Patronage of Local Cinema Among Urban Youths in Ado Ekiti Southwest Nigeria
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Patronage of Local Cinema Halls among Urban Youths in Ado Ekiti, Southwest Nigeria
Babatunde Joshua Omotosho
Introduction and Statement of Problem
Globally, urban areas are noted for the provision of social and public spaces in terms of education, energy supply, leisure, recreation facilities in order to make life conducive for the urban dwellers. Nigerians are deprived of these facilities in urban centres due to poverty and failure to maintain the existing ones, among other reasons. However, in the words of Simone (2005:1), Africans ensure that they make the city conducive in spite of the challenges they face; they ensure that they make the city ‘a platform to consolidate particular approaches to engaging a larger world’. Nigerian youths are no exception and appear to have played a crucial role in this process over time. One of the means adopted among urban youths in Nigeria in the process of making urban centres conducive for living and meeting the expected status quo is the establishment of local cinema halls (viewing centres) usually constructed with planks and wood benches for the spectators, to accommodate fifty spectators or more. A large television set is usually placed in the hall and connected to cable networks. The proprietors of these cinemas halls (mostly youths) collect a token for tickets from spectators (youths) to watch international football matches and sometimes foreign movies. This is a welcome development considering the ability of youths to re-invent and transform the public space to their survival and satisfaction (Diouf 1996:228; Honwana and Boeck 2005:17; Biaya 2005:214). This further becomes interesting taking into cognisance the importance of recreation, games and sports in the socialization process among youths which unfortunately are not available for them (Cohen 1993; Calhoun 1987; Utuh 1999;
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26/03/2012, 16:44
170
Negotiating the Livelihoods of Children and Youth in Africa’s Urban Spaces
Patronage of Local Cinema Halls among Urban Youths in Ado Ekiti, Southwest Nigeria
Babatunde Joshua Omotosho
Introduction and Statement of Problem
Globally, urban areas are noted for the provision of social and public spaces in terms of education, energy supply, leisure, recreation facilities in order to make life conducive for the urban dwellers. Nigerians are deprived of these facilities in urban centres due to poverty and failure to maintain the existing ones, among other reasons. However, in the words of Simone (2005:1), Africans ensure that they make the city conducive in spite of the challenges they face; they ensure that they make the city ‘a platform to consolidate particular approaches to engaging a larger world’. Nigerian youths are no exception and appear to have played a crucial role in this process over time. One of the means adopted among urban youths in Nigeria in the process of making urban centres conducive for living and meeting the expected status quo is the establishment of local cinema halls (viewing centres) usually constructed with planks and wood benches for the spectators, to accommodate fifty spectators or more. A large television set is usually placed in the hall and connected to cable networks. The proprietors of these cinemas halls (mostly youths) collect a token for tickets from spectators (youths) to watch international football matches and sometimes foreign movies. This is a welcome development considering the ability of youths to re-invent and transform the public space to their survival and satisfaction (Diouf 1996:228; Honwana and Boeck 2005:17; Biaya 2005:214). This further becomes interesting taking into cognisance the importance of recreation, games and sports in the socialization process among youths which unfortunately are not available for them (Cohen 1993; Calhoun 1987; Utuh 1999;
11. Omotoshe.pmd
169
26/03/2012, 16:44
170
Negotiating the Livelihoods of Children and Youth in Africa’s Urban Spaces
References: 185 Utuh, M.C., 1999