Ali Baba, Joke Silva, Chioma Ude On Board Of FG, Tony Elumelu Foundation Partnership

Sequel to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) at the National Theatre last Tuesday, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has appointed three representatives from the entertainment industry who will join the TEF team on the best way to engage stakeholders on the actualization of the partnership.

They include notable entrepreneur and Founder/CEO of Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), Ms. Chioma Ude, foremost comedian and actor, Mr. Atunyota Alleluya Akporobomerere, aka Ali Baba and veteran actress Mrs. Joke Silva.

The trio, who have been identified as leaders of thoughts and independent promoters of the entertainment sector, are to work closely with the Foundation towards a wider parley, and produce a blue print on the structural support and policies needed for the growth of the creative sector.

The move is one of the public/private partnership initiatives of the Federal Government which is expected to restructure the creative non-oil sector into a more formal economic spinner.

The Minister was optimistic that the partnership with TEF will help to reposition the creative industries in Nigeria.

He said: “The MoU contained details of how we will work together to execute our partnership. More specifically, the areas of collaboration will include the creation of an enabling business environment for the creative industries with such incentives as easy access to finance; the structuring of the creative industries to enable it generate independent revenues locally and also boost exports to increase Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings; and comprehensive statistics
about the creative industries, including its size and projections, to guide potential local and foreign investors.”

The Minister noted that Nigeria currently has creative industries but no creative economy; hence, the partnership will “leverage the experience of the private sector to help the creative industries retain the commercial opportunity and the financial benefits.”

Also speaking at the event, CEO of TEF, Parminder Vir, OBE, noted that the future of the creative industry in Nigeria is bright.

According to her, “Nigeria has an abundance of creative excellence, talent and cultural IP in film, television, music, fashion, ICT, performing arts and this partnership is designed to support the growth of this sector for leading businesses, facilities, entrepreneurs and institutions engaged in the fast growing sector.”

The event was attended by major industry players, including Nollywood and music stars and comedians, as well as beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, which aims to identify, over 10 years, a total of 10,000 African start-ups and entrepreneurs with ideas that can generate at least 1,000,000 new jobs and contribute at least 10 billion dollars in new annual revenues across Africa.