Opinion
Nollywood Films And Our Values
Everyone who has the future of our society at heart cannot but be disturbed by the near dis-service being done to the soul of the human society-the family-by some Nigerian films, in the way the films present the image of the family to the public.
In my opinion, the family should occupy a strategic place in the scale of our shared values that make a worthwhile society. To say that the family constitutes the hub of our shared values is to labour the obvious. Testament to this opinion are the values properly summarized by Professor A.A. Moemeka in his article titled: “Communalism As A Fundamental Dimension Of Culture,” and was published 1998, in Journal of Communication, as follows: (i) The Supremacy of the Community (ii) The Sanctity of Authority, (iii) Respect for Old Age or the Elderly (iv) The Usefulness of the Individual v Religion as a Way of Life. I can further add to these values. Other enablers such as, warmth of human relationship, fellow-feeling, live and lets live, and you can add up the rest.
These shared values have the family as fertile ground. The above values are planted in the family. These values germinate in the family and nurtured in the family, therefrom the individual is formed, who in turn makes the society.
A careful observer will agree with me that rather than project the family as the springboard of all the above shared values, some Nollywood films package the family with images that somewhat project the family life as, the jungle of antagonism, mutual hatred, cynicism, voodoism, fetishness, betrayal, mistrust and all sorts of inhuman activities. My take is that the images in Nollywood films should serve as a powerful channel that would attract interests to ordinary life of conviviality that characterise the family as a noble and divine institution. Anything short of this, in my own opinion, presents the family in a bad light, and that amounts to a dis-service to our shared values as indicated above. This is because when the heart is diseased the whole body is affected.
Studies have revealed that a people’s life, activity and enterprise are motivated by a people’s cosmology. This means a people’s perception about the universe makes for the basis for the formation of their scales of values. Thus a people’s attitudes are explainable against the backdrop of a people’s cosmology. It suffices to say that the rhythm of African life, especially Nigeria, synchronised with the aforestated, until the Western intellectuals invaded the conceptional scene of the Africans. They, by so doing, introduced into Africa, the “elephantiasis” of dehumanising perspectives about Africans. African thinkers in reaction to this misconception employed story-telling as the means of not only erasing the dehumanising perspective, but to re-write African story. Some scholars believe that it is the said efforts of these African intellectuals that gave birth to Nollywood. In other words, Nollywood industry can be regarded as the product of a society weighed down by the burden of history. This explains the joys and expectations that greeted the entry of Nollywood into the Nigerian social space.
At its inception, the expectation was that Nollywood would right the wrongs done to our values by some Western intellectuals, using the films as the weapon. As it were, values are the basis for the composition of the mindset of a people. It informs the preferences they make as it concerns their attitudes. Based on this, many before now perceived Nollywood as the long awaited platforms for the task to rescue the wombling and weakening nerves of the shared Nigerian socio-cultural values. This task in view, among other things, include, enlightenment, education, and encouragement of interests in the advancement of National pride.
To this end, placing side by side our shared values and the images projected in Nollywood films, exemplified in the image of the family above, my opinion is that images in some Nollywood films constitute a dis-service to our shared values, particularly, following from the fact that images, according to scholars, are generally representations of realities in events and situations.
I make a case for the image projections in Nollywood films to be of service to our shared values. One can strongly argue that the explosion of worrisome and unwholesome behaviours of the youth in the society today is traceable to the dis-servce that is being done to our shared values through images profiled in some Nollywood films.
I therefore solicit that images in Nollywood films should be directed at influencing and inspiring positive actions in the people, especially the up-coming generation of the society. However, this opinion is not targeted at discrediting the efforts of any individual or group. It is rather a call on relevant individual or group, to go back to the drawing board, do some re-fixing, to get it right as far as projection of images to the public through films is concerned for posterity sake.
Nichodemus is a student of CIWA.
Aloefuna Nichodemus
From all indications, Nigeria possesses enough human and material resources to become a true economic powerhouse in Africa. According to the National Population Commission (NPC, 2023), the country’s population has grown steadily within the last decade, presently standing at about 220 million people—mostly young, vibrant, and innovative. Nigeria also remains the sixth-largest oil producer in the world, with enormous reserves of gas, fertile agricultural land, and human capital.
Yet, despite this enormous potential, the country continues to grapple with underdevelopment, poverty, unemployment, and insecurity. Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS, 2023) show that about 129 million Nigerians currently live below the poverty line. Most families can no longer afford basic necessities, even as the government continues to project a rosy economic picture.
The Subsidy Question
The removal of fuel subsidy in 2023 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been one of the most controversial policy decisions in Nigeria’s recent history. According to the president, subsidy removal was designed to reduce fiscal burden, unify the foreign exchange rate, attract investment, curb inflation, and discourage excessive government borrowing.
While these objectives are theoretically sound, the reality for ordinary Nigerians has been severe hardship. Fuel prices more than tripled, transportation costs surged, and food inflation—already high—rose above 30% (NBS, 2023). The World Bank (2023) estimates that an additional 7.1 million Nigerians were pushed into poverty after subsidy removal.
A Critical Economic View
As an economist, I argue that the problem was not subsidy removal itself—which was inevitable—but the timing, sequencing, and structural gaps in Nigeria’s implementation.
- Structural Miscalculation
Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries remain nonfunctional. By removing subsidies without local refining capacity, the government exposed the economy to import-price pass-through effects—where global oil price shocks translate directly into domestic inflation. This was not just a timing issue but a fundamental policy miscalculation.
- Neglect of Social Safety Nets
Countries like Indonesia (2005) and Ghana (2005) removed subsidies successfully only after introducing cash transfers, transport vouchers, and food subsidies for the poor (World Bank, 2005). Nigeria, however, implemented removal abruptly, shifting the fiscal burden directly onto households without protection.
- Failure to Secure Food and Energy Alternatives
Fuel subsidy removal amplified existing weaknesses in agriculture and energy. Instead of sequencing reforms, government left Nigerians without refinery capacity, renewable energy alternatives, or mechanized agricultural productivity—all of which could have cushioned the shock.
Political and Public Concerns
Prominent leaders have echoed these concerns. Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, described the subsidy removal as “good but wrongly timed.” Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party also faulted the government’s hasty approach. Human rights activists like Obodoekwe Stive stressed that refineries should have been made functional first, to reduce the suffering of citizens.
This is not just political rhetoric—it reflects a widespread economic reality. When inflation climbs above 30%, when purchasing power collapses, and when households cannot meet basic needs, the promise of reform becomes overshadowed by social pain.
Broader Implications
The consequences of this policy are multidimensional:
- Inflationary Pressures – Food inflation above 30% has made nutrition unaffordable for many households.
- Rising Poverty – 7.1 million Nigerians have been newly pushed into poverty (World Bank, 2023).
- Middle-Class Erosion – Rising transport, rent, and healthcare costs are squeezing household incomes.
- Debt Concerns – Despite promises, government borrowing has continued, raising sustainability questions.
- Public Distrust – When government promises savings but citizens feel only pain, trust in leadership erodes.
In effect, subsidy removal without structural readiness has widened inequality and eroded social stability.
Missed Opportunities
Nigeria’s leaders had the chance to approach subsidy removal differently:
- Refinery Rehabilitation – Ensuring local refining to reduce exposure to global oil price shocks.
- Renewable Energy Investment – Diversifying energy through solar, hydro, and wind to reduce reliance on imported petroleum.
- Agricultural Productivity – Mechanization, irrigation, and smallholder financing could have boosted food supply and stabilized prices.
- Social Safety Nets – Conditional cash transfers, food vouchers, and transport subsidies could have protected the most vulnerable.
Instead, reform came abruptly, leaving citizens to absorb all the pain while waiting for theoretical long-term benefits.
Conclusion: Reform With a Human Face
Fuel subsidy removal was inevitable, but Nigeria’s approach has worsened hardship for millions. True reform must go beyond fiscal savings to protect citizens.
Economic policy is not judged only by its efficiency but by its humanity. A well-sequenced reform could have balanced fiscal responsibility with equity, ensuring that ordinary Nigerians were not crushed under the weight of sudden change.
Nigeria has the resources, population, and resilience to lead Africa’s economy. But leadership requires foresight. It requires policies that are inclusive, humane, and strategically sequenced.
Reform without equity is displacement of poverty, not development. If Nigeria truly seeks progress, its policies must wear a human face.
References
- National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). (2023). Poverty and Inequality Report. Abuja.
- National Population Commission (NPC). (2023). Population Estimates. Abuja.
- World Bank. (2023). Nigeria Development Update. Washington, DC.
- World Bank. (2005). Fuel Subsidy Reforms: Lessons from Indonesia and Ghana. Washington, DC.
- OPEC. (2023). Annual Statistical Bulletin. Vienna.
By: Amarachi Amaugo