By By Ganiu Bamgbose, PhD
Dear Nigerian content creators,
Greetings from one of you! It is in place to begin this letter with commendation on the discovery and development of a lucrative artistic venture. The population of Nigerians creating and earning from contents has certainly reduced the number of job seekers and dependants in the country. This is also healthy for the economy, safety and sanity of the country. However, as content creators in the country, we have a role that is more sensitive than we seem to be mindful of. The mobile phone has become the new television and those of us who are constantly seen on social media today will determine what the country will see in the future. We, as content creators, are the joy givers but we must understand that beneath the joy we give is a subtle direction for the future of the country. A lot of learning, comprehension and mind-modelling goes on under the guise of humour. This is because humour is a universal language that is understood and appreciated in all human cultures.
The advent of content creation on social media in Nigeria today can be likened to the oil boom of the 1970s. Just like many Nigerians now consider the discovery of crude oil to be more of a problem to the country than a blessing, and would say that the country probably would have got it right if we had had to live with our agro-based economy, the boom of content creation may equally become some good or doom to our tomorrow even if it fills our today with laughter. The contents we create today may help us smile to the bank but are we sure they will not stab us in the back? We have to recognise ourselves as major change makers whose impact transcends factors such as age, class and gender. We have the gifts of penetrating people’s hearts without seeking their consent. Since the heart is like a slate, what are we inscribing on these vulnerable minds who like us helplessly because of our gifts? It is on this ground that I am writing this open letter to us to conscientise us on the power we possess in the society.
I will move on now to itemise some suggestions that can help us contribute our quota to the development of the country as content creators and make posterity speak good of us decades after our reign.
First, we need to think beyond the art-for-art sake and embrace the art-for-change sake mindset. We must remind ourselves that just like films, music, novels, plays and poems, our contents must carry messages. If you are not conscious about weaving a message into your content, the viewers wil read any message to it and it may be one which is injurious to the sanity of the country. We must understand that whatever be the niche or style of arts we have created as a brand, we can always weave messages into our contents.These messages can range from sociopolitical realities to moral issues. Even if your brand is around an immoral act, your contents can always end with a negative implication of such action to make citizens desist from it.
Second, beyond the general messages of our contents, we also have to help our society return to the values and virtues which used to be embodied in our folklores, tales and songs. Values such as honesty, perseverance, hard work, diligence, transparency, responsibility, accountability, dignity of labour, moderacy and moderation are social currencies which bring stability to any country and we can, as content creators, establish the importance of upholding them firmly through our skits and other contents.
Third, it is no news that the venture of content creation has become a very lucrative one with many prosperous content creators. Rather than engaging in show-offs, we should start thinking of how to give back to society from God’s kindness to us. This awareness is important because most content creators are relatively young and may think more in terms of “rocking life”. We must know that we are never too young to start contributing our bits to the development of the country.
Fourth, content creators should embrace collaboration and help the budding ones grow. From a personal experience, I have reached out to a number of content creators for collaboration and some don’t even do you the honour of replying your mail. I understand the importance of brand and the need not to be too available. Yet, we have to still help others grow. We do not go down by raising others. Instead, we go higher.
Finally, I propose an association for content creators in Nigeria which will regulate contents, sanction intellectual theft and foster collective development. We can do more when we cooperate with one another and co-exist as a formidable team.
I end this piece by letting us know that beyond the quest for gain, we have the task of making our country great as content creators. By so doing, we will be writing our name in gold for posterity.
Ganiu Bamgbose is a lecturer and content creator from Lagos State University.
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