wish to felicitate with Their Excellencies, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Acting President Yemi Osinbajo GCON on the occasion of Nigeria’s 18th Democracy Day in the year 2017, and the 2nd Anniversary of the Administration. I also congratulate all Nigerians, home and abroad, for witnessing another milestone in the nation.

Though it has been a mix of emotions and perceptions for Nigerians through the regime, we must appreciate the concerted efforts of the leadership of the country at turning our dwindling fortunes around. The government particularly recognizes and identifies with the hardship we are going through as a nation, but we must also understand that the value of gold is expressed after its purification by fire. Just as the Ag. President highlighted in his Democracy Day Speech, the government is not resting on its oars to see that the hardship is ameliorated and we begin to experience a new wave of peace and prosperity.

We at the National Film and Video Censors Board have holistically keyed into the efforts of the government to rebound our economy to meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians, by showing our commitment to the Ease of Doing Business initiative of the administration, in order to create a level playing and fertile ground for stakeholders and investors, while working towards the realization of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

A vibrant film industry is a source of socio-economic growth and, importantly, in the context of Nigeria, improved alternative source of revenue and the creation of Jobs. The pivotal role of the industry has been identified and thus the inclusion of the creative industry, defined to include film, music, broadcasting, arts and publishing, as one of the drivers of Nigeria’s economic recovery and growth plan. The creative industry has also been identified as the veritable platform for achieving the objectives of economic diversification with the potential to propel Nigeria’s economic growth.

The film industry in Nigeria, popularly referred to as “Nollywood,” is estimated to employ over 1 Million Nigerians, thus, it is the second largest employer of labour in Nigeria after agricultural sector. It is also estimated to contribute about $600 Million to the nation’s economy annually, producing about 50 Films weekly.

Having just spent about a month in office post-appointment, my team and I at the Board have immediately started looking into staff issues which will boost the staff morale, initiated an open door policy for seamless interaction and attention to issues and concerns, reconstituted a Special Taskforce consisting of operational staff of the Board, members of security agencies, select stakeholders to mop up uncensored and unlicensed films from the public, arrest and prosecute defaulters, ensured reduction in censorship and licensing period, motivated the introduction of premium services, and ensured openness in operations to assure stakeholders and potential investors of the security of their investment and for ease of doing business with the Board in alignment with the recent Executive Orders signed by His Excellency, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
One of the strategic moves of the government to improve on the economy and create an enabling environment for investment was to set out the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and ensure the policy drive on Ease of Doing Business. The policy objectives of the ERGP for the creative industry are to “increase film production by 15 per cent on an annual basis, export videos to generate USD1 billion in foreign exchange by 2020 and improve enforcement of intellectual property rights for artistic works produced in Nigeria.” In driving conscious action towards the realization of these objectives, I have also promised to improve film export to international market, encourage legitimate importation, increase the GDP contribution of the industry from 1.5% to an appreciable figure and promote the development and growth of the film industry as a key non-oil sector of the economy.

Facilitating these objectives also will be adequate data gathering in the industry to aid policy formation and investment decisions; improving respect for, and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the film industry; re-organizing the Board for efficiency and productivity; and equipping the staff with necessary skills, equipment and improving capacity.

Despite the challenges clogging the wheels of progress of this industry, its players are optimistic that the industry will experience a new era of transformation, change, efficiency and NFVCB will once again revitalize the film industry as a non-oil remedy to the country’s economic challenges, as well as, enable good representations of the good moral values and rich culture of the good people of Nigeria locally and internationally.

In the words of the Acting President, the “most important thing is that we are on the right path, and we will not deviate from it even in the face of strong temptation to choose temporary gain over long term benefit.”

I hereby congratulate all Nigerians on the commemoration of the redefining moment in our leadership which started two years ago. I am optimistic that the future is pregnant with great benefits for us as Nigerians and all we need to do is to prepare ourselves to tap into the opportunities that lie ahead as we reach the Eldorado.

In the spirit of the season of Ramadan, I will solicit your kind prayers for the quick recovery of the President and for the peace and prosperity of the nation at large.

Happy Democracy Day 2017!

May Almighty Allah bless us all!!

May Almighty Allah bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!

Alhaji Adedayo Thomas

Executive Director, National Film and Video Censors Board.