Information Minister Mr Labaran Maku has congratulated Nigerian participants at this year’s MIPCOM, the international television industry market and exhibition, which ends today (Thursday) in Cannes, France. It is the first time that Nigeria has participated at an official delegation level.
Mr Maku described the Nigerian participants as trailblazers whose pioneering steps would pave the way for greater exposure of Nigerian television and film content to the rest of the world. The Minister spoke at a reception held on Wednesday evening under the auspices of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), which led the Nigerian delegation to the Cannes event.
While commending the Director General of the NBC, Mr Emeka Mba, for taking the initiative to participate in MIPCOM 2013, Mr Maku also expressed satisfaction with the traffic of visitors to the Nigerian exhibition stands. The Minister said he was delighted that a number of companies had entered into discussions with Nigerian exhibitors with a view to marketing Nigerian products elsewhere in the world.
According to the Minister, Nigeria has the authentic African story to tell, whether through television or film. “Unfortunately, that authentic story is locked out in the global space,” the Minister noted. He, however, added that the quest to tell the true African story was a multi-billion dollar investment opportunity waiting to be tapped.
Mr Maku had earlier on Wednesday visited the Nigerian stand, toured other stands, and held brief meetings with exhibitors from other countries. Observing that content was a major issue in the Nigerian television industry, the Minister expressed the hope that subsequent MIPCOM events would attract larger Nigerian attendance, in order to reap the benefits of networking, sharing production experience, and marketing of appropriate television content.
The NBC Director General, Mr Mba, said that Nigeria’s first outing at MIPCOM was a successful experiment. He thanked the Information Minister for his support and encouraging remarks to the participants.
Also speaking at the reception, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Information, Alhaji Umar Buba Jubril, said that, by taking part in this year’s event, Nigeria was charting a new course. He promised to obviate budgetary constraints for future programmes.