By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
The Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy and the Nigeria National Talent Export Programme, have said they would partner with the Mswitch Creative Academy to train 5,000 young Nigerian talents in the Film and Music industry on post-production technology.
Post-production is the final stage in film and programme-making where footage is cut, music, sound, and commentary are mixed and visual effects are added.
The idea is to train young creatives in post-production technology, with the support of foreign experts would enable young talents to acquire global experience.
They could decide to either take up foreign jobs here in Nigeria or travel abroad to work and earn foreign exchange.
The National Coordinator of the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), Olufemi Adeluyi; the Special Adviser to the President on Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Ayo Adeagbo and the Co-founder of Mswitch Creative Academy, Salami Kadir, announced the partnership in Abuja.
They spoke at a one-day workshop organised by Mswitch Creative Academy with the theme: Positioning Nigerian creatives for global post-production demand
The NATEP boss, Olufemi Adeluyi explained that his agency was ready to support the post-production project with the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (I-DICE) launched about a year ago.
Adeluyi said I-DICE is a $617.7m fund sourced from the African Development Bank, the French Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank.
He said, “The whole idea is to be able to make sure that the digital economy and the creative sectors in Nigeria are vibrant enough to support the economy.
“The National Talent Export Programme was launched at the side-lines of the United Nations Assembly last year, it is under the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment. The Minister took it to the Federal Executive Council and it was approved.
“We are to catalyse the creation of one million jobs over five years. We are targeting jobs that are currently outside Nigeria. We want jobs that could be outsourced into the country.
“We also have the mandate to physically export talents outside Nigeria. We are currently having foreign exchange issues in Nigeria. The major way we can turn things around is by export
“Our greatest export at the moment is our talents. We have a large youth population that we can transform into opportunities. We want to create an environment whereby people can get foreign jobs and do them from Nigeria and earn foreign exchange.
“When the money comes, it helps us to tackle our forex liquidity and we would have the dignity of working and earning income. For those who would go outside the country, we want to make sure that they are treated with dignity.
“The outsourcing industry has blossomed in several countries, especially in India. The highest amount that Nigeria has made in a single year from oil which is our biggest export is not more than $40bn. This year alone, India is expecting about $200bn from outsourcing alone.”
Similarly, the Special Adviser to the President on Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Ayo Adeagbo, described post-production as a very key area in film and music production that a lot of people don’t pay attention to.
Speaking about the project, the Mswitch Creative Academy co-founder, Salami Kadir, explained that it will be a hybrid programme with a mixture of online and on-site equipment.
Kadir, however, said there would be financial implications because the programme would focus on four courses, including, Non-linear editing; sound design: motion graphics, and colour breeding.
