Harnessing The Benefits From Kannywood Movies -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

The Nigeria film sector known as Nollywood is globally recognized as the second highest producer of films in the world after the Indian Bollywood. The sector which is part of the Arts, Entertainment and recreation sector is growing and is contributing significantly to the country’s economy being the second highest employer of labour second only to Agriculture. Many factors have been attributed to the phenomenal success of the movie industry in Nigeria. Apart from the resilience and creativity of the movie producers another factor that has acted as a boon to the sector is the country’s multilingualism that has made the operators produce films not only in English or pidgin but in the three major languages. Thus, there are films in Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and some other local languages.

The Hausa language films sub-sector known as Kannywood, so named after Kano the centre of movie production in the Hausa North, represents about 30% of total films produced in the country. Kannywood movies have its peculiarities. It is done in Hausa language and depicts the culture and heritage of the Muslim North. The unique features of the movies are depicted in the background songs, the rustic/cultural themes, the costumes, the idyllic background, and the story lines. Prior to the take off the Nollywood movies in the early 90s, our people in the North were addicted to the Indian movies and so apart from being part of Nollywood, the Kannywood movies still have some Bollywood influence especially in music and dancing. I feel very passionate about the entertainment and hospitality sub-sector and any time I think or discuss the Kannywood I feel elated not just because as an actress and producer, I am part of the Kannywood family but because of the enormous potentials therein.

The relevance of the entertainment industry, of which movie production is a subset, cannot be over-emphasized. As one analyst rightly observes, “film and video production are shining examples of how cultural industries, as vehicles of identity, values and meanings, can open the door to dialogue and understanding between peoples, but also to economic growth and development.” Clearly, the advantages are enormous. It is educative, entertaining and informative and accessible to all irrespective of education or social status. It can be harnessed as a medium influence positive social change. It satirizes the society by pointing out what is evil. It is an instrument to promote our culture and values as a people. It creates jobs to different categories of people. Apart from those involved directly in film production – the actors, producers, directors, singers, make-up artists, costumiers among others – the industry creates employment for film sellers and business men. Currently, the Nigerian film industry has over one million people engaged directly and indirectly in the business. And in a country with over 50% unemployment rate, more investment in the industry could reduce unemployment. Our people can be encouraged to make careers in theater arts, script writing, communication arts, cinematography and other specialized fields associated with film making.

Indeed, the Kannywood is different things to different people – to the house wives, a means of entertainment and antidote to boredom, to the actors/actresses a means of livelihood, and to many others, it is business. It also represents the voice of the silent majority, the poor and the vulnerable groups. The major motifs in the movies centre on issues like: family values, forced marriages, early/child marriages, sexual molestation, domestic violence, discrimination against women, lack of female education and such other social phenomena.

Kannywood is a multi-million naira turn over industry that if properly harnessed could be a potential source of government revenue and foreign exchange. And because of language and cultural similarities, the Kannywood movies have a large market not just in Nigeria but in the West African region.

But the Kannywood has its constraints and it is creating crisis in the industry and among the actors. Copy right infringements and Piracy are the major problems of the industry. It is said that for every ten films in the market, nine is pirated. As an actress as a producers I know the enormous costs, resources and efforts that go into film production. Therefore piracy is a serious problem to the industry and constitutes a serious drain to the revenue accruing to the government. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the Nigerian Copyright Commission and the National Film and Video Censors Board Should work out the most appropriate way to end the cankerworm called piracy.

The public perception of actors and actresses as people of loose moral values should be corrected. It is discouraging young talents from taking acting as a career. The public should be educated to know that actors and actresses are just imitating life. They are not what they portray in the movies. Stigmatization of actresses is actually frustrating budding talents.

Another major challenge the industry has is funding. There are other issues associated with censure board and over regulation and there incidences of delay releases of films, confiscation, fines, arrest trials and jail terms for operators for infractions. I have no issues with the regulation. It is normal for without regulation there would not be standards. And I know that what we call excessive or harsh regulations would be relaxed with time as the industry continues to grow.

I appeal to our leaders and governors in the North to support the Kannywood project because of the immense benefit to the people. Our money bags and investor should invest in Kannywood for the return on the investment in the industry is good. Investment in Kannywood would create jobs, engage our youths productively, pull them out of the street and engender peace in the region. Despite the level of industrialization in China and India, the film industry still contributes significantly to their economies.

As we battle the corona virus lockdown let us use the opportunity to look inwards, unleash our creative energies towards productive ventures. As pointed out by experts in the matters of the economy, the corona pandemic is going to bring about deep structural shift in the economy and the dimensions in human activities. That means that there is need for diversification. And the tourism and hospitality sector is a viable alternative. The film industry is still a virgin area to invest in. And the Kannywood is a vast area with immense potentials and opportunities. There are many countries in the world whose economies are sustained by tourism and entertainment industry. Some of us who have had the opportunity of living abroad know that the tourism and hospitality industry is a gold mine. And it is most utmost desire to see the Nigeria hospitality and entertainment sector fully developed into a money spinning business. We have the potentials – the talents and the huge markets. We need to support for the Kannywood for the preservation of our culture and heritage

Our leaders can use the industry as a structure for enlightenment campaigns and mass mobilization. For instance this period of corona lockdown, the government can sponsor movies to educate the people on many issues.

There are many ways to support the growth of our film industry. Apart from the establishment of the censure board to regulate the production of films to ensure compliance with our cultural values and standards, the government can sponsor the production of movies that tends to enlighten the grassroots on government programmes. To encourage excellence and creativity, the government can sponsor awards for deserving actors and actresses, producers and directors and such other peoples that contribute to the making of the movies. The government should encourage the study of theatre Arts and cinematography to ensure the training of professionals in the field of film making; to continue to improve on the technical quality of our productions. Finally and more importantly, the government can give incentives such guaranteeing funds for movie makers to access for movie production.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com

An actress, social activist, politician

London, UK