Ibadan – An Actor, Debo Showemimo, has urged the Federal and State Governments to identify and empower up-coming active theatre-arts practitioners to reduce the rate of unemployment.
Showemimo gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Thursday.
He said that entertainment industry was already creating jobs in the country, and stressed the need to consistently improve the sector.
“We have the camera-front artistes as well as the behind camera ones (the directors, cameramen, continuity hand, make-up, etc).
“All we need to improve on the rate of employment is for the government to empower the practitioners by granting them loans to make them employers of labour.
“There are many talents in the industry across the nation who lacks the wherewithal to promote their potential for the benefit of the nation,” he said.
He also urged the government to assist the industry in the fight against piracy, plagiarism as it had been one of the major challenges facing it.
“Government can pick talented artists across the nation, sponsor them abroad for a life stage performances. This will certainly bring income to them and revenue to the government,” he said.
Showemimo, a producer said to regulate the entertainment industry and ensure sanity, various associations making up the industry should come together and create an executive body.
“The body can now come up with codes of conduct that will serve as models for the operators; it will ensure that the dos and don’ts of the job are regulated.
“The industry can be regulated provided they have concerted interest, and this will attract more people,” he said.
He further emphasised the need for producers to always discourage the idea of nudity in film production, especially as it concerns the actresses.
“Family members should also condemn the habit of their youths, children going naked on the streets.
There are ways artists can create any picture they intend to portray in films, not necessarily going naked.
“Nudity is part of the things many people complain about films and if it’s not dealt with, it will certainly continue to limit our development and scare more people away,” he said. (NAN)