- An Enugu based Ebonyi highlife artiste, Comrade Sunday Nwine, a.k.a MC Finest, in an interview with The Voice Entertainment, has bared his mind on the challenges facing the growth of Entertainment Industry in Ebonyi state.
The actor also pointed out that poor marketing, lack of financial and moral supports from the government and Ebonyians, among other pressing issues are challenges hindering the growth of the industry in the State.
He therefore proffered solutions on what should be done to ensure that the industry thrive in Ebonyi.
Below are the excerpts for our readers delight
Can I meet you Sir?
I am Comrade Sunday Nwine, MC Fines, a member of Actors Guide of Nigeria, Enugu State Chapter and a native of Ochafu in Igbeagu Community, Izzi LGA of Ebonyi State. I have been in the entertainment industry for over ten years.
Recently, we learnt you launched your new album, how is the market in Ebonyi?
Ebonyi State has a lot of talented artiste but marketing is one of the biggest challenges we are facing. If you go to Onitsha, Alaba, or Pound Road Aba, you will see that none of them is interested in marketing movies done in our dialect as well as our music because they will tell you that the management is very poor. Reason being that talented artistes don’t get sponsorship here because nobody is interested to invest in all these upcoming artiste, so they produce poor work that will not compete favourably in the international market.
But there’s another issue hindering our growth, it baffles me that in all these markets, some of the major marketers are from Ebonyi State but they don’t like marketing our products because many of them don’t want to be identified as Nwa-Abakaleke, a syndrome I grew up to meet in the industry and as an artiste who is based in Enugu, I know how difficult it was getting to mingle as Nwa-Abakaleke, because there’s serious stereotype in the industry.
What do you think should be done to overcome these challenges?
I think if government should put its eyes in the movie industry as a way of curbing unemployment and youth restiveness with the mindset of encouraging youth development, this will encourage government to start supporting and promoting talented artistes. It will help our youths a lot to see themselves as equal with others especially among our Igbo speaking brothers who look at them with disdain and as being inferior. If I should mention some of our artistes that had made sincere efforts but ended up half way because they lacked sponsors with nobody to encourage them, you will marvel. And the most annoying part is that the same people who need to sponsor our artistes are promoting foreign music everyday against our indigenous ones.
Would you say that those states doing well in terms of entertainment got support from government?
Yes, because enabling environment and fund apart from already existing talented artistes are what movie makers need to produce quality work. Though, it’s not only government that should assist them, but individuals also show support. Like in Anambra State, the governor recently awarded a movie village contract and work is ongoing there now and the same thing in Lagos, but our people end up being consumers of all these foreign products while we have people who are super gifted here but the talents are wasting. Individually, many businessmen and politicians there help them but here the story is different. They are only interested in helping someone who is a troublemaker, by getting them out of jail or prison and such has motivated many youths to join cultism and engage in various social vices hoping to get help from their bosses. I wonder how we will escape from the growing syndrome if our big men don’t encourage talents?
You see, Imo State for example has Bongo Square and with that government is promoting their local music there by encouraging talented ones to preach their culture using music and we all know how Bongo took over the music sphere.
Talking of individuals, once they noticed that you are talented they will invite you to sing for them during traditional marriage, birthday, burial, wedding and other parties thereby appreciating the musicians which also motivates them. So, both government and individuals can help upcoming artistes by giving them support and sponsorship.
In Ebonyi what do you think should be done for our indigenous movies and music to meet the standard or compete favourably with others internationally?
It is all about funding, everything about entertainment boils down to sponsorship for the movie or music producer to get quality work, which if done, nobody will embarrass us when such work is taken to the marketers, rather, they will be the ones begging us to market our movies. After all, we are at advantage with Ebonyians scattered in all parts of the country and our dialect more understandable, when compared with some of our Igbo sister states like Imo and Abia that we patronize their musics and movies.
Our big men here are not interested in supporting those in the entertainment industry generally, be it music, movie or comedy and that has been the reason our entertainment industry is nose diving and it is clear they want everybody to join politics which is not possible.
It will interest you to know that our entertainers had done alot of good works that would have taken them far and made many millionaires, but these jobs were poorly produced because they don’t have money to pay for quality job and when they take them to the market nobody will accept marketing them and that will be the end of the person’s career.
What is the most memorable moment of your life in the industry?
That was when I was doing my music and my parents publicly denounced me after they tried convincing me to bury the idea of going into entertainment. But surprisingly, few days after, my album posters were seen everywhere and they welcomed me back at home, because they were surprised with what I have done.
As a multi Talented Artiste where would you like to be in the next five years?
I love all the areas but movie is my most encouraging sector because I love characterization, and anything acting.
What type of music do you sing?
I sing highlife as well as traditional music and I wish to say that music is not listened by the beat or rhythm but a wise man listens to the message in music and that’s why our forefathers do not play with folktales because it comes with lessons and that’s what our traditional music does, such has helped control incessant suicide common now in Nigeria.
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