The Nigerian Army, in their subtle war against insurgency in the country, has indicated interest and reinstated the need to partner with Nollywood film-makers on war movies.
The Army made this disclosure at the unveiling of the movie, 76, set against the backdrop of war and nation building which was reportedly inspired by events around the botched 1976 coup d’etat.
Chief of Civil/Military Affairs, Major General Rogers Ibe Nicholas, at the Nigerian Army Headquarters, revealed that this is part of the new focus of the military under the leadership of Major General Tukur Yusuf Buratai.
Nicholas said, “With every regime come different concepts and ideas. So with the coming of Maj Gen T.Y Buratai as Chief of Army Staff, he has a vision which is to have a professionally responsive Nigerian army in discharge of its constitutional mandate.
“And part of that is to develop a military/ civil relationship that will close the gap between the military and the civilians. That is what we are trying to do,” he stated.
“The issue of people not having channels to complain is now a thing of the past. Right now, we have a human rights desk in our office. We are collaborating with the National Human Rights Commission and the Nigerian Bar Association.
“We welcome and encourage any filmmaker who wants to do a movie on the insurgency war as long as it is within the confines of the law. Interested participants can come up and we will look into it and collaborate.”
Reacting to questions on funding, the Army General said, “When we are collaborating with a film-maker, it means that there is counterpart funding for it. This means that it is a two-way traffic, not that the Nigerian Army alone will fund such movies.
“If you come up with a proposal and you think that it will be beneficial to the Nigerian Army and indeed, Nigerians as a whole, then we will be ready to look into it,” the Army boss added.
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