Joseph Edgar, founder of Duke of Shomolu Productions, has called for the institutionalisation of Nigeria’s creative industry to sustain its growth.
He shared this last week Tuesday during a panel session at the inaugural QEDNG Creative Powerhouse Summit held in Lagos.
The summit, themed “Financing as Catalyst for a Thriving Creative Economy,” brought together filmmakers, musicians, fashion designers, journalists, bankers, government officials and business leaders to brainstorm on how creatives in Nigeria can thrive and not just survive.
The event was chaired by Group Managing Director of SO&U, Udeme Ufot and attended by stakeholders including actress Joke Silva, NFVCB boss Shaibu Husseini, presidential aide on media Temitope Ajayi, ex-Lagos commissioner Steve Ayorinde and Lagos governor’s spokesperson Gboyega Akosile.
It was anchored by actress and voice artiste EyiyemiOlivia Rogbinyin.
Other panelists included filmmaker Kunle Afolayan, AFRIMA founder Mike Dada and Africa Film Finance Forum (AFFF) founder Mary Ephraim, with the session moderated by broadcaster Anike-Ade Funke Treasure.
Speaking on the keynote address delivered by founder of Africa Soft Power Group, Nkiru Balonwu, Edgar said,
“I picked one or two things from her, also one or two things from the chairman. I think the industry is doing well, very well, I really like this pity parties where we just come and sit and celebrate challenges and all of that. This is a multi-trillion naira industry, you guys are doing extremely well. I’m an investment banker so I see the figures, I see the growth potentials, I see the projections.
“If this industry continues at this pace then… it has already outstripped oil and gas, it’s getting closer to Agric as one of the largest employer of labour, so there’s no problem. So what we are looking for now is how to sustain it, institutionalize the growth so it doesn’t just look like a trend. Someone once told me that the average musician will reign for ten years, averagely.
“So you will get Shina Peters and after ten years he’s moved on and the person said he is surprised that Wizkid and Davido seem to be surpassing that ten-year mark. So I think what is needed which some people are already having in the system is institutionalization or processes and structures.”
Moderator Anike-Ade Funke Treasure highlighted statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics showing Nigeria’s creative industry contributed just 1.2 percent to GDP in 2022, compared to Morocco’s 2.7 percent, Egypt’s 4.3 percent and South Africa’s three percent. In revenue generation, Nigeria ranked one percent, compared to South Africa’s 12.5 percent.
Responding, the investment banker said,
“I think those figures are false because the structure for collating such data are not robust enough to identify the places that these revenues are coming from in entertainment industry. The mainstream financial structure either has a level of policy or the level of regulation do not really understand what is going on in this room.
“That’s why they can’t really capture some of these things. So what they just do is to chase after you guys. They can actually see the money floating but they do not have what it takes to pull it down.
“You can’t for the life of me say that an organization or an industry that is creating the kind of labour—the kind of work force that it’s creating nationwide and globally is contributing one percent. Basically, you can’t see the funds, you don’t know how to track it, you don’t know how to collate it.”
He also reacted to culture minister Hannatu Musawa’s projection that the creative sector could generate $100 billion and over two million jobs by 2027.
“I’m very excited about what you just rolled out. It is like those days when we were young bankers and we have what they call MPR and they ask ‘how much are you going to bring’ and you tell them what they want to hear. ‘I will bring two billion and they will say ‘okay well done’. That is what that minister is doing because the industry has already employed two million people if not more, so why are we waiting for only God knows when and all of that.
“My advice to the industry is that you guys should not drive away genuine people who understand the business of entertainment. That is what is killing you, that is what’s not making you not get that institutional sustainability that we are looking for. So people just come and say ‘he is just a theatre marketer,’ no.
“I understand finance and a little bit of creativity and then based on that, build a structure that is not totally finance that can fit with you, the traditional banks will never understand you. The traditional investment bankers, they will never understand you. The traditional investor who puts his money in an oil rig, puts his money in a real estate will never understand you.
“You are asking someone to give you hundred million, two hundred million on a song? He will just be looking at you. You are asking someone to give you fifty million on a song? He will just be looking at you. My advice is to build sub structures. That’s what I have done. I don’t want any money from any government, not interested.
“Build sub structures funds that are ran by people who understand your basic needs. There are things they call investment, funds and funds of funds. They are customized specialized funds for this industry. So you have a fund for movies, a fund for theatre. A fund for whatever. So the investors already know the nature of what you are trying to do.
“Then comes in the patient capital. The person investing in that fund will not go and ask you to bring a collateral like BOI, go and bring your house to collect loan because he knows it’s a risk he is taking with you. He is taking a risk on your talent. Then there is something called trend analysis, he relies on the past performances to project his returns. The BOI, the Firstbank will never understand that.”
On the threat of Artificial Intelligence to the industry, Edgar said,
“I pity those I work with, it can’t affect me because mine is to go and look for the money. I once went to someone’s office and he said Edgar let me write a script for you na, I said how. He did that thing on his laptop and the AI just wrote the script for him and I’m asking myself because I know the amount I’ve paid for script in the last three years. So the script writers and the rest. But for me I’m safe.”
Joseph Edgar, popularly known as The Duke of Shomolu, is an investment banker and theatre producer. He has produced several stage plays that focus on Nigerian history and culture, including Aremu, Emotan, Bianca and Our Duke Has Gone Mad Again.
