Daily Trust Sunday

Nollywood beyond rituals and witchcraft

- Augustine Togonu-Bickerstet­h wrote from Romford, London, England

With the prohibitio­n of all sorts of rituals by the Nigerian Films Censored Board, some thoughts come to mind. Try and think in terms of possibilit­ies not tied down by negativiti­es. Avoid producing films that would foul the environmen­t or pollute the environmen­t. This is what Nollywood has come to be.

Why can’t you produce a film about the Minister of Power who solved the electric power problem with the help and cooperatio­n of the Nigerian people? That’s cybernetic thinking. What is to be and not what has been. A film that would capture the minds and imaginatio­n of the Nigerian people, such that they eventually solve the power problem many thanks to Nollywood.

Why don’t you address the problem of open defecation as solved by a minister with the help and cooperatio­n of the Nigerian people? 40 million Nigerians practice open defecation. We need public toilets, public baths and potable water. Why don’t you attend to the problem of 170 million Nigerians exposed to contaminat­ed water?

Why can’t you look at health issues like kidney failure, diabetes, hypertensi­on, cancer, mental illness and come up with solutions to save Nigerians from these ailments in real life because you have captured their minds and their imaginatio­n?

What about the 20 million Nigerian children out of school and the 25 million unemployed? How can you fire the imaginatio­n of the Nigerian people or capture their minds so these problems are eventually solved?

What are you doing about civil-military relations? Anything for you? Amicable relations between civilians and soldiers; and civilians and police and other security agencies?

What are you doing about the civil service in the imaginatio­n of Professor Tunji Olaopa? Or do you think you are not relevant here?

How can your films help the Nigerian Parents Teachers Associatio­n to do their duties and do them excellentl­y, strengthen the value of the naira to beat inflation, to patronise goods made in Nigeria? Why not? We are all in this together.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Nigeria