Many culture workers and stakeholders are of the opinion that the sector did not achieve much, because of lethargy in culture administration. Nigeria Art Culture Covid19
He was at the receiving end of punches from the critical culture community. Criticisms gainst him mounted from all corners. He seemed exhausted and drained.
Be that as it may, the first year of Buhari’s second term has seen the minister, at least, in the first few months, making definitive statements that were indicative of government’s vision for the ministry. They also said all the government interventionist policies to support the sector such as the Project Act Nollywood, Film Fund and the newly announced CBN initiative for special loans etc for the sector have to be warehoused under a central initiative as in the National Endowment Fund for the Arts, as it is done in other saner countries, who value the immense contribution of the arts to society’s civilising ethos.
He revealed government’s plan to create a proper regulatory environment for the sub-sector that has put Nigeria’s name on the global map, thus, attracting the much needed investment to the sector. Major highlights of the directive include new regulations to compel broadcasters to utilise the content and services of Nigerian independent producers in fulfillment of the regulatory requirements for 70 per cent local content, rather than the current abuse of the rules, which allows many loopholes for the production of such content in jurisdictions outside Nigeria.But like the proverbial saying, if wishes were horses, then beggars might ride.
Umoibom said, “it would take a couple of months after all of this is over for entertainment businesses to pick up because people would still be skeptical about large gatherings. It would take time to gain the confidence of audiences. The entertainment and art industry needs to thrive. That means the string of losses would continue for some time. If there could be measures to help reduce the losses, that will go a long way in cushioning the effect.
The country’s debt profile was already a source of concern for policymakers and development practitioners, as estimates put the debt service-to-revenue ratio at 60 per cent, which was expected to worsen amid the steep decline in revenue associated with falling oil prices and COVID-19. For Assistant Professor at the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, Nduka Otiono, the key needs for a rebound are: ‘stimulus funding’ and ‘appropriate policies’. He, however, doesn’t believe in “the capacity of the cultural bureaucracy to process the challenges of cultural production in the present times as well as developing a programmatic ‘competitive model for the future’.
The filmmaker, author and actor Olayinka Ogundaisi advocated for a cultural economic reconnaissance. He said while Coronavirus has managed to make nonsense of this year’s budget, plunging the oil price to less than half its benchmark projection and suddenly “putting our economic experts on their toes for alternative incomes, this is yet another clarion call for our governments to look inward to our culture as a way out of the economic quagmire.
To him, “artists can also come together in groups and guilds to create and market their works through social media platforms. Musicians too can provide relevant jingles and theme music for radio stations to fight the scourge, many have done that already.” He said, “some things, including the way we live, would change post COVID-19 pandemic. One major negative effect that we’ll witness would be job loss. This is one area where the culture industry can come in. For instance, our entertainment industry can absorb more people than the civil service and corporate organisations. Imagine how many people can be engaged as fashion designers, craftsmen and women, filmmakers, theatre producers, music producers, writers, with just a little sum of money.
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