Debbie Odutayo: Cinema Businesses Struggling to Survive Because People Can Barely Eat

Debbie Odutayo, the Group Executive Director, Royal Roots Communications Network, is a seasoned practitioner in the world of broadcasting. Odutayo’s journey in the industry is one she always looks back to with joy. She shares some of her moments while speaking to Ferdinand Ekechukwu on a number of issues. Excerpts: 

Broadcast station owners recently met and made some demands from government. What necessitated such demands?

I am not hundred per cent sure what necessitated the demands but you all know that a lot of things have been wrong in the broadcasting industry. Even we as broadcasters right now, we can’t do it alone you need the government to support. Power is a major issue for us. We just fixed solar here for millions of naira because the generator alone cannot work. I have been out of power for five days in this axis and we are running a TV channel and a radio station, how do you entertain the viewers? Tell us. How? And nobody is talking about that? And yet we have to pay salaries, we have running cost, we have to keep the environment clean, we have tax to pay. There are so many things you have to do. At the end of the day, nobody supports you. And in our own environment here we do a lot of CSR because the community where you have people that do not have means of livelihood (I don’t want to say jobless), we try to empower them. So, most of our interns here we try to make sure that they are within this environment, this community. When we need anything to be done in the office here, when we have a job or need crowd or freelancers we call them here so that we can empower them.

And this place has become like their home, so they protect it. You know during #EndSARs, area boys were destroying everywhere, why? Because those businesses had not impacted, no relationship with the community, so we learnt from that. That look if you want people to protect, to guide and to want to belong to this community you have to love the community and let the community love you back. So we do a lot. Every year December, we give to widows especially we give them foodstuff. We do that kind of CSR and like I said, in anything we do here we engage the community more. So for the broadcast stations, we need the government’s intervention and we are not asking for money. We are asking for tax cut. I am not in a position to say everything. But in most of the things they tax us for, even if it’s a reduction. Because, like I said, if we fold up now – we are in three units – we have production, we have radio, we have TV alone here we have cinema. So, we are just saying, while the economy is bad, is there a way we can meet and cut some of those things that affect us so badly. Basically that’s all I can say on that now.

From owning radio and television stations and recently venturing into cinema operations what has the experience been like?

Hectic! Sleepless nights… Why do I say that? Because how many people are going to the cinemas on a regular basis if it’s not a festive period? People can barely eat; people can barely afford to have three square meals a day. Are they the same people that will take N5,000 to the cinema, watch a movie at N3,000, buy popcorn buy a drink? At the end of the day we had to take money from other projects or other line of business to support the cinema. So, it’s not been really a venture that we enjoy. So, we said to ourselves let’s go back to what we know how to do best which is producing contents.

But is the cinema still running?

No, the cinema right now is temporarily shut down. After one year of not making money we had to shut down. It’s not our wish to shut down. It’s the reality. You do not invest in something and after one you can barely meet up on anything. Of course we just had to say ‘okay what do we do?’ Do you keep paying and sweating and squeezing? You can’t squeeze your blood or your sweat.

Why did you venture into cinema operations in the first place?

We did that because we saw the opportunity; we have the land and we felt that the community needed it and as at the time we invested into it, it was doing very well the first two, three months when you would say business will be slow, it was doing very well. Then the crises of petrol came; cost of living became terrible… so everything changed. And it became so hard for people. Even the community when we even charge them N1,500 to come and watch a Yoruba movie that just came out it’s like you are begging them to come.

The situation in your case would have affected some other cinemas I’m just looking at the number of cinema houses, are the contents churned out enough for the cinemas?

How many movies have been done this year? It has reduced drastically compared to what we had two years ago and last year. But we are still talking of crisis. Last year Funke Akindele made how many billions? Some people would say it’s doing well, some people will say it’s in your locality it depends on where you are, some people would say. Some cinemas have shut down some have come up. I remember when we started the cinema, one or two shut down during that period as well. So, I really cannot say this is the reason why most of the cinemas are shutting down or why most of them are rising up. But it still goes down to the economic factor. Everything is interwoven.

You have spent over three decades in content production and channel/station management. Does that sort of put pressure on you on projects you handle?

It has to. If it doesn’t then I’m doing something wrong. Because every project I have I want to exceed what I did before. Be it TV commercials which I do, be it content creating, be it whatever it is I must improve, better than I did the last one. You can only be as better as your last job. And that’s why this one is being a while since I produced content myself. Well I have been doing executive production which I did for Africa Magic Unscripted, which was a very successful show. I was commissioned by Africa Magic. It was really nice but I was executive producer I hired the people to produce.

What’s the feeling like that comes with such experience looking at those you impacted over the years?

Oh… amazing! And I have a lot of them, success stories here and there. I mean it tells from even when I’m celebrating my birthday, even when I’m praying nobody remembers I still get overwhelmed by people just trying to appreciate and some things that you even do some people you have touched I can’t even remember anymore a lot of them like that but I just keep very day thanking God for. I always say as Ayefele, he would say 80 per cent of the people can appreciate me the remaining 20 per cent I leave them to God. So, you can’t satisfy everybody but I do look at those that I have impacted, those that have done massively well. I go for premieres of people that I have held their hands that have asked my opinion or have just come here to have a chat on the job and it works out well for them. And I go there and my head is swollen with gratitude and joy every time. But I have a number of them. 

Can you share a significant event or experience that influenced your career path?

AMVCA… For me it’s still my biggest and most proud assignment I have been given. First to be nominated amongst thousands of women in Nigeria at the inception of the AMVCA to be the only female Nigerian to be taken to South Africa all expenses paid by Multichoice and to be trained and put in that process with Uncle Femi Odugbemi and ever since then being call upon to serve I see it as something that is humbling because if you are doing something right, people keep calling you. That means I’m doing something right somewhere. And is one that I know, I witnessed that it’s the most sincere and most credible award and whenever I see their email to come and serve again I have never thought twice even if I had something to do, even if I was out of the country, most times I am, I’m always happy to say I will come back for it because there’s nothing you want to be proud of at this my age now everything must be credible and it must impact on you. And then the growth of the industry every year I get to see what people are doing better and what they have done from last year it just amazes me that we have a lot of talent in this country. And the only thing that keeps everybody is just the economy. If a lot of these young filmmakers had five per cent of what their counterparts have abroad, this nation will be something else. I do think for me every year that’s what gladdens my heart that we are growing despite all odds the industry is still growing. And because it’s an industry award to me it’s just befitting. Last year 10th anniversary just made my mind I was blown away.

Take us a bit back on your first job?

It was in NTA in 1986 I was a contract staff 1986, I was privileged to work with a lot of producers then the late Sadiq Daba, the late Enebeli Elebuwa, Alhaji Danladi Bako, those were the producers I worked with then, even late CY Okonkwo famous documentary producer. Those are the producers I worked with as contract staff then in those days NTA had contract staff when you are in school you can go back. And every time I went back each producer will want me to work on their project because I was like a tomboy. And I was able to pay attention to details so they would want me to do their continuity and sit down in the post production. It was just an experience looking up to those people and they always want to ‘Debby are you available? come and work with me’ Those were the days NTA used to do telemovies that’s what it was called and they will go to Badagry and shoot those movies. It was quite encouraging because we had more men than women. I can’t remember having any younger lady around me. Later with time other young ladies started coming in but it was always a good experience. They were all brother figures; uncles, senior brothers, father figure and all that, Tade Ogidan, late Jimmy Atte, Peter Igho, all of them I mean there was none of them that I’ve never worked with. They would always want me to be on their projects. So I’m sure they are smiling at me now saying well done, we knew you would be here and those that are still alive I’m sure they will be reading about me or looking at me when I do anything that I knew she will do well for herself.        

Are there any personal milestones or achievements that hold a special place in your heart?

I think I have done well and I thank God for that. I have been running a business for 27 years with my husband. I have been working and earning my own money for the past 36 years of my life. I think I have done well for myself. My grey hair is not just grey hair (laughing). It’s grey hair of hard work and fulfillment. And again I say, God has blessed me with the best children ever that have given me peace of mind. And they were all trained abroad. Peace of mind, fear of God has been my watchword. I have just in a way will say I’m almost there. I’m happy honestly. I’m happy as a mother, I’m happy as a producer. I can smile when I want to. I can take a trip when I want to. There are some things in life that you don’t have to think about it before doing it. I have great family support. From a one bedroom to a shop to a flat now to this empire, it’s God at work.  

What advice would you give to aspiring individuals looking to pursue a career similar to yours?

Dedication, commitment and consistency; I think what has worked for me is the consistency. I tell people I don’t know how to sell shoe and bag if you give me or to sell clothes or whatever. This is me; all I know is television, movies, radio, and content. There are a lot of people that if this doesn’t work, this works and they go from one to another. I mean radio, TV, cinema, it’s all in the same entertainment industry. And when you are consistent, the people that will support you, that would advise you, that would guide you that would even key into that your vision that would tie you into that you dream. And don’t take no for an answer but first you yourself must be convinced that you can do it.   

You celebrated your birthday recently, what and how does it feel?

Okay, so 57, for me, not tiring. But I think it became for me a time that I had to show off what I have done or where I’m coming from. Or to give double of what I was given to the society. It became necessary for me to crosscheck how far I have gone. And what legacy I am leaving behind. So I want to leave behind a story that everybody can reflect on individually; I should be able to see my life in it, I should be able to see what good it has brought for me and where I am going as an individual. So I don’t want to just see just the challenges.