Globacom Chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr. has congratulated African actors, actresses, producers, cameramen and other movie practitioners for raising the bar by projecting cultural values, norms and philosophies as they mirror societies on the continent through their works.Dr. Adenuga who stated this in a message to the 10th edition of the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) held last Saturday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State thanked the practitioners for the robust development of the movie industry on the African continent.
His words “It is remarkable that our movie industry has rapidly grown in stature and is today ranked amongst the top three in the world. To be placed in the league of the highly successful Hollywood in the United States of America and India’s Bollywood is indeed not a mean feat. This development has earned Nigeria the status of the Movie Capital of the African continent, and perhaps explains why this event is being held in the country”.
He expressed satisfaction that national carrier Globacom had played a pivotal role in the development of the movie industry through its pioneering role in brand ambassadorship adding that this had encouraged excellence, professionalism, versatility and resourcefulness in the industry.
Dr. Adenuga, however, enjoined movie practitioners not to rest on their oars by continuing to project the continent in positive light and focusing more on developmental issues and de-emphasising scenarios that could inadvertently project the continent as the epicenter of violence and crime.
“It is imperative for Africa to tap into the awesome power of the movie industry to shape opinions, lives, character and values. The industry is a veritable medium of mentoring and moulding opinions. We must seize the moment”, Dr. Adenuga advised.
He described the movie industry as one of the key growth drivers in African economy adding “ the movie industry, like sports, can and should also be fully exploited to fight the scourge of unemployment on the African continent. I enjoin all stakeholders in government at all levels and the private sector to tap the myriads of opportunities offered by the industry to de-populate the army of the unemployed who are ready recruits for venality, armed robbery and even terrorism”.
The Globacom Chairman congratulated nominees for the milestone AMAA Awards including the duo of Desmond Elliot and Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha, who are Globacom Ambassadors, for being outstanding in their chosen professions and urged other practitioners to re-double their quest for excellence in order to win recognition, fame and acclaim.
Some of the top African thespians in the Globacom stable include Nadia Buari, Jackie Appiah, Van Vicker, Desmond Elliot, Funke Akindele, Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha and Ini Edo.