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Film factory: Gov. AbdulRazaq vows to deepen creative industry
Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has vowed to deepen the state’s creative industry in order to expand its economic base.
AbdulRazaq made the vow in Ilorin on Wednesday during his visit to the trendy Sugar Film Factory.
The governor described the sugar film factory as one of his administration’s iconic projects targeted at refocusing the state’s economy for job creation, youth empowerment, and improved standard of living.
He said it was designed to make Kwara a hub in the last-mile movie production and creative industry in West Africa.
According to him, the facility earns its name from the nostalgic Tate and Lyle Sugar Factory which collapsed in the 1990s, in what underscored the governor’s rich sense of history.
The governor said that the project was one of those being funded from the bond the state accessed in 2021.
He noted that contents from Nollywood are increasingly dominating the world, saying that efforts must be geared towards improving production quality for them to compete with Hollywood and Bollywood.
“Our huge investment in the creative industry is to expand the economic base of the state and deepen the creative industry.
“Everyone sees our state as a civil service state. We want to change that perception. We want to make this state a destination for high-quality movie production.
“It is about thinking outside the box. It is important for Nollywood to move from what some may call videos to cinematography.
“We have very rich contents but we need to invest in the quality of our production. Our facility offers this.
“Gradually, we are getting there. You’ve seen our films on Netflix and other global platforms but we want more of our films there. What India has done is to improve the quality of films, that’s what we want to offer here in Kwara,” the governor said.
AbdulRazaq echoed the need to expand the quality of Nigerian movies to feature more on the international scene.
He expressed satisfaction at the progress of work done, hoping that the contractor would deliver it for operation in the next few months.
The governor said more equipment are coming in and assured that film production would soon commence in the state.
The sugar film factory is carefully linked with the visual arts centre whose components include a Dolby-fitted studio.
It is indicative of an emerging local economy built around creative industry, innovation and enterprise dominated by young people.
Gov. AbdulRazaq was conducted round the facility by the Project Manager, Mr Kamaldeen Abolarin.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Anambra State Sector Command, has confirmed the death of a woman in an accident at Okpoko Market on the Asaba-Onitsha Road.
The Sector Commander, Mr Adeoye Irelewuyi, who confirmed the accident to journalists in Awka on Thursday, said that the woman was hit while she was crossing the road.
He said that the accident, which occurred on Wednesday, involved a commercial tow truck with registration number XA550BMA.
“Eyewitness report reaching us indicates that the truck was towing a vehicle in an uncontrollable speed along the axis.
“The vehicle that was being towed got detached from the tow truck.
“It hit and killed a female adult, who was said to be crossing the road, while the tow truck continued its movement.
“FRSC rescue team came to the scene and took the woman to Toronto Hospital, Onitsha, where she was confirmed dead and her body deposited at the hospital’s mortuary,” he said.
While sympathising with the family of the dead, the sector commander urged motorists, especially tow truck drivers, to exercise a high level of professionalism.
He also urged the drivers to always use standard equipment and avoid speeding.
The Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Mojeed Iyiola, said the state government’s maize palliative to members of the association made a positive impact on the sector.
Iyiola said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.
“We received about 150,000 tons of maize in February from the Lagos State government as palliative to cushion the effect of high feed prices.
“The major benefit of the palliative is that it actually cushioned the cost of production for most poultry farmers in the state.
“The palliative was beneficial as it made the cost of some poultry produce, especially eggs to drop,” Iyiola said.
He noted that prior to the palliative, a crate of egg was sold between N3,500 and N3,700 at the farm gate, but after the palliative, it now sells between N3,200 and N3,400.
According to the PAN chair, retailers and middlemen who sell from N3,800 to N4,200 do that for their personal gain.
“We have urged our members to sell their eggs at reasonable prices following the receipt of the palliative from the government.
“We appreciate the Lagos State government for the palliative but we also urge the federal government to do likewise, to further reduce the cost of production in the sector.
“This will consequently lead to drop in the prices of all poultry produce across board,” he said.
He said the palliative was shared among financial members of the association at no extra cost.
“As an association we shared the grains equally across PAN’s eight zones in the state equally. We also mandated each zone not the sell even a grain of the maize.
“We, however, considered new poultry farmers who wanted to the join the association as beneficiaries of the palliative,” said Iyiola.
He noted that through the palliative, more poultry farmers were recruited into the association.
“The maize was shared only to poultry farmers and not feed millers, it is the major component of poultry feed formulation,” he said.
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