Dr Barclay Ayakoroma, the Executive Secretary, National Institute for Cultural Orientation(NICO) says Nollywood movies should be used as a cultural diplomacy to foster mutual understanding with countries to enhance national development. Ayakoroma made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, in Abuja.

The camera rolls from left to right on a dolly as the actors, all African, go through their lines, a sound operator holding a boom steady over their heads under bright studio lights. It could be a scene from any film set but Kunle Afolayan hopes "The CEO" could drive change in Nigeria's hugely popular and prolific movie industry, Nollywood. "'CEO' represents Africa as a continent," said the filmmaker. 

Former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, on Tuesday said Nollywood was a veritable tool for cultural diplomacy and social re-engineering in Nigeria.

Cultural diplomacy is key to our national development. With the boom in Nollywood, there is a window through which we can reach the masses, a larger population of the country to focus their thinking on the role individuals can play in these events that surround us.

The choice of the topic is itself germane. In today’s turbulent world, diplomacy means that a country must take steps to achieve political goals and to promote its image in the international arena. It is becoming old fashioned for any country to rely solely on military and economic means in its relationship with other countries of the world. Countries interact with each other through diplomatic channels.

Accessing the money administered by the Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and Bank of Industry (BOI) has been tough and despite President Jonathan saying the Ministries of Finance and Culture would administer the $3 billion, some filmmakers were not too impressed.

Nigerian government and people have been called upon to buy into the concept of nation rebranding and affirm the idea...Governor Amaechi says Nigerians sense of aculturisation is strong but Nigerians must be ready to be pragmatic and deliberate in the act of nation branding.

Nigeria and Mexico are poised to strengthen cultural bilateral relations with the hosting of the maiden edition of the Mexican Film Festival. The film festival which took place at the Silverbird Galleria in Abuja on September 16, saw both countries exploring opportunities inherent in their motion picture industries for cultural diplomacy.