at his rally. Millions of Africans watch Nigerian films every day, many more than see American fare. And yet Africans have mixed feelings about Nollywood.”

DSTV, a South African pay television, launched a collection of entertainment channels known as Africa Magic in 2003.

The channel broadcasts in more than fifty countries worldwide. Despite the name connoting African entertainment, the channel however, broadcasts more of Nollywood films than any other country’s film. The channel also has three stations dedicated to airing of films made in indigenous Nigerian languages –African Magic Yoruba, African Magic Hausa and African Magic Igbo.

Several African countries have raised alarm over what they term “the Nigerianization of Africa” (sort of a modern recolonization of Africa by Nigeria) –with some countries going as far as instituting measures to curb the growth of Nigerian films (and invariably Nigerian culture) in their country.

The Nigerian film industry has been able to propel itself to the current position it stands at without government support. The films are produced by individual financiers and marketed by private companies.

However, recently- government and other international organization, like the World Bank, have begun to make effort to boost the industry. The Nigerian government and World Bank recently made available a loan scheme for movie producers and directors.

Nigerian music industry

Much like the film industry, the Nigerian music industry has grown over the years largely on individual efforts rather than governmental or institutional support. Nigerian music and the accompanying videos, are the most followed and watched, in Africa, with local acts collaborating with different music acts across the world from American’s Kanye West to Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz.

The greatest enabling factor (or selling point, as it is known in Nigeria) of the music industry is that the music reflects the culture of Africa and the identity of the African man. The use of uniquely fused complex beats (christened Afrobeat) and hip-hop beats borrowed from America, reggae beats from Jamaica and indigenous Nigerian musical instrument, has further garnered admirers from around the world to the industry.

The lyrical contents of the music often described as shallow and directionless, however, brilliantly fuses pidgin English, indigenous Nigerian languages or English –often time the different languages are used together in the same song.

Music played a crucial role in the political history of Nigeria especially during the tumultuous period after the Nigerian civil wars and the successive military coups that followed.

Provocateur musician and songwriter, Fela Kuti is best remembered for coining the term Afrobeat and also for his politically charged lyrics that roundly criticised military regimes’ for their abuse of power, human right violations and corruption. His son, Femi Kuti, has been nominated four times by the internationally acclaimed Grammy awards.

Like Nollywood, the Nigerian music industry has enormous influence in the socio-cultural activities of the country –and indeed the rest of Africa. Nigerian musicians have coined several slangs (often nonsensical and meaningless) that have gained acceptance in mainstream Nigerian languages and are often weaved intricately into the social behavior, communication and behavior of the public.

About 55% of the more than 200 million population of Nigeria are youths (and the population is growing), hence the music industry has found a fertile ground to germinate and flourish in.

Last year, Nigeria was declared to be the largest economy in Africa after the successful rebasing of its economy. The entertainment sector was stated as contributing 1.4% to the country’s GDP.

Other media forms

Television and other broadcast media have played a central role in the development of Nigeria and it has become an indispensable aspect of the Nigerian culture.

Though television and radio tend to be more conservative in their operations when compared to newspapers –and recently blogging, however, the increased availability and usage of internet enabled devices have seen an upsurge in online broadcasting, downloading and/or streaming of videos. Recently the country has begun a switch over from analogue to digital terrestrial television broadcasting.

The recent agitation for secession from Nigeria by some elements in the Southeastern part of the country, which is predominantly Igbo, was heralded by the use of radio. The radio station, aptly named radio Biafra, rekindled the zest for an independent Biafra state and has sparked huge protests in parts of Nigeria.

The 2015 general election, which saw the ouster of the Peoples Democratic Party from power after 16 years, is instructive in terms of how social media and other contemporary media is used to influence public opinion and influence behavior.

The election could be termed ‘internet and media election 2015’ and one wouldn’t be wrong. Social media and internet connectivity also played a massive role in the campaign against the kidnap of more than 200 girls from their school dormitory in Chibok, a town in northeast Nigeria.

The hashtag, #Bringbackourgirls, trended massively on Twitter and other social media sites. Key players in the Nigerian copyright, intellectual property and entertainment sectors recently held a conference where the possibility of digital music licensing and content was extensively discussed.

There is a high possibility that whatever trends in Nigeria will trend in other parts of Africa. This is perhaps exemplified in the increased appreciation and usage of Nigerian fashion items, patois and cultural practices.

Hence, it makes sense to state that any organization interested in investing in Africa will/should first invest in Nigeria as capturing the Nigerian market -may- roughly translate as having one firm foot in the room and the other feet on the door.

What the future holds

With a 3.0% projected growth and an estimated population increase to 440 million by 2050 (according to the United Nations), Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa. My country’s population translates to a huge fertile ground for goods and services and an abundance of human resources.

The current fall in the price of Crude oil in the international market seriously affected the Nigeria economy. More than 80% of the nation’s revenue is derived from oil. Efforts are underway by the government to diversify the Nigerian economy by instituting policies and measures that will be beneficial to the import based economy of Nigeria and forestall a future re-occurrence of the current economic pinch.

The entertainment industry, e-commerce (digital economy), telecommunication, agriculture etc. are the proverbial mice that will bell the cat.

Though the entertainment industry is still in its nascent stage in terms of business and structure(when compared to American media scene), it is however at a strategic stage where a critical understanding and application of business strategy, finance and investment, understanding of the cultural and socioeconomic patterns and behavior of the African consumer, are of ultimate importance. The creative industry is the fastest growing in Nigeria and the economy will keep growing as well as the population.

Support services in the areas of business management and strategy will be of utmost importance in birthing this speculated growth.

Hence individuals skilled in the business of media and possess vast understanding of contemporary media (a position currently occupied by a sizable number of professionals in the country) are urgently needed to help reposition the entertainment industry in Nigeria –and by extension revolutionize media in Africa.

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