Jonathan task Craft industry players on job creation

42/05/11

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has said the craft industry could mitigate the challenges of unemployment and create wealth as well as promote the socio-economic integration of Africa through its regional market platform.

The President gave the hint at the official opening of this year's African Arts and Crafts (AFAC) at the weekend in Abuja.

Represented by the Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Navy Captain Kaleb O. Olubolade (rtd), said the art and craft industry represents a veritable promising investment opportunity, which is yet to be meaningfully exploited.

"I am therefore glad that the African Arts and Craft Expo been initiated as an effective platform that will create the much required consciousness to enable us take a structured look at this vibrant sector."

Optimistic that the Expo will re-awaken the past glamour, glory and dignity of the crafts industry and transform it into a significant contributor to the country's foreign exchange earnings, the President tasked practitioners to endeavour to acquire relevant skills and knowledge that will enhance the production of goods that will compete favourably in the global market.

Representing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was Mrs. Ruth David of the Human Resources Development. Congratulating the ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation on behalf of the Commission, she said that promoting national, regional as well as continental integration through the initiative was one of the greatest achievements of the Expo.

Since culture is globally acclaimed as a fundamental dimension of economic development, David said that societies that ensure integration of cultural factor into developmental strategies can be said to be on the right track to attaining a well- balanced development that is rooted in socio-economic emancipation of the people.

She noted that ECOWAS has noted that AFAC, as a major regional and continental event, has over the years, exposed and brought to lime light, works of African culture professionals that offer them the opportunity to highlight their creativity, establish working relationship, exchange ideas, promote and market their works.

"The resultant positive ripple effect being that Nigeria through its hosting of the AFAC is assisting ECOWAS community citizens in their capacity for innovation, adaptation and improvement of their living conditions, through promoting sustainable development that safeguard solidarity, unity, free movement and inter mingling of peoples, exchange of goods and services, promotion of human rights, development of regional tourism, promotion of the culture of peace and the fostering of the regional integration process as ECOWAS moves from an ECOWAS of state to an ECOWAS of people in fulfillment of its Vision 2020".

Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Director, National Council of Arts and Craft (NCAC), organisers of the annual regional market, Mr. M.M Maidugu said that the expo with the theme Promoting Craft Industry for Economic Transformation, seeks to explore, develop market and generally leverage the nation’s rich and diverse craft industry with a view to effectively respond to government’s effort at job creation, youth empowerment and rural economic transformation.

He said the two weeks event will also show case the best of African craft. Also revealed that a one-day Investment Forum that is designed to stimulate creative discourse with a view to sharing imparting skills on the people holds today.

“it is to direct attention and emphasis on product design, development and market strategy by so doing our product could be able to compete favourable and exile at the global market.

The Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed, was represented by the Director of Tourism, Mrs. Sola Olumeko. He said the expo was influenced by the challenges of harnessing art and craft for national development.

According to him, Africa has comparative advantage and we should tap the resource of this expo to grow and market the regional craft industry for social-cultural integration that Africa Union Charter seeks to promote.

Over ten African countries including Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Cameroon, are participating in the market that closes on May 31. Also in attendance are Non Governmental Organisations (NGO), student bodies, individual artisans and various state of the federation.

BT out with In the open

Popularly known as BT, the multi-talented and wave-making artiste, Chuks Uzor has concluded plans to release his new album titled In the open soon.

With songs such as ‘Just because’, ‘Baby’, ‘Chukwubuikem’, ‘Up and down’, ‘Melody’, ‘Jembe’, ‘Inememu’, ‘All about money’, ‘Forever’, the nine-tracker is part of efforts to make an appreciable impact in the music industry.

BT, whose lyrical focus is love and praise to God, says his lifestyle has influenced his music, especially the financial challenge he encountered, saying “I have to work in several places in other to save money for this project”.

The Delta State-born artiste’s love for music and arts started at a very young age. He said he opted for music because that is what everyone, be it young and old, male and female, listens to and understands.

For someone, who speaks Kwale, Isoko and English, his songs are a mix of dance hall and hip-hop style with a lot of African touch and beats.

His hit track, ‘Jembe’ is currently enjoying favourable airplay on some stations both radio and TV. BT says, “My inspiration comes from things I see around and out of experience”.

On the industry, which he acknowledges its upward movement, BT said, “Our industry is improving by the day and the sky would soon be our starting point if only we could combat piracy in the country. And to do this, it has to start from the head; the government needs to look more into the activities of the sector and act fast”.

Taking into consideration the criminal tendency of some youths due to lack of jobs, he advised that the youths should not “give up and be discouraged rather they should believe in themselves and keep trying till they succeed”.

Tuface, Adebayo to sing national anthem at Guinness The Match

Omotola Adebayo has won a lifetime opportunity to do a duet with one of the most popular artistes on the continent, Tuface Idibia. The anthem will kick off proceedings as the Super Eagles of Nigeria takes on Argentina at the National Stadium, Abuja on June 1. The match is sponsored by Guinness Nigeria Limited. Adebayo will join Tuface to perform the anthem live.

Omotola was one of hundreds of hopefuls who entered the competition on Beat FM and fans on Guinness VIP voted her as their favourite to step up and play a part in the Match. She will be in Abuja to also rally the whole nation as she showcases her talent in front of a possible capacity stadium and millions of others that will tune in to the match to catch all the drama and excitement live on TV and radio.

An ecstatic Omotola gushed, “I’m so excited that I’m going to be playing a part at Match. I have been singing since I was eight and the very first song I learnt as a child was my national anthem, which makes this performance a dream come true for me. I dream music, eat music, and play music and I will be practising every day between now and June 1. I will be hoping to get some expert advice from Tuface before the big performance as well”.

The General Manager of Beat FM, Deji Awokoya, who congratulated Omotola said, “It was a great competition and we had some brilliant singing stars take part, but she impressed the voters the most. We can’t wait to tune in to Guinness® The Match to hear her performance. Goodluck, Omotola; we know you’ll make us proud!”

Bumper harvest for Gulder consumers

While companies engage in different activities such as talent hunt, musical jams, gift to orphanages and to the less privileged and others, to sensitize their products to the public, the consumers on the other have been the happier for them; as they openly embrace them as a way the companies give back to the society.

But with promos, whose prizes are advertised on the pages of newspapers, billboards, radio and television stations with no winners emerging, participants and observers are likely to believe that such promos are gimmicks designed by the various organisers to rip-off consumers of their hard earned money while growing their market share.

However, with promos being monitored by regulating and controlling agencies, established by Federal and State governments to authenticate lottery and promotion games in the country, participants can be rest assured that the days of such gimmicks are over.

For these reasons, companies no longer renege on their promises, but rather, have to use every available medium to make their activities public.

As some brands use means such as price discount, buy-one-get-one, free buzz, sponsorship of cultural festivals, football, seminars and other marketing activities to connect to prospective and discerning consumers, Gulder lager beer, a stable of Nigerian Breweries (NB) is not left out in the game with its on-going National Consumer Promotion (NCP) in prizes ranging from cars to cash prizes, airtime, free drinks, pen and others would be given to winner.

The first set of winners selected via an electronic raffle draw, which took place at the Pekas Hotel and Bar, Ikeja, Lagos emerged on April 8 with their prizes officially handed over to them on the April 13.

Among the prizes were the three star prize winners a brand-new Honda Accord car and cash prizes of N400, 000, N250, 000, N150, 000 and N100, 000 respectively.

According to the company’s spokesperson other draws for selecting winners will hold at various parts of the states.

Scheduled to end on May 31, Mr. Jacco Ver der Linden, Marketing Director, NB said, “this special promo is conceived to reward Nigerian consumers for their years of patronage.”

“Millions of Nigerians are daily drinking Gulder and to reward them for that, the brand chose to give every consumer a chance to win big cash prizes and cars,” he said.

On the feedback ever since the promo started, Ver der Linden stated, “ though, we are looking forward to seeing other winners emerge, our consumers feedback have been very positive. We always respond when there is a complaint. Transparency is the key in anything we do and we always keep to our promises.”

Expressing his happiness, 22-year old John Benjamin of Government Day Secondary, school Nasarawa State, one of the winners of a Honda car said, “I’m very happy being one of the first winner of this promo and my message to my friends is that, they should always stay focus and keep to their dream and aspirations, they might as well be a lucky winner like me.”

WIPO… providing technical strength for COSON

A technical mission of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has arrived Nigeria to provide the operational and technological assistance for country’s new sole government approved collective management organization for musical works and sound recordings, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON). The mission is to ensure that the new national CMO has everything it requires to become a world-class organization within the shortest possible time.
While in Nigeria, members of the mission will familiarize themselves with the domestic situation and obtain all the information necessary to set up a cutting edge database for documentation of musical works and sound recordings and the distribution of royalties to Nigerian owners of copyright in music. The team will also seek to establish the important links between COSON and the international copyright community.
The team has been working at the Ikeja office of COSON since its arrival in the country last Sunday. It has engaged COSON management in the updating of the methodologies and processes.
On the WIPO team is Mr. Boukary Sawadago, an expert in CMO technology. He will be responsible for the installation of the sophisticated WIPOCOS system of the World Intellectual Property Organization at COSON. Another member of the team is Mrs. Dora Makwinga. Mrs. Makwinga is the CEO of Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA) regarded as one of the most successful CMOs in Africa. While in Nigeria, She will be sharing the COSOMA experience with the management of COSON.
Speaking on the WIPO mission, COSON chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji said, “We have looked forward to this day. We are clearly happy that the United Nations has cast a strong vote in support of COSON. The mission of one of its top agencies to Nigeria is historic and says clearly that the Nigerian creative community is now seriously on the world radar. We intend to make the best use of this opportunity to build a solid legacy for the Nigerian creative community. We look forward to working closely with WIPO in the days to come and thank the Nigerian Copyright Commission for supporting this mission”.
COSON acting General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji said “We are all excited at the WIPO visit. As we all know, WIPO is an important organ with respect to intellectual property all over the globe. It is our belief that at the end of this visit we would have developed a clear roadmap for the effective management of the Nigerian repertoire.”
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the Geneva based United Nations specialized agency responsible for intellectual property matters around the world.

A-Z recipes of publishing

Kayode Samuel is a Nigerian whose philosophy and orientation run contrary to convention. The Kaduna-born orphan, long ago, took his destiny in his hand and today, he has a lot to teach Nigerian youths, especially those who are ready to use what they have to effect changes in their lives for the future. In this interview with MICHAEL ORIE, he reveals how lucrative publishing is and how it can be done without tears

 

Narrating his background and how it has influenced his choice of career, Samuel told The Guardian, “I grew up with boys of my age and we were always out on adventures such as pulling down charms tied to maize stalks, diving down the deepest part of the river, and sometimes bringing up pebbles and others”.

  Born in the northern part of the country to a Yoruba father and an Ibibio mother, he attended Government Secondary School, Kafanchan, and later at the Kaduna Polytechnic, where he studied Agricultural Engineering.

  “I got my admission from sports scholarship,” he said. “So, my first earnings came from my participation in my school, local council and state’s sporting activities. From there I joined the Nigeria Police Force (Sports Department) to continue active sports. While serving the police, I began to look into other opportunities to make money without interfering with my job.

  “I always trained in the morning most of the time and stayed for the rest of the day, doing nothing. So, I decided to make use of the resting periods to write. I had written several manuscripts, which fetched me lots of money before taking to book publishing”.

  Considering his background as a teacher for some years before joining the Nigeria Police Force, his foray into the educational sector became very easy. He anchored this on a biblical philosophy of managing other people’s business properly as recipe for managing your own very well.

 “I took my teaching job seriously as if it was my school,” he stated. “I learnt more than I should know and also took more responsibility than others, but little did I know I was preparing myself for the industry. The first thing I got myself into was educational book publishing”.

  According to Samuel, “I took up my first teaching appointment in Kafanchan in 1996. Though I was offered a job at the then Jama’a Local Council as a Veterinary attendant, I turned it down to pick a teaching job at Headstart Academy, which I learnt now operates in Isolo, Lagos”.

  Recounting his experience as an Education Consultant, Kayode stated that the last consulting job he did was for a newly established school, Barbara Cox Schools in Festac Town. “It was a joint partnership with a friend, who actually got the contract. As a consultant of Child Talent Development, I was responsible for all the Human Resources (HR).”

 He co-ordinated the school’s activities and maintained its facility as well as the marketing. He was also in charge of the school’s public relations, organising and coordinating staff and actively participating in school promotions, sale of forms, customer care services and school advertisement in the media.

  “Though, I was paid less than N100, 000.00 but surprisingly, I made close to N200, 000 from other services and from parents’ good will,” he quipped.

  According to him, to be a successful self-publisher without money was one thing he found easy. “You plan to be in it through imaginative visioning. I know I have great writing skills, no doubt and I knew I would surely publish my works. At that time (1998) I was just a year old in Lagos and without a job. So, I saw an advert for marketers of Christian publications. I applied and was taken. The pay package was not impressive, but the urge to write my first book came from there.

  “That was where I first learned practically about book publishing. The small book company was situated in Dopemu. That was also where I learnt how to market books. From there, I published my first book, The Magic Sceptre and made some money to fund my wedding. I entered into educational books to meet up the high demand and make a living.”

  According to him, when he hadn’t money to continue publishing; he sold some of his manuscripts to some publishers. “I used the money paid to me to publish my other books,” he said.

  Also, Samuel once had a reality TV show running on Galaxy TV. But it was short-lived due to unforeseen circumstances.

  “The school reality show was a very creative work. We had problem with sponsorship at TV Galaxy. We have repackaged it and it will hit the airwaves again next year,” he said.

  Now, he is active in information marketing, which he said, “Information marketing is an age-long product that has been around for years. The problem is that it was not well packaged and publicised.

I got to know about the product in Success Digest Extra; there it was well packaged in such an easy-to-practice format. One of the greatest revelations that got me started was the Gutenberg site where you can download for free books and other information products”.

  Relating how Success Digest helped him to achieve business goals, he noted, “I was introduced to the journal in 2003, where I was trained in Christian Journalism. Since then I have been an ardent reader of it. The philosophy of the magazine informed most of my business decisions. The magazine introduced me into the tools of researching before embarking on any business venture. It also taught me how to re-brand/repackage myself and business for success.”

  Since challenge is part of life, he explained how to manage them whenever they confronted him. “The challenges in this business are the variety of information at your disposal such that you may end up not knowing what to do. I try to focus only on books, particularly educational books. I have partnered with other firms to hold seminar on making money from publishing and printing.”

  From his own experience, the information on products and services he has created is a beacon of a bright future for young publishers that would want to toe this path. So he says, “I have just finished two e-books on how to become an instant publisher and, how to make over N500, 000 from publishing. I made N511, 000 from just writing for publishers and I received e-mails from those who read my articles and have started making money as well.”

  Looking into the future, Samuel said, “I see my business as a household name in schools, Lagos State more importantly. We want to operate like international business such as Spiderman and The Iron Man comics. There, they write first, and then transfer it into graphics (comics magazines) and then animation. Our books, comics and animations should be able to bring in millions of naira”.

 

Quote: “I was introduced to the journal in 2003, where I was trained in Christian Journalism. Since then, I have been an ardent reader of it. The philosophy of the magazine informed most of my business decisions. The magazine introduced me into the tools of researching before embarking on any business venture. It also taught me how to re-brand/repackage myself and business for success.”

Nollywood deserve better attention

 

THE NATION’S motion picture industry is one bedeviled by many ills. While it is a potent tool for image making, most Nigerians see Nollywood as a drawback for the country’s rebranding efforts. What with lack of quality productions with poor pictures, inaudible sound, unappealing messages, and wrong portrayal of values?

  But the producers of a new film Bishops Cabinet have resolved to make a difference in the industry. The producers also blamed government for not doing enough to help filmmakers realise the full potential so as to produce quality films. Paul Obazele lamented that government had done nothing to fund the industry and that the problems of pirate still abound, which had effectively denied them due reward from their work.

  He stated this during the premiere of the movie recently in Lagos. He said, “We have agencies that are supposed to be protecting us such as Customs and Immigrations, yet pirates are on the increase. For the Customs, how many people have they arrested for bringing in pirated CDs into the country?

  “The boys we picked from the streets during the boom era of Nollywood are going back to the streets again. The prostitutes are going back to it again. I have been shot twice by pirates because we are out to protect the average filmmaker. I know we have well-meaning Nigerians that can protect us”.

  Obazele stated that Nollywood had been spreading good news about the country while also providing employment to the teeming population. He therefore called on government to help fight piracy and alleviate the problems of the industry.

  “For the industry to really reach its expected height, the government needs to come into all aspects of it,” he said.

  The film director said solution to the industry would come only when practitioners faced the problems of the industry squarely and called on well meaning Nigerians and organisations outside government to also help make the industry get to its desired height.

  He advised, “When you have a lot of money invested in the industry, the zeal of people to work will improve, thereby generating more income, and the expected change will come”.

  The film is based on Christian theme and touches all aspects of life, as a way to effect change in the industry.

  The producer said the movie’s “storyline is about the neglect of the home, and that the film aims to teach, correct and direct our mindset to the right direction,” adding that “the victims in the film attend different events, where they were held at a high esteem, yet they cared less for their children. Outsiders see them as angels, but, before their children they are Satan incarnate”.

  The director uses the film to talk about the decay in the society and how worldliness has crept into the church, the homes of the clergy, and those who profess Christianity.

 Although the industry might seem to have failed Nigerians in various aspect mentioned above, Obazele stated that practitioners were working round the clock to see that the errors were corrected.

He also noted that Nollywood was capable producing masterpiece movies for Nigeria.