Nigerian filmmaker and entrepreneur, Kunle Afolayan, has called on the Federal Government to support his film village, saying he has invested more than N8bn of his personal funds in the project.

Afolayan said the resort, known as KAP Film Village, has operated without public electricity since its establishment, forcing him to rely heavily on diesel to power its facilities.

The filmmaker made the disclosure during an interview with former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, on the Nidacity podcast, released on YouTube on Tuesday.

According to him, the rising cost of diesel has become increasingly difficult to sustain, prompting him to consider shutting down the resort.

“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,” Afolayan said.

He explained that he had previously raised concerns about the sustainability of depending on diesel and was considering closing the resort before a friend offered to supply him with diesel on credit.

However, Afolayan said the arrangement had not provided a lasting solution because of the continued high cost of diesel.

He said he was now exploring alternative sources of energy, including green energy, to reduce the resort’s dependence on diesel.

The filmmaker disclosed that about N200m had already been invested in a green-energy project at the facility, but said the installation was still 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.

Afolayan argued that the scale of his investment warranted support from government agencies, particularly given the economic and creative value of the facility.

“And if we’ve managed to do that, I think there should be some sort of support, like from government agencies,” he said.He expressed concern that some businesses that had received government grants had invested substantially 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.Why Afolayan Built 100 RoomsAfolayan also revealed that he constructed 100 rooms at the film village after facing serious accommodation challenges while shooting his film, Anikulapo.

He recalled that members of the cast and crew struggled to find suitable accommodation during production, with some actors forced to bring personal belongings from their homes.

According to him, prominent actors, including Sola Sobowale and Bimbo Ademoye, brought mattresses and freezers from home because adequate accommodation was unavailable.

“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,” he said.

Afolayan said the experience prompted him to invest further in the film village by constructing 100 rooms to provide accommodation for cast and crew and make film production at the facility more convenient.

The filmmaker said the development of the film village was driven by his belief in Nigeria and his desire to create infrastructure capable of supporting the country’s growing creative industry.