The cancellation of the Kano Film village is simply Central Planning and Federal Character gone wrong.
The Kano film village is a $10m plan by the Federal Government to establish a center to support Kannywood (The so called Hausa language version of Nollywood). To be clear, this is the Federal Government getting involved in private business, its central planning, so I am against it.
Why should Kannywood get special treatment? The BOI N200b for Nollywood is it restrictive to any state? will the FGN own shares in this film village? Will revenues from this village flow back to FAAC? How?
The government should have simple provided the incentives to Kannywood or the Kano State government or anyone to build this, the same way Dangote gets incentives to invest in any part of Nigeria. To take tax payers money and build a film center in Kano State, is seeking to create winners, government backed winners, in a private environment, that will compete against private concerns.
Secondly in economics we understand the power of clusters, economic clusters that attract investment, crate expertise and drive commerce. That why you have Dubai Media City, that why most Investment banks are in Wall Street in New York, why suit makers are in Savile Row in London, economic clusters.
so why Kano for local movies? how many movies are shot in Kano? As compared to say Asaba? Or Lagos?
should a film village not be in Upper Iweka in Anambra and Idumota in Lagos? These are the nerve centers of the “home video” industry in Nigeria…or why not deploy this $10m to support the Tinapa Nollywood studios? Or site this village in Jos, the capital of Nigeria digital broadcasting systems.
Why this push for” equity”? if Kannywood wants a film center, let them apply for existing incentives like the BOI Nollywood facility like everyone else. why must the FGN build one for them? Can you imagine the UK government building a suit village in Sunderland? Because London has Saville Row? are there sufficient numbers of investment bankers that wear suits in Sunderland?
To those that resisted this Kano film village, you really have to make up mind, you want diversification away from crude oil, but dont want a film village because of “morals”?
Like seriously?
So this village cannot become a center for educational and religious films, for agricultural and traditional music content creation? this center could produce educational tutorial for children in Hausa and exported across West Africa…
why the myopia?
On a last note, if the lawmakers from Kano have sat and lobbied to have a film village in Kano and ensured its appropriation from the budget, then kudos to them, what were the other legislators doing? Why have the Abia legislators not appropriated $10m for leather village in Aba? Why have the Ogun Lawmakers not sought $10m for rice village in Ofada? Why has Lagos not sought $10m to set up a global financial center in Lekki?
What If all the states seek $10m to set up their own “income generating” …” Job creation” projects…in the name of Federal Character? That’s $370m or N111billion a year…Maybe that is what we should do……
Its out problem, we can fix it…
ps…if Kano State does not want this $10m investment, Abia State will gladly have it…..
