Dada Boat
Popular Ghanaian television personality and actor, Mikki Osei Berko, known in the showbiz scene as Dada Boat, has declared that the Ghanaian movie industry is not ‘dead’ but currently in ‘coma’.
BEATWAVES gathered that due to a lack of government support, the movie industry has been in decline recently, and many industry players have chosen to find other sources of income because they no longer find the industry attractive.
Although Dada Boat admitted that the industry has challenges which ought to be solved, it does not merit the description given by a section of Ghanaians that the industry is dead.
According to Dada Boat, who is also the Omankrado of Affumkrom in the Eastern Region, the industry is still in existence but having difficulty surviving and maintaining its vitality.
He bemoaned the difficult times the local movie industry is going through and the consequences that are being felt by the industry stakeholders.
“It’s not dead; it’s in a coma and needs medication,” Dada Boat said in an interview with Roselyn Felli on Joy Prime’s Changes show.
He asserts that the best ways to prevent the industry from dying are through training and effective policies.
He, therefore, called for a dialogue between stakeholders in the movie industry on the way forward.
Dada Boat emphasised that, in order to improve performance in the years to come, the government should provide opportunities for industry stakeholders to increase their knowledge and capacity.
He added that since the sector is essential to the nation’s economic development, the government must step in and assist in resolving the issues.
Dada Boat also disclosed that, the airing of foreign content on most Ghanaian media channels obstructs the industry’s advancement, stressing that it needs to be stopped.
He called on the government to get involved and support by ensuring effective policies and training measures are put in place to minimise the challenges.
As an actor, radio presenter and comedian, Dada Boat played Master Richard in the TV series ‘Taxi Driver’ and Dada Boat in the series ‘Dada Boat’.
Mikki Osei Berko, who is the Executive Director of Mediagold Productions, served as the Assemblyman for the Ayidiki Electoral Area, Accra New Town for one term.
He worked extensively with Radio Gold, a private radio station based in Accra, which he left in July 2003 to join Happy FM.
He later worked with Kessben FM. He is the brain behind Kente Radio, a Pan-African online radio station.