Nollywood Lacks Distribution Network – Osita Iheme

Osita Iheme, Nigerian movie star better known as Pawpaw has expressed his displeasure at the lack of a dedicated distribution network in the Nigerian film industry, Nollywood.

In an Instagram live chat with music executive, Ubi Franklin, Iheme noted that the lack has made privacy soar and thrive in the industry.

“We need a distribution network, we are lacking so much on there, a lot of Nigerians who are in the creative sector are creators, but when you create your contents you don’t have any place to distribute you get limited with online,” he said.

“We need to have distribution outlets all over the country and I am calling for all of our people who are in the creative sector, even if you are a producer to start creating a distribution outlet, that is the way to go. Anybody can come up to create something but everybody cannot have a distribution network because it takes dedication, money, and management to handle that, we need to go into that.

“You can sit at your home and produce content where are you going to put it? Where are you going to market it? Where are you going to showcase it? not every film goes to the cinema. Those films that don’t go to the cinema, where will you distribute it?

“We cannot limit ourselves only online, fine technology is the way to go but considering our system, considering our network, considering Africa, a lot of people still need that physical touch, physical access to whatever African thing you are producing.”

Iheme calls for change

The comic actor further called on Nigerian creatives, producers, and investors to inaugurate distribution networks platforms across the country to help curb movie piracy.

“We need to start accessing movies, music, once you come out from your house, you need to be able to access it the way you access recharge card, recharge card is not only selling online, that is the way we will make much money and this ‘Big Boys’ will find it worthy to come into it because when you can come out from your house you don’t need to start buying data to activate Youtube to start accessing this services, the market is huge and not everyone can access data let’s tell ourselves the truth.

“We would still market it online but lets still make it to people available on the street and making it available to people on the street will also help to fight piracy, because when people cannot access the original content they adopt piracy because the pirates are distributing and making it accessible on the street. After all, the originals are not accessible on the street.”

Osita Iheme rose to fame in 2003 when he starred together with Chinedu Ikedieze in the comedy film Aki na Ukwa in which he played the role of Pawpaw.