I studied architectural design in Cameroon and every architect they taught me was European. Every movement, every theory, every name on the required reading list. The Great Mosque of Djenné, the Moorish arch, Great Zimbabwe never appeared on any syllabus.
Now I am studying management and every economist is Western. George Ayittey, a Ghanaian who built an entire economic framework for African development, has never appeared in a single lecture. Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian economist who argued that Western aid is destroying African economies, same.
Two disciplines. Not one African name in the required reading.
This is not only an architecture problem. It is medicine, law, economics, history. Every field is taught through a foreign lens and when a student tries to think beyond it they are disciplined for it.
We are not behind because we lack knowledge. We are behind because we were taught that ours does not count.
Things I’m learning o:
Producers should be paid well. This work is incredibly difficult. Actors should be paid separately for marketing and promotional duties outside their acting fees, especially on commercial films. Promotion is a full job on its own. And if a film does exceptionally well, crew members should share in that success too, especially if their original pay wasn't great. Once a film has recouped and broken even, it only feels fair. Anyway, I've been super stressed lately. Up at night working. A laborer is worthy of their wages. 😅
It’s incumbent on us to support the Headies Awards.
20 years running despite the ups and downs is worth celebrating and applauding.
Economic realities and the global aspirations of Nigerian music have impacted the award but we need to keep supporting it.
It takes consistency, doggedness, and support to build sustainable structures. It doesn’t take perfection.
Critic it. Be angry. Call out the Academy. But always support.
This is my position.
One thing I’ve noticed in film is how rare it is to meet people in this part of the world whose ultimate ambition is purely working behind the scenes-someone whose dream is simply to build a great distribution company, sales agency, or studio. So many people are working toward directing one day. Nothing wrong with that, but not everyone needs to be a director. We also need people who are fulfilled building, leading, and mastering their craft behind the scenes.
I am having a cognitive dissonance with Lagos. I’m very careful not to say Nigeria. We all know the economy is bad (this is probably my worst year as a business) but there’s also a certain way i’ve seen money being spent that is isn’t matching with the reality on paper.
A HUGE fan of the push to keep under-16s off social media. I think it's an excellent idea, and NONE of the alleged positives, combined, amount to even a fraction of the immense, often irreversible negatives. I hope governments and society implement as quickly as possible
I hope more people invest in short films. Fund a filmmaker's short-there's no better way to help an emerging filmmaker build, grow, and find their voice.
The main reason Nigeria exports raw cocoa beans instead of capturing more value from chocolate production is not simply the absence of local factories.
The real issue is competitiveness. Turning cocoa into globally competitive chocolate at scale requires more than processing plants—it requires integration into global value chains.
Chocolate markets are dominated by established multinationals with strong brands, distribution networks, and marketing power. These downstream activities capture most of the value.
New entrants in Africa face high barriers, including high fixed capital cost, strict quality and food safety standards, unreliable infrastructure, and often limited access to affordable finance.
Even if production is successful, reaching global consumers is difficult without scale and access to established retail and branding channels.
In a market economy, success isn’t just about producing goods—it’s about being able to sell them competitively at scale within global systems.
So the challenge isn’t simply “build more local processing,” but building firms that can survive and compete within complex global value chains.
It always beats my brain that Nigeria has a dedicated national programme & budget to fund the rehabilitation of terrorists but has nothing dedicated for the victims of the terrorists who are traumatized for life.
We need to talk about how you can do great work on a film but nobody will know because the film hasn't been released for months and years after post production is done.
By the time the film comes out, if it ever will, you almost can't relate to the version of you that made it.
Rich kids being able to do art for a living may be a reflection of their privilege but it seems to me like a reflection of the fact that a human that doesn't have to worry about money will often choose art. everyone is an artist until rent is due. i wish we all had that right
Nigeria sells raw cocoa at $8,000 a tonne. Processed into butter it earns $48,000. Made into chocolate it earns $240,000. 30 times the money, yet Nigeria is still choosing $8,000.
I finally understand what Machiavelli meant when he said, “Never play fair in a game where others cheat.” It doesn’t mean become evil. It means stop being naive. Stop bringing honesty to people who study manipulation, stop giving access to people who weaponize closeness, and stop expecting clean hands from people who already showed you they’ll throw dirt. Sometimes wisdom is not revenge. Sometimes wisdom is learning the rules of the room before the room uses your goodness against you.
This is free advice from an expensive psychologist. If you’re an anxious person, do everything for fun. Go to a job interview for fun. Submit documents for fun. Start a blog for fun. Anxiety feeds on importance. Don’t make everything a matter of life and death.
So I called @NonzoBassey to say it looks like I get public anxiety & over stimulated at these industry events... the foolish young man said in a tone that I didn't quite like... Aunty M, you are only just figuring this out?