The President, Director’s Guild of Nigeria (DGN), Victor Okhai, on Tuesday, vowed to restore the dignity of directors in Nigeria’s movie industry.
Okhai said this during his inauguration as the new President of DGN at the guild’s secretariat in Lagos.
He said that it was a new dawn for the guild and that every member, non-member, and stakeholder in the entertainment industry, would witness the positive development in the making.
“It is a new dawn and a whole new chapter has been opened. My first assignment is to change the motto of DGN.
“You will agree with me that in production, the first among all equal, what we call primus inter pares, is the director.
“We have lost our glory down the years and it is time to restore the glory of the directors and so the new motto is “primus inter pares’’, which translates to first among the rest.
“It, therefore, means that wherever we are, especially in production, the director is number one. He is first among the rest,” he said.
Okhai said that it was time to restore the dignity of the DGN so that it can take its proper place locally and globally.
He added that his intention was to take the guild to the promised land, by the grace of God.
Okhai said it behooved on the new executives to ensure capacity building for members, adding it would go a long way in restoring the dignity of the director.
He said that aside capacity building, the welfare of members was important.
Okhai said that the situation where members and colleagues found it difficult to take care of themselves without support from the guild would no longer be there.
“We will engage the government and stakeholders, home and abroad, and most importantly, we will encourage unity among members which is key in the progress of this guild.
“When we started this guild about 23 years ago, we didn’t realise we would be here for a time like this. We, as young men then, just did what we did.
“To the glory of God, we are here and the mandate has fallen on me to take it to another level.
“I want to thank the outgoing president and the past presidents who have kept the guild alive until now. I thank members of the Board of Trustees, colleagues and may the souls of the departed rest in peace.
“I want to thank you for the mandate that you have given me and I assure you that I will hold this mandate dearly and I will execute what you have given me to do with the best of my ability,” he said.
The outgoing president, Fred Amata, urged the new president to ensure continuity in the positive governance of the guild.
According to him, the vision for a guild such as DGN must include the need to ensure member’s protection, welfare and development.
He said that the new regime needed to enhance the visibility, prestige and integrity of a guild to compete in a changing environment which had become increasingly expedient.
“Today, we are proud to handover a guild that still dominates in practices within the movie industry. DGN is still the custodian of film art in Nigeria.
“This handover note is prepared to ensure that there is continuity in the governance of our great guild.
“I will like to congratulate the incoming President, Mr. Victor Okhai. I pray the Almighty God to give you great wisdom and great success as the sixth president of the Director’s Guild of Nigeria,” he said. (NAN)
