BBA sponsored by Coca-Cola: $300,000 (N48m). MTN Project Fame: N7.5m & SUV. Etisalat’s Nigerian Idol: N5m & multi-million naira contract. Glo naija sings: N5m & SUV. Gulder ultimate search: N10m plus endorsements & SUV. COWBELL Mathematics competition: N100k. Lagos State Spelling Bee: N50k. School scrabble: N25k. Cool-FM spelling game: A goodie bag filled with Amila drink. And someone is asking why there is so much failure in WASSCE?” That was a message I received on my phone some days ago. My friend, Ayodele Adeyemi, told me a similar story recently. Someone saw the brilliance of his daughter and told her that she would be a doctor. The girl said no: She would be a musician. The person was surprised. That story is not strange today. If you ask children in primary school or even secondary school whom would they like to be like in future, they would mention Davido, Whizkid, Omawumi, Don Jazzy, Genevieve Nnaji or Ali Baba. It is a good thing that our entertainment industry has become a source of pride to our nation and a source of livelihood for thousands of youths. Youths who could have been at jobs they hated or even derailed into crime have found themselves happily and richly employed. Rather than being mocked by society, they have become a source of envy and admiration. But therein lies the problem… Since the entertainment industry has become a money spinner and a glamorous industry, every child wants to be in it. But, why not? Currently, the TV programmes with the highest prizes are in music or entertainment. Unknown faces become celebrities almost overnight. Their mates watch such transformation and are filled with envy and admiration. Children watch their intelligent uncles and parents go unnoticed, uncelebrated and impoverished, while entertainers – many of whom are not particularly book-intelligent – become the stars of the day. On the contrary, how many big-budget programmes or prizes are dedicated to rewarding excellence in creativity or the like? Very few. The NLNG Prize for Literature was virtually the only big prize until recently when Etisalat Prize for Literature came on stream. The doctors, lecturers, teachers, etc are frequently on strike over pay and conditions of service. Nigerian writers have to move to the United States or the United Kingdom to be appreciated. Beside entertainment, politics is the other field that is very attractive because of the direct and indirect money that oozes out of it as well as the glamour that goes with it. It is more rewarding – financially and socially – to be a local government chairman than to be a professor. If you are lucky to be a senator, a minister or a governor, you are made for life! Beyond amassing a lot of money, you are also initiated into the political circle, which ensures that even when you leave office, you are made an ambassador, a chairman of an agency or the like. You would not like to go back to the university, your medical practice or whatever you were before. As a doctor, an engineer or lecturer, your money comes in trickles, but as a senator or governor, it drops into your account like a bomb regularly. But if you can’t be a politician, why not be an entertainer? President Goodluck Jonathan may not feel cool when shaking an engineer, computer scientist or professor, but when he is shaking hands with a musician like D’Banj or an actress like Genevieve, you will notice that his smile will be broader. Why? He is shaking hands with a star. Unlike before when our entertainers just had enough to take care of their basic needs, today’s entertainers earn up to N5m for a 10-minute solo rendition of two of their songs on stage. For those who have up to four shows per month, even if they earn a million naira per show, that gives them N4m monthly. Many CEOs of top companies don’t earn that. And this amount excludes the money made from commercials, endorsements, celebrity appearances, fees to act as a judge at shows, album sales, and any other private business #Copied
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 22:25:49 +0000
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