By BENJAMIN NJOKU
Paul Emema is a  writer, director and producer of  “ Behind the Clouds” and Supple Blues” the popular TV sitcoms which ruled the screen in Nigeria in the 80s. He explains why  the sitcoms went off the screens, including why he has not been producing many movies in recent times. He also talks about his latest project, a book titled A Plague of Gadflies.

Resting Behind the Clouds and Supple Blues

Paul Emema

There are steps in life and every step for me has been very progressive. I don’t think much have changed in terms of the things I do. I have moved from one project to another. The last 27 years in the industry have been more than a blessing for me. Behind the Clouds ran for about two years. It was created in 1985. It went on air for the first time in 1987.

Prior to that time, I had been writing. I wrote some of the programmes on NTA. After Behind the Clouds ran for a couple of years and terminated in 1989, I also created and scripted another sitcom called Supple Blues. I have been around in the industry, which is for sure. Now, I have grown over the years into what we call Visual Network.

Life after Behind the Clouds and Supple Blues

In 1997, the programme I Need To Know began and we produced 104 episodes over a period of six years. It terminated sometime in January 2004. Even then, there have always been other programmes that I have produced. I do not come to the press and maybe that is why I haven’t been seen. Television is funny. It sells your products and your programmes on their own. When it comes to publicity, I am on the reserve side. I really don’t do it. I allow these programmes to speak for me.

Over the years, I have been involved in all kinds of projects ranging from documentary to producing commercials and programmes. And recently, I veered into writing books. I have been very much around.

Not being part of Nollywood  

I’m part of Nollywood. I belong to the Association of Movie Producers as well as the Directors Guild of Nigeria. I’m  also a member of the Independent Television Practitioners Association of Nigeria(ITPAN) and the Advertisers Practitioners Council of Nigeria(APCON).

The last time I produced a movie was in the year 2000, when I had to do the  biography of Ïwene Tansi. I also produced a movie sponsored by M-Net and titled The Barber’s Wisdom. I have been around. It’s just that I no longer do home videos as frequently as others do it.

Movies  done so far

I directed a movie in 2004 but basically, I will say that I have one movie to my credit.

Resting Behind the Clouds and Supple Blues  had nothing to do with running out of stories; it had to do with primarily a decision by NTA management then not to allow their staff to be actors on their programmes. I don’t know the reason behind that but it was a decision they took and that naturally affected over 50  percent of the principal characters like Matt Dadzie and the rest. It had nothing to do with stories not being available any more.

The sitcoms then and now

Things being different then and now was part of the reasons it has been difficult for me to get on the train of producing what is called home videos today. We really need story tellers to tell good stories. It is not an all-comers affair. If a story is not good, it can never be good on the screen. That is why most sitcoms are uninteresting. Most sitcoms start with the story and such good writings are still there but then are challenged by several factors. First is budget, then know-how, the use of technology and several other factors are there challenging the growth of the creativity industry, particularly the television sector in Nigeria.

Did I make money from‘Behind the Clouds’

Relative to that period, yes I did. I can’t remember how much exactly because it is several years now.

Paying  cast very well

I was not responsible for the production. I was the creator and the writer.

Prefering soap operas to movies? 

I have actually not thought about it that way. It is not about  preference for soap operas. I like them because I started from there but that does not mean that I have jettisoned home videos. I am a member of the Nollywood community. As we speak, I am planning to produce a new movie. It is not really about preference. It is also about doing a movie and being at the mercy of pirates who are out there  to feast on your movies without the money coming to you.

Piracy and producing feature films

Piracy is a factor. Budget is also a factor. It is not enough to say you want to do a feature film. What kind of feature film do you want to do? If it costs money, would you be able to recoup your money? Of course there are some that have been able to recoup, there is no doubt about that but if you really want to recoup fast, then you do it cheaply. And if you do it cheaply, you are not likely to get the kind of story that the public will not get tired of. You are likely to get very predictable stories which is the bane of most Nollywood films that we see. That is not what we want.

Your  new play titled ‘A Plague of Gadflies’

Centrally, it is really about corruption as seen from the eyes of tradition. The use of tradition in the book is metaphorical. It is a satire. I used tradition as a basis to talk about corruption, not only in Nigeria but in Africa and the rest of the world.

From a thematic point of view, that is what it is. I want to also say that corruption is not only about government. Like I mentioned before, corruption is really about the individuals. How do we see it? What do we do about it? From the local government employee, State, Federal, private or the independent to the contractor, what do we do about corruption? To what extent has it eaten to the heart of Nigerians? This is just an expression.

Taking to writing and consolidating on your craft 

It is a medium that I would use to express myself. I have expressed myself on television, on radio, in films and I am expressing myself continuously. It is a continuous thing. As long as God gives me life, I will continue to express myself in the art form.

This didn’t start today. This book was written as way back as 1993 when I was observing my Youth Service in Benue State. While there, the events for the moment spurred my creativity and I had to put it down in writing. I concluded it the same year and ever since then, I have been trying to publish it. I wanted to publish abroad but ultimately, 18 years after, I have published it here in Nigeria.