Movie icon, Richard Mofe-Damijo, said aspiring actors should not wait until they get the chance to audition for roles on the big screen. The actor explained, at the talent development summit organised by the Delta State Government, yesterday, in Asaba, that technological disruption, serving as an equalizer of opportunities, has placed in everyone’s hand a platform to reach any audience.
The international actor’s remark was a pointer to the influence of social media on marketing. Whereas roughly 40 million people presently own a mobile phone and have access to internet connectivity in Nigeria, ecommerce and digital TV are fast moving market away from the traditional malls and box TV.
According to Richard Mofe-Damijo, “young talented people aiming to get into the movies or become musicians don’t necessary need to wait to be auditioned by anyone”.
“They can leverage the facilities on their smartphones by recording videos of their performances, uploading and sharing them through the various social media channels until they reach people who would like to do business with them”, he added.
In the same vein, Alibaba, who was also part of the summit, advised aspiring young people to be wary of people who may want to hijack their intellectual properties without given them any credit or rewarding them for their sweats.
The comedian advised, “Always make sure you sign a MOU or a proper contract with anyone engaging your service; and better still when sharing your intellectual properties use email, and blind-copy yourself so that there will be a trail to trap any criminal who want to take advantage of you”.
The summit was put together by the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Talent Development, headed by Ogusbaba Akpobome Ogude. Other speakers at the event were Tara Fela-Durotoye, Chude Jideonwo, Rachel Oniga, Omowunmi and Mudiaga Clement of the popular fashion house, Mudi of Africa.
The governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, who flew into the state from Abuja the same day, came in shortly before the close of the summit. He thanked the speakers and panelists while extending invitations to them to be part of a broader and well-engaging summit in 2021.
Nigeria, confronted by the twin challenges of declining global oil price and internal conflicts, is looking for avenues to create new revenue-generating sources. Human capital development is seen as an area that can be tapped to stimulate the economy.
