‘Why it will be difficult to regulate photographers’

The Executive Director of Arts for Humanity and the Chief Creative Officer for the Abuja Photo Festival, Osaze Efe, has said it could be challenging to have a formal association that regulates the activities of photographers in the country. 

In an interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, he said artists are generally very independent-minded and want to operate on their own without regulation, adding that though there are no structured associations but there are some people in the industry that help bring order when there is an infringement and bad behaviours.

He said unlike art, which is studied in tertiary institutions, photography is not studied in schools in Nigeria. 

He said, “if there is a degree course in school then there can now be an association that government recognises and that is gazetted. Therefore, anybody that has a certificate is forced to be part of that association. When this is done, the association can now regulate the activities of photographers but photography is not like that; it is more like a free for all. It is critical for government to start looking at the creative industry. When the government comes in, we will be happy to work with the government.”

He said despite the lack of a formal regulatory framework, he is morally bound to create value, “I am not doing this for hustle, I am doing this for posterity. I believe so much in excellence, creating value that astonishes people whether what we do at Art for Humanity or at the Abuja Photo Festival or what I do as a photographer. What makes me unique is the hunger, the longing desire to serve the people I am privilege to serve.”