BEFORE ALL OUR CHILDREN
BECOME ENTERTAINERS...
Written by Azuka Onwuka


BBA sponsored by Coca-Cola: $300,000 (N48m).
MTN Project Fame: N7.5m & SUV. Etisalat
Nigerian Idol: N5m & multi-million naira contract.
Glo naija sings: N5m & SUV. Gulder ultimate
search: N10m plus endorsements & SUV.
COWBELL Mathematics competition: N100k.
Lagos State Spelling Bee: N50k. School scrabble:
N25k. Cool-FM spelling game: A goodie bag filled
with Amila drink. And someone is asking why
there is so much failure in WASSCE?”
That was a message I received on my phone
some days ago.
My friend, Ayodele Adeyemi, told me a similar
story recently. Someone saw the brilliance of his
daughter and told her that she would be a doctor.
The girl said no: She would be a musician. The
person was surprised.
That story is not strange today. If you ask
children in primary school or even secondary
school whom would they like to be like in future,
they would mention Davido, Whizkid, Omawumi,
Don Jazzy, Genevieve Nnaji or Ali Baba. It is a
good thing that our entertainment industry has
become a source of pride to our nation and a
source of livelihood for thousands of youths.
Youths who could have been at jobs they hated
or even derailed into crime have found
themselves happily and richly employed. Rather
than being mocked by society, they have become
a source of envy and admiration. But therein lies
the problem…
Since the entertainment industry has become a
money spinner and a glamorous industry, every
child wants to be in it. But, why not? Currently,
the TV programmes with the highest prizes are in
music or entertainment. Unknown faces become
celebrities almost overnight. Their mates watch
such transformation and are filled with envy and
admiration. Children watch their intelligent uncles
and parents go unnoticed, uncelebrated and
impoverished, while entertainers – many of whom
are not particularly book-intelligent – become the
stars of the day.
On the contrary, how many big-budget
programmes or prizes are dedicated to rewarding
excellence in creativity or the like? Very few. The
NLNG Prize for Literature was virtually the only
big prize until recently when Etisalat Prize for
Literature came on stream.
The doctors, lecturers, teachers, etc are frequently
on strike over pay and conditions of service.
Nigerian writers have to move to the United States
or the United Kingdom to be appreciated.
Beside entertainment, politics is the other field
that is very attractive because of the direct and
indirect money that oozes out of it as well as the
glamour that goes with it. It is more rewarding –
financially and socially – to be a local
government chairman than to be a professor. If
you are lucky to be a senator, a minister or a
governor, you are made for life! Beyond amassing
a lot of money, you are also initiated into the
political circle, which ensures that even when you
leave office, you are made an ambassador, a
chairman of an agency or the like. You would not
like to go back to the university, your medical
practice or whatever you were before. As a
doctor, an engineer or lecturer, your money
comes in trickles, but as a senator or governor, it
drops into your account like a bomb regularly.
But if you can’t be a politician, why not be an
entertainer?
President Goodluck Jonathan may not feel cool
when shaking an
engineer, computer scientist or professor, but
when he is shaking hands with a musician like
D’Banj or an actress like Genevieve, you will
notice that his smile will be broader. Why? He is
shaking hands with a star. Unlike before when
our entertainers just had enough to take care of
their basic needs, today’s entertainers earn up to
N5m for a 10-minute solo rendition of two of
their songs on stage. For those who have up to
four shows per month, even if they earn a million
naira per show, that gives them N4m monthly.
Many CEOs of top companies don’t earn that.
And this amount excludes the money made from
commercials, endorsements, celebrity
appearances, fees to act as a judge at shows,
album sales, and any other private businesses
the celebrity is involved in.
So, it is not surprising that many of our young
ones want to be entertainers. In their views,
excluding the money and glamour in
entertainment, it does not look as strenuous as
reading and sitting for exams to be a pharmacist
or a professor. Being a musician is fun. You
stand on stage (in the limelight) while others
huddle together in darkness, watching you. You
don’t need to have all A’s or come first in your
class. But once successful, you overshadow your
siblings and parents. Your parents and siblings
are identified from your standpoint: Omawumi’s
mother, Omotola’s husband, Okocha’s sister. You
travel from one city to the other or from one
country to the other, stay in the best hotels, eat
the best foods, and drink the best wines – all the
time.
No wonder, parents railroad their children into
entertainment. They organise three or four of
them to sing, put it in CDs and send the children
to filling stations and shopping malls to sell the
CDs. Some parents push their children to
participate in all music competitions in the land.
Those who are wealthy use their wealth or
connection to push their children to be featured
regularly in the media.
At the auditions of reality shows, there is no
manner of people you won’t see. Even those who
croak like toads participate, believing that they are
the next “Tu Baba” or “PSquare.” It is all because
of how lucrative the entertainment industry.
TV stations have also caught the virus. While new
all-music channels and programmes are
springing up, almost all the local channels have
dedicated the hours of 12 noon to 2pm to music.
It is a great thing that our entertainment industry
is booming. Many African countries are envious
of our achievement, but we need to emulate the
US in our national development. The reason the
US is different is that it is not a one-product
economy. While it is the headquarters of
entertainment in the world, it is also the
headquarters of academic excellence and
research. It consciously encourages its doctors,
engineers, scientists, lecturers, broadcasters,
writers, etc, to be the best by providing a
wonderful environment. It does not create the
impression that a senator is better than a
professor by paying the senator higher than the
professor, or giving the senator more recognition
than the professor.
Even though it glamorises the actor or musician,
it does not give the actor or musician any
impression that he is better than the police
constable or primary school teacher. Politics is
not made so lucrative that every media person
prays to be appointed a politician’s press
secretary. Many broadcasters actually earn more
than politicians; so politicians can’t talk down on
them or buy them over. The street cleaner does
her job with pride. She knows that one day she
can write a book on strategic street cleaning and
it will become a bestseller that earns her millions
of dollars and fame. She does not need to
become a musician, a politician, a contractor, or
a girlfriend to a politician before she can become
successful as a street cleaner.
That is how a robust economy is built. It is an
economy in which people have the potential to
excel, to be rich and get national recognition in
whatever field they operate in. That way, children
who have the proclivity for research or teaching
are not discouraged by such fields’ low-
rewarding prospects and get lured into music or
acting. Those who will sing will sing. Those who
will act will act. But the nation must not make
those who should be in other fields to jump into
entertainment or emigrate, just because they
believe that their natural field is unappreciated.


http://www.kemifilani.com/2014/08/before-all-our-children-become.html?m=1

This issue has been discussed extensively on another thread.

I talked about this with some of my friends in orientation camp. I asked them why Mr and Miss NYSC, macho and BBB will be sponsored by popular brands and given so many gifts while quiz, debate and others will only be talked about only in morning meditation? I know every brand have the right to sponsor whatever they like but I just wish they would invest more on those things that will improve intellect.