The Executive Secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma, has advised artists to put aside personal differences and work towards revitalising the Nigerian video film industry, popularly called Nollywood, which has been adjudged second largest (behind India’s Bollywood) in the global film industry.
Dr. Ayakoroma gave the advice when he received in audience popular Nollywood star, Kanayo O. Kanayo (KOK), in his office in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
According to him, Nollywood has come a very long way, providing jobs for hundreds of thousands of Nigerian families since inception in 1992, with the prospects of competing favourably with petroleum oil in revenue generation.
He said there is no arguing the fact that Nollywood stars have contributed invaluably towards the laundering of the image of the country internationally, and that the industry had a lot to offer in the current rebranding efforts of the Federal government.
Dr. Ayakoroma said that NICO is strategising to partner with the various professional bodies in Nollywood in the bid to promote and project the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria, stressing that this can only be achieved under an enabling atmosphere.
He commended Kanayo O. Kanayo for being one of the pioneers and leading lights in Nollywood, and advised him to use his wealth of experience to foster unity in the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), which had been polarised.
Earlier in his remarks, Kanayo O. Kanayo said he was in the office of the Executive Secretary to congratulate him for the well-deserved appointment.
He noted that having known Dr. Ayakoroma for more than twenty five years, and followed his exemplary performance as the Executive Director of the Bayelsa State Council for Arts and Culture, he can say without equivocation that the appointment by Mr. President cannot be faulted.
Kanayo said he had no doubt that Dr. Ayakoroma will prove himself as the chief executive of NICO, and that key players in the video film industry would always rally around him in all the programmes of the Institute.
According to him, Nollywood is passing through trying times, and that the industry will rise up to the occasion and contribute its quota towards raising the stakes in the promotion of the culture of the people through the video film medium.
He said that it is common knowledge that every country has certain nuances, but that what viewers see are mostly the positive sides to give the impression that all is well.
Kanayo urged the Executive Secretary to initiate programmes that would enhance the fortunes of Nollywood, noting that government need to factor into the privately driven industry because the average businessman will always think of maximising profit.
It will be recalled that Kanayo O. Kanayo starred in Living in Bondage, the first video film that marked the birth of Nollywood in 1992.
James Gillowei (Snr.)
Media Asst. to the ES
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