... Many know him as 'Ahanna' the character he played in 'Rattlesnake', many years ago.
But Francis Duru has come a long way from then. He is now a Nollywood Ambassador. In this chat with NAOMI ADAMU, he says there is much to be done in Nollywood.

What is your recent tour all about?

It is the second edition of the Nollywood Road Show which we started with Namibia. We are privileged that government has done so well by ensuring that it comes to pass, at the instance of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC). It is a thing of joy that they consider Nigerian movies a product worthy of being exported. I call it a 'product', because of our services and the impact we have made on the world.

What the NEPC has been doing is creating an enabling environment, so that the frontiers of Nollywood can be expanded to the full materialisation of what the industry stands for. Our movies are being, respected and desired in these places. This has gone a long way in creating bilateral relationship between Nigeria and these countries. The NEPC has succeeded in exploring aspects of commerce and industry by creating an interface between Nollywood and practitioners in those countries, such that there can be room for exchange of ideas and themes on both sides and at the end of the day, the frontiers of Nollywood will expand.

Give or take, value is added to the stable of the NEPC.

Nollywood is one of so many potentials; mining, agriculture etc and the fact that they have chosen to focus on Nollywood as an export commodity is a big leap. Having travelled around and seen how much appreciation our movies receive and a kind of value given to it, the chief executive officer decided to make me a consultant, coordinator and facilitator of sorts, to ensure we create the Nollywood content in line with our own policy, and push Nigeria forward through the brand.

Do you think this has affected Nigeria's economy?

The point is that it has impacted tremendously on the economy. The president has done well by creating an opportunity, where people have to begin to think towards youth empowerment, using Nollywood as an avenue. It has become a tool for informal employment, a huge help to the country.

God has given us so much artistic heritage, through soccer, the arts, entertainment, street band, comedy and others, you'll agree with me that it has created employment for many people who would have been lying fallow. You cannot underrate the robust nature of the entertainment industry in Nigeria. It has become clear that this industry is actually contributing so much to our economy, and from there we begin to device better means to harness, build on it and actually blow up the economy.

The power of this industry is so wide and broad; it can be a propaganda machinery, a tool for mass mobilisation, social enlightenment, job creation, upliftment of the economy of the nation, you name it. These are the visible ones. The unexplored potentials of the industry lies in our historical antecedents, from the pre-colonial era to this particular time. What has happened to the story of our heroes: Nnamdi Azikiwe, Murtala Mohammed, Awolowo, King Jaja of Opobo, Nana of Ishekiri, Queen Amina of Zaria and others? Telling these stories afresh will bring so much to bear, positively, on the economy of the nation. Telling our stories will pay us more.
Let us declare a state of emergency in the entertainment industry, so as to harness the full potentials of the industry that has been lying fallow.

Considering the recent spate of bombings in the country, what has the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporatiion,NTDC, and other relevant bodies done to enlighten the public about the menace?

The NTDC, is one parastatal in this country that has continually worked in tandem with the NEPC to protect, push and laundry the image of the nation through their activities.

The NDTC is hyper-active when it comes to the Nigerian agenda, vis a vis the Nigerian culture. The culture is preserved, highlighted and amplified to the point that you have no choice than to agree to the fact that we are a naturally endowed people, be it in farmlands, vegetation, language, culture, just name it.

Thanks to Otunba Runsewe and the role he has continually played. I always say if you cut through Otunba, tourism would flow like blood. This is because he has been able to push tirelessly, through various channels to bring about a certain level of tourism appreciation.

You also talked about the movie industry. Like I said, it is a wonderful medium for mass mobilisation and social enlightenment. The painful thing is that the people who detonate these bombs or carry them are young people like you and I. But who successfully brainwashed them? The so-called elders. But if their minds were gainfully engaged to understand that throwing a bomb is stupid, because your relative might be there at that particular time, that when you throw a bomb it adds no value to what you are doing, that there's no right way to do a wrong thing, things would not be the way they are presently.

You were one of those actively involved in President Goodluck Jonathan's presidential campaign programmes. He has since been elected president. What advice do you have for him?

My message to him is simple: the days of conducting “business as usual” are gone. He and his think-tanks must tackle issues like corruption, unemployment, education, infrastructural decay, social security and other important aspects, as these are sectors that really affect young people and make Nigeria a better place.

We are a spoilt nation, because God has blessed us with so many things. That is why we don't attach value to some things. Look at nations who have nothing, save tourism; they attach so much value to them and pay so much attention to their finer points. President Jonathan has to engineer a harnessing of these potentials, so as to bring back the Nigerian spirit.

Entertainment has played a vital role in the social development of Nigeria: do you think the creation of ministry of entertainment will make any difference?

There's so much duplicity in most of our ministries. I think it is about time we cut down the cost of governance in this country. Governance here is too expensive. There are parastatals and ministries that can be merged or done without. There is nothing wrong in creating the ministry of entertainment, afterall, the so-called entertainment industry has its tentacles in many ministries; information and national orientation, youth and sports, foreign affairs and others. We have what it takes to project the foreign policy of the nation.

We should have true representatives of the practitioners, put our status and sentiments aside, sit down as stakeholders, look at the industry from a broad perspective, analyse, evaluate, trace whatever problems it is and erase it. Once you are able to do that, then we can really harness it.
In the telecommunications industry, I am happy for Globacom. They have been able to restore some sense of our national dignity and that is something worthwhile. We must be very careful, because the South Africans are watching. All they are waiting to do is penetrate the Nigerian economy, because they know well that we are joking with the things we have.

What new thing are you intyo at present, considering it has been sometime since you featured in a movie?

We are working towards a movie project, one that would be different from what it has always been. I am working towards the creation of new brands in terms of movies and other things that make up the industry. That is what we are working on, but these plans are in the 'pipe' (permit me to use that word). Through that avenue, we can form a synergy with different countries of the world.

For example, through the Nollywood Road Show, we are planning on partnerships that could help strenghten the academis. I mean, we are advocating for Nollywood studies to be in the curriculum of some of our higher institutions of learning. The industry has grown so big. I recall, in one of my interviews, I said that “Nollywood is too big for Nigeria”. It has become a continental project, one which we are to consider beyond the shores of our country, if we wish to appreciate the tremendous growth o f the industry.

If we have succeeded to achieve this in our present state, what would happen when everything is in place? In due course, we will get to know, but for now, we are still in the business. No retiring, no resigning.Things can only get better.

When last where you on set?

Well, sometime early this year.