How Video Films Developed in NigeriaBy Nosa Owens-Ibie
Published: November 15, 2006
Print The video revolution
For film producers in Nigeria, the shift to video resulted from a mixture of factors, significant among which is economics.
As a result of the local film industry's heavy dependence on external input, the cost of production of films on celluloid has been astronomical. Although the National Film Corporation (NFC) was subsequently able to establish a laboratory in Jos, that did not necessarily reduce its level of external dependence. This means that the cost advantage of producing and processing film locally, may, if at all, only have reduced marginally. Even then, the NFC only successfully produced its first feature film Kulba Na Barna in June 1993.
Since film production is an area which has witnessed a lot a private initiative, producers have tended to work alone. Sources of funds have taken similar directions. But as a result of the realities of a depressed economy and stringent lending conditions in financial institutions, financing such projects placed enormous burden on producers.
Where the product fails to meet the expectations of the audience, producers have to shoulder the burden of failure alone, sometimes with disastrous consequences.
This was the main impetus for the shift to video films. As Adeiza (1995: 6) noted, most film makers turned to video as a survival option. The prevalence of this trend even influenced the more successful film makers to join a growing bandwagon. Ladi Ladebo who produced two award-winning films is one of them. Eewo (Taboo) and Vendor, won laurels at the First National Film Festival in 1992.
But even before the economics of production and the need for good returns on investment influenced the shift, the country was already witnessing the import of foreign video films. Lack or ineffective control over the flow led to the indiscriminate import and marketing of these films. Some of them were aired by local television stations which used them either as alternatives to local programmes which generally cost more to produce or to attract an audience weaned on a diet of imported programmes.
As would be expected, these films portrayed values rooted in their countries of origin. They glamorised violence, promoted consumption and were based on pedestrian plots which hardly tasked the imagination. The films stereotypically portrayed white heroines and heroes while assigning inferior roles to blacks (Okoye, 1993: 69-71). Okoye cited the example of The Wild Geese where a few white men overcame the security of a black country before escaping with its most wanted man.
There was virtually nothing in these films promoting African culture or values. This prompted Okoye to state that:
It is almost certain that the video culture will create Nigerians who will completely repudiate their cultural heritage, thereby complicating further the problem of national development.
The boom in locally produced video films offers a basis for comparison. Records at the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) attest to such a boom. While the feature film Fincho, produced in 1958 by Sam Zebba is said to be the first notable film by a Nigerian (Mgbejume, 1989: 65), there was no consistency in the frequency and regularity of films by Nigerians. There were years between 1958 and 1977 when no Nigerian was credited with producing films for general consumption.
Although there were films which were amateurish in quality of production and casting, there were others which received international acclaim. Those in this latter group included Ola Balogunt's Muzik Man. Herbert Ogunde who moved from theatre to film in 1980 with Aiye (The World) and who thereafter produced Jaiyesinmi, (Let Life Be), Aropin N'tenia (To Doubt is Human) and Ayanmo (Destiny) demonstrated a clear commitment to quality in these productions.
Between August 1993 and April 1996, 276 video films were, according to available records, censored by the NFVCB then based in Lagos. At least 90% of them were Yoruba video films. There are Igbo video films and one in Hausa - Ramin Mugunta (Boomerang). The year 1995 saw the highest number (170) of video films produced.
Most of the producers are new names. While Jimoh Aliu who produced Etekete (Bad Plan) in 1994 is a popular theatre figure, Tunde Alabi Hundeyin of Dudu Productions who produced Iyawo Alhaji (Alhaji's Wife) also in 1994 is a known producer. Moses 0. Adejumo (Baba Sala) of Alawada Movies is an old figure in the film business who switched to video and produced Diamond in 1994, while Professor F.A. Peller made a name as a magician before he ventured into video films, producing Owo Idan (Magic Money) in 1993 and Idan Nlo (Continuous Magic), and Agbara (Power) in 1994.
Another theatre veteran - Oyin Adejobi, produced Orogun Adedigba (Adedigba's Marriage Rival) in 1995; Yemi Farounbi, a veteran broadcaster, produced Ebun Oluwa (God's Gift) in the same year. Lere Paimo, a popular theatre figure in the Western part of Nigeria made Ipade Ayo (Meeting of Joy). Sola Fosudo and Babajide Kosoko, both latter generation popular theatre figures, produced Oko Iyawo (The Husband) and Amina Eleha (Amina in Purdah) in 1995 and 1996 respectively.
Most other producers are relatively unknown, although their role as midwives of popular culture has raised their profile and public visibility. The mass media and posters are being used in the popularization of these films, their producers and actors. Star Films magazine was introduced onto the market in March 1996 and has as its slogan 'The What's and All on the Nigerian Film Industry'. Another magazine, Nigerian Videos, serves the same market. The magazines are almost exclusively devoted to video films, trying to keep pace with their rapid expansion, highlighting the appeal of particular films and expanding the number of stars and superstars in the process.
The preponderance of Yoruba language video films or those made by Yoruba producers could have developed out of a theatre tradition in Yorubaland which was characterised by the existence of many theatre groups. A number of these groups have gone into video film production. Some are actually adaptations of stage plays.
Another explanation can be found in early awareness on the part of new producers of the viability and profitability of the video film business. The success of early starters had a multiplier effect. This itself follows a tradition in which most of the key actors in the celluloid era were also of Yoruba extraction. It is natural that economic judgement in a depressed economy will favour any business in which early returns on investment are assured.
In the new drive to share in the cake, the quality of Yoruba video films appears to have suffered on a general level. The situation is such that low budget films are the order. The tendency is for producers to put together a cast of popular actors and advertise the credentials of the subsequent product on that basis.
Igbo or Igbo/English or English films tend to be high on budget, with an eye on both the local and foreign market. According to Adeiza (1995: 7), the financial success of video films from the Igbo-speaking part of the country is evident. Films like Living in Bondage, Glamour Girls and Betrayal were so successful that other producers have taken a cue and are introducing new products which explore various message and commercial strategies.
The result is films and an industry which in an attempt at commercial success, move further into a terrain whose rules and codes are fine-tuned by the West in general and North America in particular. The interesting thing is that the National Theatre, Lagos and other venues are regularly packed with people eager to savour the latest product.
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