The local and global popularity of Nollywood and Kannywood has made the Nigerian film industry the second largest entertainment industry in the world after the Bollywood of India and ahead of Hollywood of the United States of America in the production of movies. The Nigerian film industry has become the third largest employer of labour after agriculture and the informal sector of the Nigerian economy, the biggest in Africa.
The sociocultural and sociopolitical indices of both Nollywood and Kannywood have not been positively used for nation building, because the leading stakeholders are more interested in the financial benefits without much consideration for the sociocultural and sociopolitical benefits to national orientation for nation building. And thus, there is no proactive approach to the appreciation and promotion of the national ethics and ethos of Nigerian culture for national development in the content and context of most of the movies produced in Nollywood and Kannywood.
In fact, there have been widespread erroneous portrayals of Nigerians as people without principles and scruples in the characters of different personalities in their movies; especially in Nollywood movies. Observers and viewers have reported that Nollywood is now a camouflage for the promotion of prostitution, drug trafficking and internet fraud or phishing scams infamously called "Yahoo-Yahoo" and "419" by showing Nigerian youths who get rich quick through criminal activities and celebrating them as successful gangsters and successful corrupt politicians who often escape from prosecution for their crimes. The negative impacts of such bad movies have been seen in the increasing cases of young Nigerians engaged in these crimes in Nigeria and foreign countries, rubbishing and tarnishing the international image of Nigeria and Nigerians in the global village. And if the producers of these movies don't stop producing them, the already bad consequences will become worse with the deteoriation of the sociocultural values and virtues of the Nigerian society as seen in the current disorientation and disconnection of the majority of Nigerian youths who have lost their faith in the Nigerian Dream.
There should be an urgent call to action by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) for a national forum of the leading stakeholders in the Nigerian film industry on how best to use Nollywood and Kannywood for national orientation, reformation and transformation of Nigerians in the nation building of a New Nigeria in the leadership of Africa among the comity of nations.
We should produce movies and music that will unite us and not disunite us.
We should produce movies and music for the promotion of love, peace and unity among all Nigerians no matter the peculiarities of our dialects of the different ethnic groups and tribes; for us to live and work together as one united sovereignty to secure our future in the world.
- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series
247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter
https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria
https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima
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