The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and players in the creative industry continue efforts to reposition the sector with a visit to Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
THOUGH some critics do not agree with his method, describing his initiatives as “frenetic” the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is forging ahead with his plans to put the creative industry on a solid footing.
Having largely remained unstructured with players in the sector on their own until the middle of the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration when government intervened, with some initiatives for filmmakers, Mohammed has gone a step further in ensuring the sector makes more tangible contributions to the economy.
Some of his actions towards realising this include the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the British Council and the Tony Elumelu Foundation, review of the MOPICCON Bill; establishment of anti-piracy units in police commands nationwide and the Creative Nigeria Summit, held in July.
Mohammed, had, at the well-attended forum, reiterated his commitment to tackling the lack of access to financing for the industry and commendably, some benefits were realised at the end of the day. One of the take-away from the forum was the Federal Government’s decision to grant tax reliefs to investors in the creative industry and the subsequent inclusion of the sector among the 27 industries to enjoy tax break in the revised pioneer status list announced by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) early August.
The Minister had, at the end of the summit, also announced the establishment of a $1 million venture capital for the creative industry.
But apparently, he is still not satisfied as he led some players in the creative industry including Kene Mkparu and Tonye Princewill, among others, to make a presentation to the Central Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, on the challenges and prospects of the creative industry in Abuja on Tuesday. They requested the CBN to float a N400 billion Stimulus Capital Fund for their vastly improving industry.
“I have watched over the years how the Central Bank has really been the catalyst in promoting agriculture, the health sector and the like and we believe that by the time we give you our short presentation, you will see why we have come here,” Mohammed, who also stressed why the creative industry needs to be seen as a huge economic venture with the capacity to create wealth and not just entertainment, began.
“We need to change the perception about the industry. When people hear the creative industry, they think about entertainment. Yes, it’s correct but it’s also very big business. It’s an economy which we have not exploited enough. It’s an economy which is probably more sustainable than our traditional economy. It’s an economy that has the potential to employ more people and create more wealth on a long term basis,” he said.
Mohammed added that as part of efforts to protect the revenue stream of the sector, his ministry, in collaboration with the stakeholders, has taken a giant step by kick-starting a sustained fight against the piracy.
He said that through the support of the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, Anti-Piracy Units have been established in all police commands and the Federal Capital Territory, adding that the recent raids carried out at Alaba market led to the confiscation of pirated products worth millions of naira.
Mohammed disclosed that an Industry Trust Fund would soon be set up to assist law enforcement agencies in the fight against piracy, and urged the CBN governor to support the Fund.
Responding, Emefiele said government had a responsibility to support the development of talents and creativity as a deliberate policy to create jobs.
He noted that the service sector, of which the creative industry was a part, contributed 54 per cent of the country’s GDP and that it had a potential for growth, especially if a deliberate effort is made to protect talents and intellectual property.
“What makes it easy for your business or your project to be bankable is when a bank sees the entire ramification of your business, the entire chain and it sees that there are no probabilities of leakage in revenue, which you are supposed to be using to repay the bank loan. Piracy is a leakage,” he said.
Emefiele further advised the stakeholders to form clusters and work with the CBN’s Development Finance Department to make it easier for them to structure bankable proposals that will attract funding.
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