DGN charges Nigerians to utilise cultural diversity for economic development
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Development
By Mateen Badru
Lagos, March 16, 2020 (NAN) The President, Directors’ Guild of Nigeria (DGN), Fred Amata on Monday charged Nigerians to utilise cultural diversity for the development of the country.
Amata gave the charge at a news conference in Ikeja to kick off activities for the guild’s 20th anniversary.
NAN reports that the DGN’s 20th anniversary celebration, supported by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is scheduled to hold in Abuja from April 23 to April 25.
Amata said that Nigerian motion picture industry would continue to gain attention if its cultural diversity was utilised in telling life-changing stories.
“The Nigerian motion picture industry will continue to gain attention with its film screening in theaters abroad and at major international festivals.
“Production values are visibly raising and film-centered content production continues to expand. Nigeria is a vast country with a diversity of cultures.
“Rather than see this as an impediment to development, the country should take advantage of this rich cultural diversity in its quest for economic development.
“It should change the attitudes of its people through film-making towards work, value system, corruption, good governance, interpersonal trust, time, youth and women.” he said.
The guild president added that the DGN was poised for global excellence for the betterment of the practice.
“As the new DGN president, I am ready to go global by increasing the guild’s presence at film festivals in Africa, Europe, India and North America.
“This is to inspire and seek frontiers of interaction to advise and contribute towards the betterment of the practice.
“In the next 20 years, we’re going to be spotlighted because not only will we have the demographics, we’ll have the spending power.
“This is certainly the case with the Nigerian film industry which currently employs more than one million people, making it the country’s largest employer after agriculture.
“The output of the Nigerian film industry known as Nollywood has a massive following in Africa and among the African diaspora around the world.
”We have been undertaking major organisational, personnel and programme changes to boost this since assumption of office.
“We will commit our full energies to enable DGN to make new strides as a global film guild for its 20th anniversary this year.” he said. (NAN)
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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Oluwole Sogunle