Encomium
It was a gathering of Kaduna State’s most prominent film makers and musicians on Sunday October 26, 2014 at Kenfeli Palm Beach Hotel when the Nigerian Entertainment Industry Lecture Series (NEILS) hosted the Kaduna State edition of the Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Insurance Scheme (NEIHIS) Conference.
Some of the prominent and influential personalities at the event were the immediate past chairman of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) in Kaduna State, Mr. Gabriel Ayodele , The AGN Task Force Chairman in the state, Junior Tamba, veteran film maker and Coordinator of KADAWOOD (KADAWOOD is the emerging umbrella for all film makers and actors in Kaduna State), Mr. Waziri Hong , House of Gold Chairman, Mr. Eugene, the first movie producer in Kaduna, Mr. Sola Adekola, Motion Pictures Association of Nigeria (MOPAN) Niger State Chairman, Mr Babagana, PRO of MOPAN Niger State, Mr. Abubakar, music stars, Dansaki and Marvellous Eteng, President of GURARAWOOD (Gbagyi Set of movies in Kaduna State), Mr. Flexi , and many more. Also in attendance was the former AGN Chairman of Niger State and also the Coordinator of Intellectual Properties in the State, Prince H.Y Kodo.
Different stakeholders took turns to applaud the project and further urged the organizers to keep propagating the project which they described as one of the most laudable initiatives in the industry in recent times. Mr. Dan Hausawa, one of the biggest music stars in Kaduna who led other musicians and Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN) members to the event recounted some of his experiences about how lack of health insurance had affected his foreign tours in the past. “I remember on one of the European tours where I was supposed to perform in 17 cities but ended up doing just 11 because I was requested to present health insurance certificate in some cities before being allowed to perform. I’m particularly excited about this project because it is customized to suit the needs of our industry and it will really help us to preserve our future. Many of us here are aware that I got married yesterday but I defied all odds to be here. All of us will be part of it”.
The AGN Taskforce chairman said they will immediately set up the process that will bring about the commencement of the project. The Coordinator of KADAWOOD said he was happy that one of the issues that had been giving him sleepless nights had been finally resolved as he had on several occasions in the past embarked on personal out of pocket expenditure to assist his colleagues foot their medical bills. Many of the stakeholders and attendees applauded the project and picked up their enrollment forms for the scheme before leaving the venue.
They in turn presented a mini drama to entertain the NEIHIS team which comprised NEILS officials and partner HMOS from Kano and Kaduna States respectively.
The coordinator of the project, Mr. Seun Apara said he was overwhelmed by the turn out. “We can’t ask for more. And again, we didn’t have to convince them any more than they already were. They have been waiting for us. Since the commencement of the tour, this has been the only venue where participants willingly took home their enrollment forms on their own free accord to show their readiness to enroll to the scheme. We are optimistic that very soon everybody in the Nigerian entertainment industry will be covered”.
Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Insurance Scheme (NEIHIS) is a private health insurance scheme with customized plans specifically for the entertainment industry. It is an initiative of Nigerian Entertainment Industry Lecture Series (NEILS) in partnership with National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
