Film Corporation partners National Park on Wildlife documentary

The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) says it is set to produce film documentaries on Nigeria’s wildlife in partnership with the National Park Services (NPS) to showcase the nation’s rich ecosystem and tourism potentials.

Dr Chidia Maduekwe, Managing Director of the Corporation stated this when the Conservator-General of the NPS, Ibrahim Goni, paid him a courtesy visit on Friday in Abuja.

According to Maduekwe, such films will foster social integration and cultural harmony and promote Nigeria’s ecotuorism, tourism directed towards exotic natural environments, intended to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife.

“The NFC needs to work with the National park to create the awareness and sensitization for the environment to be better conserved and utilized its benefits.

“In keeping to its mandate, the Nigeria Film corporation will produce a documentary of the ‘flora and the fauna’ of our great country in a manner to seek for its conservation, protection and utilise it to promote tourism and peaceful coexistence.

“We are normally told that pictures speak in a thousand words; however a movie speaks in a million words.

“Peace, security and environment are linked together, and most of the time one cannot appreciate the challenges or beauty of an environment when it is not captured visually,’’ he said.

Maduekwe stressed the need to promote National parks and wildlife components across Nigeria because it has very robust bio diversity and that can be a basis for future ecotourism.

He added that if the nation’s wildlife is showcased in a film, that will attract tourists from around the world and generate revenue for national development.

“We have special species of monkeys, baboons, Guerrilla and other wild animals that people will want to see, and even make them to want to visit such places.

“For instance, the unique Dagona Birds Sanctuary in Yobe State is where birds of different species from Europe and other continents of the world come to roost during winter, among others.

“When these are properly showcased, Europeans and tourists from other parts of the world will come to watch their birds in Nigerian, and that will generate revenues well.

“Our efforts at the NFC will be to highlight all these things through our lenses so that our people, and indeed the world, will be aware of our rich national heritage,” he said.

Maduekwe further said that the NFC has secured a dedicated broadcast channel called “Lamingo TV” on TSTV platform to project its programmes, adding that wildlife will form parts of its contents.

In his remark, Goni, noted that the partnership was necessary since film played an important role in the promotion of a nation ecosystem, and tourism in general.

“This partnership with NFC will ensure proper utilisation of National Parks across the country as national treasures by generating public interests that will fast track the fulfillment of National Parks objectives.

“The interface will ultimately increase the national parks in Nigeria from the present paltry seven locations, compared to smaller countries like Tanzania and Kenya which have 12 and 26 respectively,” he noted.

The two Chief executives noted that there were locations across the country that ought to be tapped and developed into national parks, but left fallowed over the years, which made them haven for insurgence and other criminal elements.

They therefore agreed that both organisations will set up a bilateral committee to work out the modalities for the proposed partnership.