The lawmaker said, “First they need to create an enabling environment for this industry to thrive. Secondly, they need to consciously, intentionally focus on building the industry. Treat it like you’re importing rice.
Nigerian actor and Lagos State lawmaker, Desmond Elliot, has come under fire for his call on the Nigerian government to ban foreign movies.
In an interview with Nigerian entertainment channel, HipTV, Desmond who is representing Surulere Constituency at the Lagos State House of Assembly, said the Nigerian government needed to create an environment that would help the Nigerian film industry thrive.
Referring to the recent ban on importation of rice by the Nigerian government, Desmond advised that all foreign contents be banned after which the Nigerian government can now refocus its attention on locally produced content.
The lawmaker said, “First they need to create an enabling environment for this industry to thrive. Secondly, they need to consciously, intentionally focus on building the industry. Treat it like you’re importing rice.
Okay, you know, so you ban all foreign content. You know, make it difficult for foreign content to come in, so your local content can grow.”
Desmond Elliot’s comment on the Nigerian movie industry has generated a lot of reactions on social media as movie enthusiasts have berated him for calling for the ban of foreign movies.
A Twitter user, Holuwafemi, described Elliot's advise as nonsense. He wrote, “Please stop talking nonsense. Signed: Concerned Nigerians.”
Another Twitter user, Raphael Christopher, in his Tweet wrote, “Desmond Elliot was using a foreign accent to advocate the banning of foreign content lol. No, be the foreign content teach you the accent you dey use.”
Another Twitter user, Ruccified questioned if the lawmaker considered his opinion before he spoke. His tweet read, “In honesty, Desmond Elliot's viewpoint is limp. I only wonder if he'd thought about his point before the flashy lights and cameras? Also, considering the fact if this worked vice-versa, who would suffer it more? Well, man is in politics now. Perhaps, he cares less. Just saying.”
Ayo Bankole, in his tweet, was rather more concerned with lawmaker's accent than the content of his speech. His tweet read, “I argued that it is impossible for Desmond Elliot to say BS till I saw it. Banning foreign content in entertainment? To treat it like rice?? And why is that fake accent sounding like Pinky in Pinky& the Brain? Did India ban to grow Bollywood? Did we ban to export Wizkid?”
