“We Don’t Even Have Electricity”: Afolayan Appeals for Support, Warns of Film Village Closure

Prolific Nigerian filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has appealed to the Federal Government for support after investing over N8 billion of his personal funds in his film village, KAP Village.

He revealed that the resort has been without electricity since its establishment, forcing him to rely on diesel to power its operations, with the rising cost of diesel becoming unsustainable.

A Private Investment, A Public Benefit

Nigerian filmmaker and entrepreneur Kunle Afolayan has appealed to the government for support after investing over N8 billion of his personal funds in his resort, known as KAP Village, saying the lack of electricity has made operations increasingly difficult.

Afolayan disclosed this during an interview with former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, on the Nidacity podcast, released on YouTube on Tuesday .

The film village is located in a rural area where, according to Afolayan, he has had to rely on diesel to power its operations from day one.A Crippling Energy Crisis

“I believe so much in this country. We haven’t had electricity in KAP Village since the beginning. So we’ve been running on diesel. I did a post a few months ago that I cannot be like, we can’t sustain this diesel thing. We’re going to close the resort, but then there is another friend who said I will sell diesel to you on credit and I’m like It’s still not sustainable,” Afolayan said.

He said he was now exploring alternative energy sources, adding that an investment of about N200 million had already been made in green energy, although it was insufficient to power the entire resort .

“So right now we’re talking to a lot of people to try and see how to do green energy. We did one last year, which cost about N200m, but it’s not enough to power the entire resort,” he said.

A Call for Government Support

Afolayan said he had invested more than N8 billion in developing the resort from his personal funds and believed the government should provide some form of support.

“And if we’ve managed to do that, I think there should be some sort of support, like from government agencies,” he said.

He added that some businesses receiving government grants had invested significantly less than his establishment.

“I know people are not even doing one quarter of what we’re doing, and they get a lot of grants from government,” he said.

The Story Behind the 100 Rooms

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Afolayan also revealed that he built 100 rooms at his film village after the cast and crew of his movie, Anikulapo, struggled with accommodation during production .

“When we shot Anikulapo, we didn’t have accommodation. We were squatting in people’s houses. Sola Sobowale and Bimbo Ademoye even brought their mattresses and freezers from home. So I had to build 100 rooms in the film village to make everyone comfortable,” he said.

A Lesson for Nigeria

Kunle Afolayan’s investment of over N8 billion of his personal funds into a film village is a testament to his faith in Nigeria’s creative industry.

But his plea for government support highlights a systemic failure: a nation that cannot provide electricity to a private investor who has committed billions of naira is a nation that is failing its own people.

The same politicians who speak of economic diversification and support for the creative industry will never allow their own children to invest N8 billion without government support.

Their families are protected. But for Afolayan and countless other entrepreneurs, the lack of basic infrastructure is a constant threat to their livelihoods.

For Nigeria, the lesson is clear: the creative industry cannot thrive without infrastructure. The same leaders who celebrate Nollywood’s global success must be willing to invest in the power, roads and security that make production possible.

Afolayan’s investment is a private one, but the benefits, jobs, tourism, cultural export are public. The government has a stake in his success.

Support private investment. Provide infrastructure. And never forget that the creative economy is a goldmine waiting to be tapped.