MOPICON: THE CONTROVERSIAL BILL THAT UNSETTLES NOLLYWOOD?
On Tuesday, 12th April 2016, The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed inaugurated a 28-member ministerial committee to review the proposed bill for the establishment of Motion Picture Practitioner Council of Nigeria (MOPICON) as an umbrella body of professionals across Nollywood’s value chain.
The idea had managed to fly before it was vehemently shot down and eventually shut down. The reasons? Pundits and Nollywood stakeholders considered the bill as food for the boys and a problem rather than a solution. There were obnoxious parts of the bill that were said to have been badly put together, hence strangulating the self-developed industry than regulating it.
The landmines were said to be tucked in sections 4, 11, 32, 36 and 41 of the proposed bill that had been in existence 10 years before the intervention of the Minister. These worries bother on funding, membership, eligibility, leadership government remote control, restrictions on creativity and neocolonialism.
No doubt, for Nollywood to achieve its full potentials and gain better recognition, it needs to be properly structured. While many are currently taking the advantage of others in the industry, the current free for all business model may not speak well for the industry, especially in the areas of quality output and global competitiveness.
As beautiful as it is to have guilds and associations, it is equally necessary to have an umbrella body that is charged with the coordinating and regulating the micro groups for better synergy. The purpose of this short piece is not to compare Nollywood growth and regulation with other countries, but experience could be borrowed from structured film industries to help build the Nigerian film experience of our choice.
MOPICON-Draft-Bill may not be a perfect document, but the need for an umbrella body can not be overemphasized. It is from this fact that I think the guild heads and other respected stakeholders should revisit the idea/document and come up with industry-friendly document that is capable of repositioning the industry for good.
Nollywood, Nigerians and Nigeria as a whole stand to benefit more if and when the industry is structured and properly placed. No doubt, egos would be bruised, nerves would be tested to the fullest, there would be pockets of protest and the expected political intrigues would come into play, but the end result would worth the stress.
