The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has noted that the creative industry collaboration between Nigeria and India is starting to show positive results, as evidenced by the upcoming release of the movie “Post Card from India,” which features an all Nigerian-Indian cast.
In a statement, Segun Adeyemi, who serves as the Special Assistant to the President (Media) in the Office of the Minister of Information and Culture, reported that the Minister made the comments during a courtesy visit with the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Shri Balasubra Maniam, in Abuja on Thursday.
According to him, the Ministry is leading the way in facilitating interaction and idea exchange between Bollywood producers, actors, and promoters, and their counterparts in Nollywood. He added that India and Nigeria are considered the two powerhouses in the creative industry.
“I am glad that the recent collaboration between Nigeria and India in the area of culture, industry, film, and music has yielded fruits. I am glad that the recent film, ‘Post Card from India,’ which was actually shot in India, will be coming out in July this year,” Adeyemi said.
Alhaji Mohammed mentioned that the Nigerian Government has provided land to Indian investors in Abuja and Lagos for the establishment of a comprehensive film city, aimed at enhancing the economic growth of the creative industry.
He also revealed that a group of Indian investors visited the Millenium Tower Complex in August of last year to assess the facilities. The completed tower will serve as a cultural center of great significance in Abuja.
The Minister assured that the ministry is prepared to sign some of the pending Memoranda of Understanding with India, as a means of strengthening and deepening the relationship between the two nations within the creative sector.
He, therefore, emphasized the importance of the governments of India and Nigeria creating opportunities for the private sectors of both nations to form new connections beyond the scope of government-to-government bilateral relations.
“I think the success of the India-Nigeria relationship is not just government-to-government. I think government-to-business and business-to-business have been the major drivers of this relationship and I want at this point to commend the effort of Mr. Jitendra Sachdeva of the Skipper Group, who led a delegation of investors to Nigeria in August last year.
“I think that’s a model we should emulate and encourage because the business sector and business movers are even faster to open up and cut down barriers more than the government at times,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Mr. Balasubra, the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, highlighted the longstanding bilateral relationship between Nigeria and India dating back to 1958. He expressed that the upcoming film “Post Card from India,” which features both Nigerian and Indian cast members, will serve as a representation of the diverse cultures shared by the two nations.
According to him, the Joint Film Production and Cultural Exchange Programme’s exceptional Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) would strengthen the cultural connections between Nigeria and India even further.
