Abuja-based thespian and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rivers of Water Production, Patrick Otoro has urged the director general of the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe to disband its inhouse troupe, stating that the troupe’s existence is against its mandate as a regulatory agency.
Otoro who spoke to the media at a press briefing of his upcoming musical One Good Man said the NCAC staff has a cultural troupe, an action that has negatively impacted private artistic groups in the FCT, by way of preventing meaningful partnerships with the council, or losing a bulk of performative work in the city to the council’s troupe.
He advised that the council disband the troupe and focus on its mandate of regulating the performing arts sector, and partnering with private theatric groups for better results in the culture sector.
“By my understanding the NCAC is a regulatory body, but as I speak, the council has a troupe with its staff. That’s an abomination. The NCAC is meant to regulate our profession and not to have a troupe. They go to collect our jobs. And because the DG is a big man, he sits in those meetings, they give him the jobs and he goes to his staff and give them the job rather than call a troupe to say, “I have a job, come and do this.”
“It is even difficult to partner with the council because they will not encourage it since they already have a group they work with in their office. I ask the DG to disband that troupe and work with people like us. It will be all the better for him,” said Otoro.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP Books & Arts on the issue, Artistic Director of Arojah Royal Theatre (ART), Jerry Adesewo noted that as a regulatory body, the NCAC, and the Abuja Culture and Arts Council can operate a performance troupe with regards to official engagements where statutory demanded to perform. Such instances include performing at the occasion of a visiting president to Nigeria or some other such events.
“Troupes from both councils are engaged to perform and welcome such august guests right from the airport.”
However, Adesewo noted that there have been instances where clearly the troupes were privately engaged, which does have a negative impact on private theatre practitioners.
“Personally, I have had people who come to work with us, after giving them a price, protested saying “no, so and so organization are offering us such services for less. Sometimes, they mention the Abuja Arts Council or the NCAC, which is very possible.
“My attitude to this is that they can afford to do it for less because their staff are already on a salary, so whatever additional income they get from such engagements is to probably just pay allowance to the artistes.
A similar experience, he said can be found in Ekiti State, where the current Commissioner of Arts and Culture, Prof Ojo Bakare registered a performing company the Ekiti State Performing Arts Company to run as a business, rather than the Ekiti State Council for Arts and Culture. This is in addition to the funding it receives from government.
“I know there is a paucity to government funding maybe that is what is pushing a state as Ekiti to become a revenue generating agency; but how that aligns with the NCAC Act is unclear.
“In my opinion, I think the NCAC is allowed to have a performing troupe. What I don’t think is permissible is for the regulator to become a competitor, as we somehow have it today, when the private sectors, individuals and other people who are consumers of performances require our services they go to the Abuja Council for Arts and Culture and engage them to perform this same activity as a commercial entity.
“I am not aware that these two bodies are expected to be revenue generating agencies. What it means is that the regulator is competing with the private troupes that they are meant to be regulating and supporting to survive.
“That is not to say that the NCAC has not done it bit in supporting private artistic groups. What I am saying is that it ordinarily should not happen that a situation should occur where the regulatory body becomes a competitor,” concluded Adesewo.
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