We met with several protagonists during our research for the film Voices Uprising. One intriguing personality we were opportune to have an extensive conversation with was James Amuta. James is a creative entrepreneur that wears many hats. He is a cinematographer, producer, director, writer, and poet. One of his recent works was on set as a producer for the film Collision Course which thematises police brutality and the situation of the police in the country.
Minimum Wage To Protect Millions?
His experience on the film set reminded him of the situation of many police officers in the country. A full-grown man is paid around 30 or 40 thousand Naira a month (barely 70 US$), and is given a loaded gun. With this minimum wage and an automatic weapon, expecting him to be civil is almost impossible. That salary cannot cater for anything in the current Nigerian economy. In our Film Voices Uprising, James mentioned that most police officers must be educated or appropriately trained before being sent on duty.
About: James is a filmmaker that wears many hats. James likes to call himself a creative entrepreneur. He founded the James Amuta company, a bespoke media production company that started by representing big clients with marketing materials. From the government, big hotels, documentaries, and infomercials. James is a cinematographer, producer, director, writer, and poet.
No Tools To Protect And Serve! – Film Voices Uprising
Many do not have insurance, and no one cares about their welfare. When a police officer dies in the line of duty, what happens to his children, his widow and all that? We should understand and see the world the police officers come from. Many good men join the police force with ideals and great ideas that I want to protect and serve. When they get there, there is a lot of corruption, and they do not have the tools to protect and serve. Many are not encouraged to protect and serve; they go rogue. Yeah!
Let Us Ask – Why Is This Happening?
James insisted that it is essential we recognise that we all in Nigeria are the system. We are the broken ones. The system is broken. Instead of focusing on what happened, let us ask ourselves why it is happening because if we understand why we can begin to find ways to stop it from happening. We were so excited to have James explore his perspective as an artist and filmmaker whose work tackles issues within our society. His participation in our documentary brought a rich perspective to the conversation, and we are grateful for this. To watch the documentary, visit Voices Uprising for details.
Connect with us, and get our app.
Our Joadre organisation runs a film production branch which aims to connect African filmmakers with their European counterparts to develop projects that cut through the shared historical experiences of both continents. Alongside our film production, we created our one-stop digital incubator app to bridge knowledge and service discrepancies for African students and savvy entrepreneurs looking to start a business. Get the app (Android version) here. For IOS users, a web app is available here at https://tribe.joadre.com. Sign up for our newsletter here to get consistent resources via email. If you want to contact us, use our contact form or consult us through the app.
Thank you for reading to the end.
Cheers
Joadre
