Veteran fuji singer, Adewale Ayuba, popularly known as Mr Johnson has said abandonment of the entertainment industry by the government is the reason for the decadence being experienced in the sector.
Ayuba told Sunday PUNCH that the lack of investment in the entertainment industry by the government is the cause of the unimaginable loss experienced daily in the sector.
However, he also added that as a result of the government placing round pegs in square holes, such that a medical doctor could be appointed to oversee the education or tourism sectors, not much success has been recorded in the sector.
Positive growth is not measured by the number of years of existence but as a result of work and energy used – a child that is not nurtured cannot grow,
Stating his points further, the Fuji star said “the entertainment industry in Nigeria has so many sectors– ranging from music, which in itself has a lot of subsectors differentiated by the genres; movies, and comedy– which are big enough to contribute over 20 per cent of the nation’s internally generated revenue if there were good policies and the willingness to implement them properly.”
The multi-award winner also listed brain drain, withdrawal of record label companies from the nation due to poor enabling environment and policies, as other contributing factors for the poor state of the industry. He added, “If entertainers are protected from piracy, this industry is big enough to partially solve the employment crisis in the country.”
The musician also called on government and well-meaning Nigerians to join forces to bring the entertainment industry back to the good and enviable state it should be.