Since the commencement of the Big Brother Naija show on Sunday, January 23, 2017, the reality television series has made news for the wrong reason. Since it is a Nigerian show and for Nigerians, Nigerians cannot fathom why it’s being shot in a foreign land, South Africa. Of course, Nigerians are upset because DSTV makes a huge chunk of their revenue from Nigeria.
They are also upset that DSTV claims we do not have competent professionals to handle the many aspects of such a big production. However, many of the reactions seem not to have considered the decision of the organisers of the show with respect to a number of factors that drive business in the country.
They also seem to have forgotten who exactly to direct their anger at for failing to provide the enabling and conducive environment for business to thrive in Nigeria. While the move by the Federal Government to investigate the rationale for the shooting of the reality TV series outside the shores of Nigeria is underway, the organisers have also tabled many reasons, which ensured they could not have the show produced in the country.
These reasons are legion and may not be totally out of place. In its usual hypocritical manner, the government, through the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has asked the National Broadcasting Commission to determine whether Multi-Choice has breached the Nigerian Broadcasting Code in any way by shooting the show in South Africa and the extent to which the company has applied deceit in implementing its decision, since the viewing public was never told that the event would be staged outside Nigeria.
In a statement on Tuesday, the minister’s spokesman, Segun Adeyemi, said, “As a country of laws, only the outcome of the investigation will determine our next line of action.” But a top official, who works on the show, but pleaded not to be named, told The Point that the experience of the last Big Brother series held in Nigeria was a reality check and a major reason the show went on break for 10 years. The maiden edition was held in Nigeria in 2006.
According to him, during the maiden production in Nigeria, the generator sponsors pulled the plug out and threw the show offair for eight hours; the National Broadcasting Commission threatened to yank it, legislators and religious groups raised hell over the show’s shower hours and virtually everybody involved with the show exploited the organisers. This is in addition to the multiple taxes, up to about 20; said to have been paid to government officials representatives.
Inasmuch as the shooting of the show abroad obviously amounts to a slap on the nation’s face, it is high time Nigerians started facing reality as a people. It should be noted that MNET, the owner of the franchise, is a business entity. The first reason they are in business is to make profit for their shareholders and not for the viewers.
And they will only remain in business and continue to make money if they can continue to deliver quality programming. Nigerians must stop whining that the show organisers are shooting a production where they find it most convenient and at minimal cost. This is not a case that should be misconstrued for taking Nigerian money abroad to do commercials and create jobs for foreigners, as most countrymen have been insinuating. This is a case of reality! The truth must be told.
Nigerians must face their demons and kill them; we ought not to wait for other people to come and do our bit for us. The myriad of problems facing the production of such magnitude in Nigeria is somewhat overwhelming. While there are crew members that will not show up on time for a shoot; power supply could be epileptic; men of the police could arrest crew for carrying cameras; customs officials could make inappropriate high demands just as immigration officers too, are not left out in this miasma.
Before our grievances could be justified, there are certain things we, as a country, must do right. Rather than being emotional about this, this episode should be seen as a nudge on us to fix our societies and systems with a view to making them functional.
Let us get NTA or the Ministry of Information, the Presidency or any other relevant body to put things right, so that we do not have to keep looking up to the South Africans and sending our works abroad for perfection. Obviously, we have talents that can rival any country, if things are in place.
We need to look inwards and ask ourselves questions. Why did Obi Emenloye have to leave Nigeria to shoot ‘The Mirror Boy’ in another country, where they opened their doors to him and treated him like their own? Why was the ‘Beasts of No Nation’ not shot in Nigeria, but in Ghana? Why did some shows, which ran in other countries for years, come to Nigeria and lasted only one season?
Though it would have been great to have BBNaija shot in Nigeria, it would equally be unfair to say MNET/DSTV has not helped production growth and development in Nigeria. The current hoopla and fit of hysteria among Nigerians about the shooting of BBNaija in South Africa, however, once again brings to the fore the need for government to strive harder in tackling the perennial problem of infrastructure decay, or outright lack of it in so many areas, from its roots.
It is needless to say that the BBNaija saga underscores the need, for Federal and state governments, to put necessary infrastructure, incentives and conducive atmosphere in place to improve the ease of doing business and make all aspects of businesses thrive in the country.
Otherwise, the efforts of government officials at all levels, who are wont to take the next available flight to Europe, America, Asia and other developed economies in search of the seemingly elusive foreign investors, would, at the end of the day, amount to a waste of time and resources.
