There has always been this statement that Imo State has the highest number of talents in Nigeria and this has shown in the number of top artistes, Nollywood stars, footballers and the rest of it the state has produced.
Although the state can boast of plenty names, it is yet to be ranked among the first ten in entertainment even though almost every facility the state needs are available.
Aside the small number of radio and TV stations in the state, Imo State has a large number of hotels with a low number of real event centers.
Places like the Heroes Square and Freedom Square could have been good places for the development of entertainment in the state, but they have been built with no one thinking of how to put them into good use.
The same was the case of the Imo Talent Centre [bongo Square] which one its best uses turned out to be a football march viewing center and there was no single record of a single talent being developed in the building.
The major reason the state is underdeveloped on the area of entertainment is because instead of bringing up events that will improve the low appreciation mentality in the state, they end up bringing up events that will diminish it more and more.
The only thing that comes to artistes for instance is competition. These officials want to stage a competition at every opportunity and they believe every artiste in the state is at the competition level while the bulk of the money for the event is used to hire a guest artiste from outside the state.
Hon. Uche Ogbuagu came up with a competition that will see the winner taken abroad by the governor; at the end of the day, the governor did not attend the event and it was alleged that about 500 Imolites bought that form with N5000 which is N2,500,000 not forgetting the other thousands of naira artistes could have spent on recording, feeding and transportation.
If 500 artistes that was alleged to have bought the forms spent an average of N17,000 to get their songs ready it meant that N8,500,000 was wasted alongside the N2,500,000 making it N11,000,000.
The governor did the same in the last carnival to release N1,750,000 to just three people and so far we have not heard any news about what the money has done in the lives of these individuals.
Imagine if N100,000 was used to settle 17 artistes, it would have been a better story but because they do not understand what is involved, they follow the competition style which they believe has been working for them.
Things really need to change and everyone should stop this competition concept that has done nothing for us.
One reason some people go for the competitions is greed because they want to give out a little and gain plenty. This has to stop.
If they do not know how to handle issues in this area, let them visit other states that are better than us to borrow their manual.
Imo entertainment must be better.
