The lack of regulatory bodies in the entertainment industry in Nigeria is of great concern to Nollywood actress, Etinosa Idemudia.
Idemudia said that the absence of regulatory bodies has soiled the reputation of professionals in the entertainment industry.
The actress detailed her two cents via Instagram, insisting that the presence of working bodies would help boost the reputation of actors and entertainers.
According to Idemudia, filmmakers work twice as hard as any other profession in Nigeria and should be treated with equal respect and recognition.
“When there is no regulation in a thing, abuse is imminent. When the governing body tries to regulate a thing, uneducated people fight assuming that it means activities are about to be clamped but no, regulations are for the good of every practitioner,” the actress wrote.
“The charlatans give everyone a bad name. Everybody, literally everybody is an ‘actress’ so much disrespect. Despite all the hard work, I dare say, filmmakers, musicians work harder than engineers( no offense) But everything is packaging…branding…organization…
“Because we don’t wear shirt and tie don’t mean we are irresponsible. My industry could use a little packaging.”
Reacting to the growing Influencer industry, she said:
“If there was a regulating body for ‘influencer’ for instance those two will not be out there dragging each other.
“Firstly, the influencing practitioners would be well educated and understand fully their responsibility towards each other. Practitioners would be educated and well informed on how to pass disclaimers without damaging the reputation of one another.”
Currently, Nollywood has over a dozen regulatory bodies including the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN). However, membership has not been made compulsory.
Over the years, non-members have criticized the policies of the existing bodies, claiming that most have not sufficiently proved that they represent the interests of industry practitioners.