[ad_1]
Prince Tonye Princewill, philanthropist, film producer, business mogul, politician and former candidate for governor of the Action Congress and Labor Party in Rivers State, and currently leader of the All Progressives Congress in this interview, tells young people how Dubai is what it is. today, among others.
Extract:
What informs your special interventions like the youth programs in Dubai and Ghana?
Let’s look at Ghana and then Dubai. I took over 30 young people to Ghana then picked the best and sponsored them to Dubai. For Ghana, I had visited Accra and noticed its cleanliness. I met a lot of people there and asked them if I could bring Nigerians there to study their waste management system and local administration and they agreed. Remember I said earlier that we all have to grow together. Others can then carry on the legacy. I also noticed the smooth transfer of power between the opposition and the incumbent. I wanted to share the experience with others to pass on such good practices. The end goal was to expose them to best practices. Seeing is believing. I then took the top 10 of the 30 in Dubai where they met all the key people. They met the masters who exposed them to the knowledge of UAE development. For me, Nigeria, Rivers State, Africa, those who develop it are not spirits; there is nothing mystical about visible development. There are lazy and smart people everywhere. The problem is how to hire smarter people and give them more roles and responsibilities. My hope in the program was that I gave the opportunity to the group. I do many other interventions here and there with the desire to give back and help build a better society. I have many projects that I use to help. But I also go further in their mentoring, building and support.
As an entrepreneur, how do you describe the Nigerian environment in terms of enabling businesses to thrive?
I will define Nigeria as a high risk, high return environment. It is not for the faint hearted. You need to be engaged and motivated. You must have a level of resilience to survive. If you can, the reward is high. However, the risks and rewards also decrease. Covid19 and other factors are partly to blame. I am impressed by the federal government’s efforts to improve the business climate. All of these little things help. I am lucky to have good partners. I am in the UK and business is still going on in Nigeria. There is a general level of negativity that makes positive things in Nigeria generally not well appreciated. It is unfortunate, but we would not remove the criticism of the government either and I agree that there are areas that can be better.
What motivated your decision to start producing films?
For some strange reason, the same reasons I entered politics were the same for film productions. It is about improving the image of Nigeria. When you are presented as a politician, people look and say; ah, politician nawa o! The image of a politician is negative. They do not take into account your background or your individual nature. I noticed that we had placed a badge on the politicians and I thought to myself that I wanted to see an improvement. I saw how it can be; I have seen how it is and now I want to influence how it can be. I will get involved in politics. So I got involved in politics. The same goes for the film industry, I’ve seen our movies, I’ve seen our movies, I’ve seen our stories, and I’ve said Nigeria and Nollywood are synonymous. So what they see from Nollywood is what they see from Nigeria and I felt our Nollywood was doing a really good job of showing Nigeria. It was another opportunity to show the positive side of Nigeria. So if as a politician you can improve Nigeria and as a film producer you can improve the image of Nigeria, it is about those who travel the world who are presented as Nigerians. it is our way of giving something back so that the image of Nigeria is represented and put forward in a positive light. Now that I was sitting here yesterday, Netflix is negotiating with me on a movie we made almost over 4 years ago. They want the film badly because they think the film sells a very positive image of Nigeria. I am therefore proud that I am embarking on the production of films for a positive image of Nigeria. We have good stories to tell and Nigerians are good people, so what we should be looking for is not witchcraft and disappearance and spirit and all those things on TV all the time. We should also see the positive image and the positive side of Nigeria. That’s why I like to work with a true story based on real events in my films.
What do you plan to raise the bar among practitioners?
You said something at the start that you would like your work to speak of when you talked about your timing. If I present my work 76 in the form of a film, it is a message. It is a sign of what is possible. 76 sent a message. It won Best African Film, Best Africa Costume, Best Director, Best Actress, various best left, right and center. It sends a message. Now when you set this standard, other cinema practitioners also want to achieve and if possible even beat this standard. You have shown what is possible. The other thing is that when you produce your own films you also build capacity, just like I took these young men and women to Dubai and took them to Ghana and also developed other mentoring programs. , with my film production, each department. in the film, the young people are studying. So you have young people that you have attached to the best director, the best actress, the best cinematographer, the best production designer, the screenwriter and as the film is produced you build characters. I smile today when people tell me they are going to audition and when they tell the person interviewing them that they played 76 or were in 76 they don’t even ask them anymore. questions, they just hire them. People say it is because of the role they played in ’76; once written on their CV, it gives them additional roles. It’s not just a national project; it is an international and pan-African project. The name 76 and the film 76 for the industry are now synonymous with excellence. As I speak to you now, we are working on another project that would be even better than 76 by the grace of God.
How do you think the Niger Delta issue can best be resolved for the well-being of the grassroots populations in the region?
The answer is very short but also very deep. The issue of the Niger Delta is not entirely different from most of Nigeria’s problems. Whether it’s restructuring, security or tribalism. We lack internal democracy. If three people are seated and agree on one person to represent everyone in a discussion, politicians will say, “No, he’s not the one talking. Don’t worry, we would send someone to talk to even if they’re not a professional. You don’t put square dowels in round holes. So when I talk about internal democracy, I ask the question “do you have leaders who care about the people?” Because such leaders would not do the things they say and people would insist on who represents them. But when you have an absence of internal democracy, you don’t know who the people want. And the people of Abuja cannot decide from Abuja who should represent the people. This interference and imposition is a constant thing in the Niger Delta and in many places. Go see the leaders of the Niger Delta and ask yourself where are they from? How were they chosen? Did Wike come out of the people? Akpabio he left the people? Look at the different leaders and ask yourself how did they get there? In some cases they would be popular, but not in all cases. But in fact, in many cases, they are not. So when they get in, will they serve the people? Are the people their constituency? The answer is no.
Source link
