The first ever Nigerian entertainment conference has been much anticipated in the nation’s entertainment calendar. Being the first of its kind to happen, was a good reckoning for the industry to sit up and work towards making the sector better.
The event, held at the Grand Ball Room of the Eko Hotel and Suites, Friday, April 26, with the theme “Building the Industry of Our Dreams,” cut across different segments such as – music, panel discussion, Nollywood session, business session, media session, and the CRS (community social responsibility).
The founder, Ayeni Adekunle, said the inspiration for the conference started while boarding a flight to London in 2012, saying having been around the industry since 1995, I had a clear understanding of the issues bedevilling us. “I have shared ideas with some of the brightest mind around, with
common interest to fix issues like distribution, compensation, training and communication. As soon as I realised what has to be done needs to be done, and just over a year later, we are here witnessing the birth of a conference,” Adekunle said.
In his opening speech at the conference, Frank Nweke Jr, director-general of NESG, said “after having doubt of attending the conference, he had to change his schedule to attend.
“Entertainment gives the society value, constantly remind the citizen of how they are seen in the society. Today, however, the NTA that provided entertainment in the 70s and 80s that open at 4pm, now expect independent producers to go produce the hard work, then come and buy airtime for the content to be shown on television.”
Today, Nollywoood is a global phenomenon excelling in its structure, he noted, urging Nigerians to turn away from piracy in order to make the industry grow, “as it is now one of the largest productions of movies. The money derived from piracy affects the growth of the industry, compared with what the American film industry makes.”
MARY OCHUGBUA
