Ruggedman writes open letter to Lai Mohammed

After Lai Mohammed announced plans of the Federal Government to impose a ban on shooting music videos, movies outside Nigeria, it has of course generated a lot of negative buzz by entertainers.
In a long note, Veteran rapper, Ruggedman highlights reasons why the move is not only wrong but totally out of place.
Read;
Sir,
You can not privatise what you do not own or have control over.
Meet with real Nigerian entertainment stake holders and not people who have milked our entertainers with their platforms. Meet with the real stakeholders and discuss the way forward. Discuss how the Federal government can get involved with the Nigerian creative industry the right way.
It is wrong to try to bully your way into the Nigerian entertainment industry you did nothing to help build.
It is absurd to say you will ban entertainers from shooting music videos or movies abroad. Your reason being that we go there to enrich their economy with Nigerias money.
Not while government officials have their children schooling abroad.
Not while government officials all go abroad for medical treatment and vacations .
Not while government officials continue to import bullet proof cars that are not made in Nigeria.
All these amount to billions of Nigeria’s money being spent abroad.
IF YOU WANT ENTERTAINERS TO STOP GOING ABROAD TO SHOOT MUSIC VIDEOS AND MOVIES, THEN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SHOULD STOP GOING ABROAD FOR HOSPITALS,VACATIONS AND SCHOOLS.
WE CAN USE ALL THOSE BILLIONS SPENT IN FUNDING FOREIGN ECONOMIES TO EQUIP OUR SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS AND OTHER PARASTATALS.
They are our leaders and so have to lead by example
Trying to ban private owned businesses (entertainers) from doing part of their business abroad will go against the democracy your party preaches.
THINGS YOU NEED TO DO:
1. First of all, shelve the talk of banning entertainers working abroad. It is not what the creative industry needs from the government and it is a terrible look for you. Nobody likes a bully.

2. NO STRUCTURE MEANS NO ALTERNATIVE:

Since we do not have a proper structure yet, put a hold on your $1m venture capital for the creative industry.

You say the money is seed money for young and talented Nigerians to set up businesses in the industry. How do you know the young and talented ones if you do not work with the registered Music and Movie bodies?

You will only be enriching a few and wasting money our country needs.

So you need to help the existing Music and Movie unions set up a proper structure that can be monitored before you talk about giving money out.

Money is needed, but a structure is needed more urgently.

3. PMAN AND AGN VISITED YOU

I for one know that The President of the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN ) Mr Pretty Okafor and the President of the Actors Guild Of Nigeria ( AGN ) Mr Emeka Ike along with a few executives met with you in Abuja and discussed a beautiful plan to put a proper structure in place for Nigeria’s creative industry.

One of the plans that was discussed with you was a conference tagged “Creative Industry Summit” and I see you were involved in a similar event recently tagged “Creative Industry Financing conference”.

We are surprised that nobody from the movie or music industry was present to speak at a conference for the ‘’CREATIVE INDUSTRY’’.

Sir, the stakeholders who spoke ath the just concluded Creative Industry Financing conference are not Nigerian veteran musicians or Nigerian record label owners. Neither are they from the Nigerian movie industry.

4. DISCUSS WITH ENTERTAINMENT STAKEHOLDERS 1ST, BEFORE BUSINESS STAKEHOLDERS.

We did not see the likes of Kenny Ogungbe “Kennis Music” , Tade Ogidan, Obi Asika “Storm Records”, Tunde Kilani, or Eldee “Trybe Records”.