Lai to streaming services: To do business in Nigeria, you must include local content

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says streaming services must include local content on their platforms if they want to do business in Nigeria.

Netflix and Amazon Prime are some of the popular streaming services in the country.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Zuma Film Festival in Abuja on Saturday, Mohammed said content developers will be able to reap the benefits of their work if this is done.

The minister said the Nigerian film industry is an important platform for showcasing Nigerian arts and culture to the world.

“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, as we celebrate the astronomical growth of our film industry, we must also critically examine whether the creative minds behind this phenomenal growth have reaped the benefits of their hard work,” he said.

“This is why I am delighted with the theme of this year’s festival, which is ‘Show The Money’.

“I do hope this year’s film festival has shown filmmakers how they can exploit new platforms, not only to see the money, but also to touch and keep it through the increased profitability and global reach of their films.”

Mohammed said his ministry has developed a report and made it available to organisations like Afreximbank and Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to understand the sector and invest in distribution and production companies.

“In order to boost the exhibition revenues of the film industry, we have partnered with the CBN and the Bankers Committee on the renovation of the National Theatre at a cost of $100 million,” he said.

“This is important because the iconic National Theatre was conceived as the hub of the Creative industry in Nigeria.

“Its renovation and the addition of four new hubs, including an international film production facility that covers production and post-production, will signify the restoration of the power of the industry and its preparation to play its huge role for Nigeria into the future.”