One of Nigeria’s leading filmmakers, Dr Sam Idiagbonya, has asked Nollywood practitioners to leverage Abuja’s infrastructure and facilities and embrace strategic partnerships to reduce production costs, attract investment and unlock the economic potential of the country’s film industry.
Idiagbonya, who is the president and chief creative officer of Fedmas Studios, said the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) possesses significant advantages for filmmaking, including a relatively stable electricity supply in some areas, a serene environment, accessible transportation and hospitality facilities.
He said inadequate production infrastructure and weak collaboration were limiting the industry’s growth.
Dr Idiagbonya spoke at an interactive session on the operational challenges and economic prospects of the Nigerian film industry in Abuja.
He identified the high cost of equipment, inadequate training facilities and limited collaboration among creative professionals as major obstacles to sustainable film production.
The filmmaker argued that pooling resources, adopting joint production models and sharing technical expertise would enable practitioners to overcome financial constraints and improve the quality of their productions without bearing the full cost of expensive equipment individually.
According to him, Abuja could emerge as a major filmmaking hub if practitioners developed deliberate strategies to leverage its existing infrastructure and create an enabling environment for investment, innovation, and professional development.
“The future of creativity is collaboration. You cannot do this alone. I could write a script for a month, and my team could spend weeks criticising it.
“That criticism is very necessary and a valuable addition to the script. If somebody has a better idea, you should be able to listen,” he said.
Dr Idiagbonya, a medical doctor and a certified film director and screenwriter, maintained that constructive criticism and knowledge sharing were essential to producing commercially viable films and building a sustainable creative economy.
He also called for an environment that would allow filmmakers to experiment, develop technical expertise and refine their creative ideas without being constrained by the prohibitive cost of accessing modern production facilities.
“Creatives need the freedom to experiment, fail, criticise, and try again. Then there are infrastructural deficits.
“Equipment is expensive, training remains a challenge, and filmmakers need more opportunities to justify investments in equipment,” he said.
The Fedmas Studios chief executive noted that the failure to fully exploit Abuja’s existing advantages had limited opportunities for filmmakers operating in the capital, despite its potential to support a vibrant production industry.
“Abuja is a plus. We have relatively stable electricity in many areas, a serene environment, good hotels, accessibility, and relatively easy movement. The problem is that we don’t always take advantage of these advantages,” he added.
He urged emerging filmmakers in Abuja and across northern Nigeria to prioritise skills acquisition, continuous professional development and partnerships across creative disciplines.
He stressed that such investments could help transform the region’s creative potential into a sustainable industry.
Dr Idiagbonya said a more collaborative and investment-friendly filmmaking environment could strengthen production capacity, create economic opportunities and position Nigerian films for wider markets.
