The endorsement of multimillion naira film village by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to be sited in Delta State has been hailed by many film enthusiasts. The initiators of the project are Augustus Ajawara, an engineer and African-American and his American wife, Iyeshatu Thelma. They opened up in this interview the real reason behind the project…

How do you feel with Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s endorsement of your multibillion naira film village project?

Augustus Ajawara: I feel good. I am glad, especially with his public acceptance to our proposed film village project. He summed it up when he said, ‘I will have you sort out details with my commissioner for culture and tourism, go work with him…; this is my uncle, Chief Eddie Ugbomah, OON, please go and work with him…’, and that has made it important for us to be in Delta State. It is not often that a governor takes your project and says ‘I want to work with it.’

And the governor goes further to make landmark pronouncements, such as ‘work with this and work with that.’ You send proposals to certain high places of authority and make presentations, but it never sees the light of the day. But the instant reception and assertiveness of his instructions to his commissioners are the reassurance that makes us feel comfortable to work with Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan. That is the kind of governor I want to work with.

Could you take us through what exactly is this project, and why the interest in Delta State in particular?

Thelma Ajawara: I will start by expressing my gratitude to the government and people of Delta State for resolving to bring this project to the state. To my uncle, Chief Eddie Ugbomah, I will remain eternally grateful for helping us to begin a concise prospect of actualising this dream. With the benefit of hindsight, and having spent the best part of my life in the movie industry in the United States, we are well aware of the need to bring our wealth of experience to help in making the Nigerian movie industry attain its potential.

I will also say kudos to the Nollywood practitioners who have done well with very meagre resources at their disposals. We have been following their efforts, a reason that has encouraged us to come in and to invest heavily so that it can meet with the needed world standard. That precisely is only an area that Nollywood needs now. Some of us African-Americans out there are well aware of the immense efforts of practitioners here.

We are also aware that Nollywood produces about 50 movies per week – that is only second to Bollywood, and far more than Hollywood. We equally know that Nollywood generates an impressive $590 million annually; though its revenue is not at par with that of Bollywood and Hollywood. And from experts’ view, if Nollywood is properly managed; a million more jobs could be created in the sector. Interestingly, the World Bank is at present assisting the Nigerian government to create a growth and employment project to support the entertainment industry.

Apart from being aware of the industry, what pedigree are you bringing to the desk as the MD of the new consortium?

I am a 1987 B.A degree holder on Radio/TV/Film Production from California State University, Northridge. I own Ayese Studios that has been providing non classifiable establishments to California since 2011.

And with a dynamic media professional experience of over 17 years in advertising and marketing, I am well experienced in media that includes radio, Sports TV, cable, and direct response, for both general and multi-cultural markets. I worked as a broadcast media supervisor for Conill Advertising in the States, and it is one of the best Hispanic advertising agencies in the world. I am an avid team player who is quite dependable and extremely dedicated to her work.

My specialties are on media placement for network and local television, cable and radio, product and brand integration, maintain vendor relationships, identify, analyse and solve broadcast issues with added value negotiations.

I also provided strategic contribution and help to translate the client’s vision into brand strategies, supervise work flow and daily projects; develop and maintain a working relationship with the vendors.

I worked with media partners to provide the best out of the box ideas for the client, and liaise with the account executives and creative team on special media projects.

Our professional photographers have covered hundreds of events across New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and the Hamptons. From fashion shows, charities, galas, openings, nightlife and lifestyle events, our coverage is renowned for getting noticed by the largest media outlets in the world and shared virally across the web.

Could you share with us your vision, goals and your identified challenges in doing business here?

Our main vision, which God has answered us today, is partnering with His Excellency, Emmanuel Uduaghan and Delta State to develop an entertainment district at the Ogwashi-Uku and Asaba axis that will provide state-of-the-art facilities for the entertainment industry. I mean movies, television, recording and theatre, and a television network that will air Pan African inspired content for Africa and the global market.

Our objectives, apart from transforming Ogwashi-Uku into an entertainment destination, is to provide facilities for the production of world standard block buster movies, as well as development of hotels, retail and residential areas that will house entertainers while they are producing. It will have facilities to host screenings, exhibitions, lectures, meetings, special events and receptions for the entertainment community.

On the problem statement, we have since identified lack of professional studio equipment, lack of funding for films and other entertainment projects; and lack of investments for the development of professional skills required across all entertainment sectors. Other problem areas are lack of funding for infrastructure necessary for creative groups to function effectively, and worst still is lack of copyright protection for intellectual properties.

With this worrisome picture you have just painted, why have you chosen Delta State, or was it a case of trying out whichever state in Nigeria that is available?

The answers to your questions are yes and no. Yes, to the quest of identifying with a state that shares in our dream. We were attracted to Delta State, because of the governor’s drive in building a state beyond oil. As part of its effort to cut over dependence on oil, the government is boasting sizeable investment in culture, tourism and entertainment generally.

This presents a deliberate effort that has encouraged us with a platform that tallies with our plans of building on a people with diverse cultural heritage. The film village will be strategically located as the state capital territory is a gateway to the entire south and north central part of Nigeria. Delta State, as you may know, has a wide coastal belt that is interlaced with rivulets and streams.

With this gesture from the state government, our purpose of forming a partnership between the government of Delta State and Pan African Global Media Limited consortium to build a cultural entertainment district in Ogwashi-Uku and Asaba axis, has started in earnest. We are happier because we will be helping to bring in our wealth of experience to help in a non-oil sector in an almost oil dependent Niger-Delta state.

Outside what you have analysed, what are the specific benefits that the village has to offer to Nigerians?

We will be developing a 10-megawatts of power for the district. That will make it a self-sustaining micro grid that guarantees uninterruptable power for the entertainment district. This will on its own provide employment for local engineers for power generation, operations, maintenance and distribution system, as well as training.

The subvention centre will seat 1,000 people, there will be sophisticated studios, and 18 holes PGAS international standard golf course. There will also be shopping malls and restaurants; a sport village including the National Sports Academy and we are coming with unique recreational centres as you can find in Hollywood.

There will be a star 226 rooms resort hotel, 200 holiday apartments with 800 beds around the golf course that will be linked to a water park. There will be a country club with facilities for squash, gymnasium and lap pool with personal trainers, as well as the art health hydro. It is going to be a place with residential development, luxury villas and residential units.

The whole idea is to improve tourism in the state, develop significant source of internally generated revenue, and contribute to the growth of the local economy.

Other benefits from this kind of project are to attract funds in the area of direct foreign investment, infusion of new technology in the Nigerian movie industry, as well as enhancing the development of video, television, and theatre and music as it should be. Because of its size, the project will create lots of employment opportunities for local residents, support local projects, and develop new infrastructure as well as capital construction.