FG’s Nollywood Grants Has Only Benefited A Select Few – Jide Awobona

Nollywood actor, Jide Awoboba, has come out to call for more inclusive government support for the Nigerian film industry He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, existing government grants in Nollywood has only benefited a select few in the movie industry thus far, and a long list of creatives still lack access to the highly-needed support.

He added that not enough government intervention in the country’s movie sector, and it will be difficult to see major progress in Nollywood if the government isn’t fully involved.

His words, “I don’t think we have enough government intervention. Even if they are intervening, it’s probably for a few selected people that are benefiting from it. I don’t think it’s reflecting in the industry. So, I feel when the government is fully involved—empowering a lot of people—then we’ll see real progress. It’s there, but it doesn’t circulate.

We have a lot of creatives around here and this is the only thing they do for a living. We need to get to that level where your remuneration can sustain your livelihood.”

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.