As the unemployment rate continued to soar leading to criminality and an increase in social vices and youths restiveness, the president of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Pretty Okafor said music alone can create more employment opportunities than oil and gas firms put together.
PMAN president made the remark at the association summit in Port Harcourt over the weekend tagged “Entertainment Development.” Okafor explained during his open speech at the event, noting that Nigerians musicians lost over 15 trillion naira the amount equivalent to our national budget due to lack of collaboration by the government at all levels and the muster called a pirate.
He maintained that if only the government can put in proper regulations and monitor the industry through policies and legal framework music would also generate enough income for the government.
Okafor stated that, as a business of over 90 million audience, the music industry is the biggest employer of labour in Nigeria if governments can support the association by blocking the leakages on how the Nigerians musicians lost trillions through dubious ways making musicians be poor due to lack of interest by the government.
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The PMAN president said no government officials can in an hour earn the volume of money musicians earn apart from corruption while calling the government to work closely with them as it is done in other parts of the world music is used to generate money through entertainment, boost tourism, create a peaceful environment and create jobs. “PMAN has a digital machine to protect music from being pirated but we need to collaborate with the government,” he said.
In an interview shortly after the event, Sunny Neji, the first vice president of PMAN said the purpose of the event is to synergize with the government so that the government can tap into the huge potentials in music while calling on corporate organizations, government and individuals to invest in music due to its economic viability.
Also Speaking, the general overseer of Omega Power Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Gift Chinyere, represented by Issac Gogo-Ogote told journalists that as a church they are into humanitarian by empowering Nigerians and music is not an exception.
The Commissioner of Police Rivers, CP Eboka Friday, represented by the DPO old GRA Police station, CSP George Oparaka said through music a lot of ills in the society can be corrected, while calling on the youths to shun crime and engage in creative music that can raise revenue to their family. The highlight of the event was a paper presentation by His Highness Anabs Sara-Igbe on “the role of music and entertainment in politics ” where he posited that now that the country is in a fragile situation, music can be used to solve the situation.
There were musical presentations from Ruggedman, Sunny Neji among others, as some dignitaries also back awards presentations, especially Hon. Lasbry Amadi is a former House of Representative member.
