Aquila... Die-hard Advocate of Excellence
He has always stayed behind the screen. His works speak volumes in the minds
of home video film viewers. Aquila Njamah is, unarguably, one of the
youngest and brightest producer/directors in the Nigerian home video
industry today. He has inestimable passion for the upliftment of the
industry in all ramifications. He bares his mind to Clementina Olomu on
sundry issues affecting the industry
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He came into the movie industry while in secondary school. Though still in
his late twenties, he has produced, directed and co-directed several home
video movies in less than three decades of the coming into being of the
industry. He's latest works being Heavensgate a soap written and produced by
Zik Zulu Okafor and sponsored by City of David Parish of the Redeemed
Christian Church of God (RCCG) on Silverbird Television. He is Aquila Njamah,
a quiet, but a major player in contemporary Nigerian home video industry.
Despite the fact he found himself in an industry where money making has
rubbed off professionalism and the career of some of the stakeholders, he
remains a strong advocate of professionalism in the industry. For him, the
issue of professionalism "cannot be compromised."
He has unflinching passion for change. His incessant call for change has
earned him the alias, 'Martin Luther King of Nollywood.' He did only dreams
big for the good of the industry, he is a self-appointed crusader yearning
for professionalism in the Nigerian home video industry. For him, there is
no alternative to raising production standards if the movie industry wants
to be taken seriously by the international community. He is of the opinion
that if standards are raised, not only will Nigerian films be appreciated as
quality films from Africa, it will open doors of opportunities for
stakeholders at the international market.
He is bothered by the fact that producers are still encountering problem
accessing funds after nearly two decades of the existence of the home video
industry. This places serious limitations to what producers could achieve,
according to him. And because this in turn affects their output, people
often cast aspersions on the industry which he considers "my life".
As a young producer/director, he has burning desire to turn things around.
This is one fact he has not hidden from his colleagues. In fact, he does not
mind whose toe he steps on in his bid to achieve his aim.
He is born into the family of arts. His elder sister blazed the trail before
taking matrimonial vows which seem to have restricted her participation in
the arts. His elder brother John, an actor is in the cast of the highly
successful family entertainment comedy serial, Fuji House of Commotion by
Amaka Igwe and currently running on the African Independent Television (AIT)
and Silverbird Television (STV). His younger sister, Empress is a popular
face in the home video scene.
He disclosed that their parents were opposed to their taking to the arts at
the on-set. "They were worried, though they later gave their blessings."
Today, their parents had no cause to regret their action. The children's of
career is actually paying off materially bringing fame and glamour along
with it.
Aquila started his career in stage drama in 1994 before venturing into
productions and television as a young lad while in secondary school. With
determination and a well planned scheduled, he sailed through academics.
Fortunately for him, the era of home movie making evolved opening doors of
opportunity for him to exploring his potentials. He first worked as a
continuity producer on movies.
His quest for challenges became insatiable. He soon quits stage performances
to movie production and directing. He produced and directed his first movie,
titled Blood Secrets in 1996.
As a young lad then, getting got funds to produce his movie was not an easy
task. He soon ran out of money. Hence, he stops production mid way to raise
funs. Intermittently, he would call his artistes back to location whenever
he raises enough to continue shooting. It took him three years of toil to
get the work into the market. In fact, the film was made possible due to the
assistance Admiral Obiorah rendered him.
He later shot The Truth. His third film Hit and Run was a resounding
success. As the titled suggests, the flick was an hit when it debuts in the
crowded movie market. Since then, the sky has been his limit. He directed
Time to Kill in 1999 and won the best director award at the Reel Awards. He
has also co-directed several movies, though some of his colleagues consider
him expensive.
His experiences and the hard times he went through in the production of his
first movie has helped in shaping his mind on what it takes to practice in
the industry. The experience has almost molded him to a unique breed in the
industry. Unlike most of his colleagues who rushes to locations and the
studio only to come out with substandard films, he said he cannot afford to
compromise standards.
"You know critics are always watching, looking for an opportunity to crucify
you, you can only put them to shame when you have standard films in the
market," he said.
He blamed the present state of the industry to disunity among stakeholders,
poverty, lack of principled practitioners and the newness of the guilds.
"Since the industry does not provide stable jobs and most stakeholders are
freelancing, the problems facing the industry cannot be solved for now," he
stated.
For him, the recent trip by major stakeholders to America has not taken the
industry any further. He sees it more as a vacation for those who have not
been to America before. "Till this moment we are now, members has not been
briefed on the progress and success of the journey. There's the need to
battle the bottleneck in the industry so that it does not take us backward,"
he says.
As an advocate of professionalism, he foresees a brighter future for this
industry. "We are having a generation of real film makers, though less
opportuned. There's a future. There's the need for lectures, workshop and
seminars with renown professionals home and abroad to enhance efficiency.
"Instead of creating refresher courses, some of my colleagues engage
themselves in wrong terminology and unprofessional antics claiming 'this is
Naija'. The guilds should adopt methods of prodding our kaleidoscope. It's
embarrassing the manner in which movies are shot in five days, using wrong
costume, wrong cast and wrong location. How can we use the same budget over
the years to shoot films?" he queried.
He also cites lack of research as part of problems hindering the growth of
the industry. He fingered the negative effects of the actions and inaction
of the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) in this direction. "The
Censors Board has not helped matters. How can Mrs. Roseline Odey, give us
too many 'DON'Ts' as guidelines in producing movie or else it won't be
censored. Most of the 'DON'Ts' are daily occurrence of our lives and
experiences. What's our culture without juju? We must not show love scenes,
even kissing is restricted. How do we pass messages across when the 'DON'Ts'
are more than what we can do. Aside hindering progress in the industry, it's
killing the arts. Those DON'Ts place serious restrictions on our fundamental
rights as artists to self expression.
"The 'DON'Ts', rather than enhance creativity, strangles it. If we have
expressed things not common in daily life, slam your hammer, but don't
ridicule the Nigerian movie industry with these 'DON'Ts'. One wonders what
the Censor Board wants to turn the film industry to? They have to realise
that we cannot all produce 'Sesame Street' programmes.
"If you watch The Passion of Christ by Mel Gibson you won't commit sin. If
it's produced in Nigerian, all the scenes which carries the messages would
have be edited. All sorts of immoral foreign films are finding their ways to
the Nigerian movie market and they are being viewed all manner of audiences.
In fact, teenagers are the largest viewers.
Meanwhile, the influx of such American and Western violent and lewd flicks
propagating Western and American ideals and lifestyles are supposed to be
checked by the Board as dictated by the laws of the land. But the Censor
Board turns it face away from its responsibilities only to vent its
frustration on poor Nigerian producers. Why are they trying to kill the
local market to pave way for the foreign influx? It is a complex situation
that only the Board's management could explain.
"They are killing the Nigerian movie industry they swore to protect while
pirates feed fat flooding the market with foreign filth.
I think we are approaching a stage where we may have to produce our films
from the international market and then allow them find their ways into the
our local market, then the Censors Board will run out of job.
"It will be nice if the government, which sets up the Board, takes a second
look at the Board's activities, especially as it affects the industry. The
current management of the Board appears to be running the Board as if it is
a private business. My colleagues need to stand up and fight for their
right," he said.
On Nick Moran, the British documentary filmmaker who came to Nigeria to
shoot sometimes ago whom many in the industry has condemned for
misrepresenting the industry in a piece in New York Times, Aquila said the
filmmaker has a right to his opinion whether or not he has portrayed a good
image of the industry. For him, Moran came for a research and actually got
what he wanted which he wrote about in the piece.
What improvement would he like to see in the industry in days ahead? "I will
bring foreign partners to get involved, provides modern equipment. Learning
is a vital tool for efficiency and progress, I will organize refresher
courses.
If not for acting, I would have been somewhere in the arts."
Some of the movies directed by Aquila includes
The Wrong Woman,
The Untold
Tel:571-247-2679 email:contact@nigeriamovies.net
