An entertainment giant, Wale Adenuga, has lamented what he called the current state of squalor in Nollywood, saying the picture being painted of actors and actresses in the country are mere shadows and make believe.

Adenuga spoke on Thursday at the opening of PEFTI film institute in Ibadan.

The entertainment expert, who said the centre is a training school and not a film theatre, added that the industry may witness bad days soon unless deliberate efforts were made in addressing the problems being created by the operators.

According to him, the reign of cartels and era of impunity are creating impending doom for the practice as well as the practitioners.

Adenuga said, “If things are not checked, there are disasters ahead. The cinemas that we have are too elitist in outlook; common men cannot afford the luxury. What we need are community cinema houses where people can pay as low as N500. 

“If Nollywood is well structured, there would be pension and health insurance schemes to the advantage of practitioners, but that is not the case at the moment. What we have are self creations and growth of cabals. 

“When there is no structure there would be cabals. That is why there is high prevalence of abuse in the industry. PEFTI has come to Ibadan to liberate potential female actresses.

As a student with PEFTI, you can participate in our films. Every production house has formed a cabal but PEFTI is a platform where budding talents can express themselves and get exposed. 

“A lot is going on in Nollywood and this is encouraged by lack of structure. Nollywood is the only industry that has no common front; there is no united front.

In Nollywood, it is an all comets affair. Anybody can become a director. There is no ethics and no professionalism.

I can say that 90 percent of most of the popular artistes in the industry do not belong to any association.

“I can name actors that died without proper care. Our members are too proud whereas all is not well with Nollywood; we just grandstand and create the wrong impression.

It is only the men that are painting the real picture in Nollywood; it is the picture of poverty.

People who are enjoying from the muddy water of the Nollywood will not want things to be reformed. Many of them lift themselves by using Sugar Daddies and Sugar Mummies.”

On why PEFTI decided to open a campus in Ibadan, he said,

“It is basically because the city is critical, symbolic and strategic to the entertainment industry.“