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Meet Nigeria At naijarules.com
This is in today's Guardian newspaper.
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Meet Nigeria At naijarules.com
BY ERHUMU BAYAGBON
IN a fast changing global scene, the days when people concentrate solely on merely acquiring basic writing and reading skills seem to have gone.
In fact, any definition of 'functional literacy' that makes no kind of allusion to a mastery of the computer, especially Internet training would fall short of general acceptance.
The Internet appears to have literally taken over everything in Nigeria. This is evident even in daily things like purchase of school forms, checking of examination results, participating in 'Visa Lottery Game,' among many others. The list is endless.
Until recently people did these things without the aid of computers or the Internet. But the current trend of information technology has changed everything. Speedy developments in the country have made every person zealous of acquiring basic computer knowledge. The media has also contributed largely, in espousing this trend. Most Nigerian newspapers and broadcasting houses now have websites where they place online versions of news and feature items.
Pundits in the media have even tagged this period: "an era of a single newsroom, multiple outputs"
As the vogue of online information delivery gets stronger, following the need to satisfy diverse readers, especially those based overseas who find it difficult to get hard copies of newspapers, some media professionals have began to explore that frontier. They have created an online forum where people that are united by particular interests can come together to share information or as they describe it, 'fellowship.' The address is naijarules.com
This platform's overall interest is to inform through provision of news materials, reviews and constructive criticism on pertinent issues and personalities in the Nigeria movie industry.
Although there are many online magazines and websites devoted to various causes, this venture is essentially gaining global ground for its 'Nigerianess.' Its current membership base, which is already over 1000 is fast rising.
It is essentially an online magazine dedicated to Nigerian movies. With Naija Movies Only as its 'jingle', the magazine religiously provides a rounded coverage of events, personalities and issues in the fast-globalising Nigerian movie turf, popularly referred to as Nollywood.
A visit to the site unveils the mission statement of this magazine. The cursor, flashing dot signals intermittently to a bold and beautifully designed inscription that informs visitors that the site is essentially devoted to Nigerian home videos.
There are 9 broad segments in the online publication to satisfy the curiosity of visitors. These are: Naija Movie Forums, Review Movies, Movie Photos, Movie News, Greeting Cards, Tell-A-Friend, Contact Us, Newsletters and Articles.
The magazine is also very friendly. It replies all mails promptly and provides details of Nigerian movie personalities without 'bugging' the stars' personal lives.
In fact, there is a kind of notice that informs readers and enquirers that personal telephone numbers of movie actors and actresses will not be given to any reader.
However, the editor of the magazine, Sola Osofisan, a screen and stage director, informs that the publication came to satisfy a yawning gap that has been missing for a long time.
Osofisan, also a writer and computer freak, reveals that the magazine comes as a result of the absence of such a computer network for Nigerians. "Call it an initial reaction to the absence of a place online for Nigerians, Africans and all races interested in the emerging movie industry in Nigeria to gather and interact. You and I know the impact this phenomenon called Nigerian movies is having on the rest of the world. We looked around and could not find a website providing news, discussion forums, reviews, previews, photos, profiles and interviews of Nigerian movie personalities and business. So, we decided to start one. The rest, as they say, is history.
"We love Nigerian Home Video Movies, warts and all. That's the uniting element that we have. We are fans, journalists, actors, directors, producers, film scholars, aspiring filmmakers, etc. We are scattered around the world. This web space gives us the chance to talk about Nigerian movies, write about them, discuss, analyse, pass-on ideas and correct misconceptions. In it we read interviews, profiles and critiques, check out the photos of our favourite stars and moviemakers. We get the latest buzz, consult directories, contact people, review movies, send celebrity greeting cards, access Nigerian movie industry practitioners' databases, counter the international media's sometimes obvious misinformation, among other things.
"It is the one powerful online space that connects the filmmaker, marketer, film buyer and the end product. Nigerian movies... That's all we're about."
He however noted that the site is still far from what it hopes it to be. Hence some additional features would be incorporated as the web space grows. "There will be redesigns. This is a site constantly in motion. More importantly, we put it together to be a fun place where you can exchange ideas and information with like-minded folks," Osofisan said.
In an online interview with The Guardian, Sunday, Osofisan offered some hints on how he came about the venture. "I have been running websites since 1999. I have nigeriansinamerica.com where I feature articles on issues affecting Nigerians in America and samples of the writings of the new generation of writers from Nigeria who are also colleagues of mine. I also have findnigeria.com, the largest directory of Nigerian websites on the Internet. It has some 1200 plus links so far indexed and there is at least another 300 out there that I am trying to get to. New ones spring up daily too.
"And living in the US since 1997, I noticed the increasing interest in Nigerian movies among the Nigerian and African community in the US. I noticed the extent people go to just to get these movies to watch. Having been in the industry back home and also having done some arts journalism film and TV criticism back home, it occurred to me that I could easily put up a place, online, and give the public information about the industry. Besides, I know practically everybody important in the business, at least on the production end. I have either worked with them or done something like that. So I knew it would be a cinch for me to get information and exclusive interviews.
"I really wanted to do a hard copy of the magazine, but the Internet offered me that initial opportunity to do it affordably. So, I have to start and then grow from there.
"I registered naijarules.com on February 2, 2003. I really wanted to register nollywood.com, but some guy in Asia already took it. And I noticed it was close to expiring. I wrote the guy in Asia to let me buy the Domain nollywood.com from him and he asked for $1500. I didn't have that kind of money to pay him, so I told him not to worry. A few months down the road after I'd put naijarules.com online, nollywood.com expired, so I quickly grabbed it. The guy obviously didn't really need it.
"I was adding articles in bits and pieces to start, but I knew I had to make a trip to Nigeria once to talk to my people and whip up some content support from home. I flew to Nigeria between September and October 2003 and had a series of interviews with all the major players I could find within the short time - six days - that I had.
"I posted the RMD interview first. Tunde Kelani's interview followed. I posted a lot of photos, some taken by me, others purchased from photographer friends in the industry in Lagos. So, the site really took off in October 2003, although it has been quietly online since February. Today, we are more than 1300 members strong.
"Members of the forum are from all over the world, especially the African Diaspora. Nigerian movies are loved greatly by fellow Africans at home and abroad and this influences the make up of the site's membership.
"Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia, South Africa and Nigeria are some of the African countries well represented. Majority of the members come from Nigeria, Europe and North America where Internet access is more accessible though.
"Membership also ranges across ages. There are teenagers and adults, students and professionals. Many members are filmmakers in their own right, actors both aspiring and established. Webmasters of other evolving sites of similar or related interest, Nigerian video movie, online retailers, journalists and researchers are also in the train."
On how the response has been Osofisan informed: "It has been incredible. My members want so much more than I can provide right now. I can't keep up with their need for news, profiles, interviews, reviews...I'm only one man with limited resources. It has been phenomenal. I have members from all over the world. Perhaps the greatest thing is that scholars, journalists and international magazines (like the famous Transition Magazine of Harvard) looking for information about the movie industry all write me for help, contacts and photos. Film festivals needing to invite Nigerian filmmakers reach me and I pass their messages on to the key players to spread the word back home. The response grows daily, with them asking for more and more.
"Right now, I see a few other places online developing this sort of thing. The sky is a huge space and this is just the beginning. There is so much more to be done as soon as I can find the resources to take it to the next level. This is nothing right now. We're barely touching the potentials open to us."
Osofisan who conducts most of his interviews by telephone aspires to have the largest repertoire of information and data on Nigerian movie industry.
He however feels that the movie industry in Nigeria is facing some teething problems. "A good percentage of the people in it (movie) are in it for the wrong reasons, hooked on the glamour, without fully embracing the professionalism requirements of the industry. But I see even that as a good thing. I see all the rush into it from the perspective of students rushing to school in the morning. By evening when they will head back home, they would have grown and received education, whether asked for it or not.
"This is a school for us now, the school of experience. We are learning as we make our mistakes. We get better, movie after movie, figuring out ways of getting the movie out at minimal cost. Some years down the road, we will reach the level of quality acceptable to the international world. Right now, let us continue to make movies for those who appreciate it. The future is competition. The future is bright."
"There are certain bottlenecks preventing a consistency in terms of quality, but as soon as those barriers are broken down (and work is ongoing to break them), we will tell better stories in more professional ways and then acquire a market even beyond our wildest dreams.
The Internet publisher who intends to produce later on hard copy believes however that online journalism has an edge. "You cannot ignore online journalism anymore. A website can reach places and people your hard copy can never hope to reach, corners of the world you may never have the resources to market to. That is the edge an online magazine has over the printed version. But in terms of revenue generation, you still stand a greater chance of making money through a paper magazine. Why? Because most Nigerians and Africans, our core market, in this scenario, have no easy access to the Internet unless they are living in the Diaspora or are willing to stop by a cybercafe. Things will change though and in time, you may never have to consider hard copy magazines anymore. That day is not here yet."
Contributing editors to naijarules.com include Terh Agbedeh, Toni Kan Onwordi, Akin Adesokan and Jamin Ohwovoriole. These are all writers, poets, movie enthusiasts who also have healthy backgrounds in journalism.
© 2003 - 2004 @ Guardian Newspapers Limited (All Right Reserved).
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