SCRIPT: TRADITIONAL HUNTERS OF SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

Section 1

Objective: Exploring the significance of hunting in western Nigeria, this section will delve into its historical
and cultural importance. Additionally, it will examine how hunting originated and benefited the people of this
region. The section will encompass a comprehensive historical analysis, spanning from ancient times to the
present day, and will be supplemented with footage and movie images.

Duration: 5min

Audio Video
Opening montage: gba ge r’obe re’m derin keke Women selling bushmeat: taking it out from the
paya ode o….2x a b’oko re fo k’oun ge tan, abi sac, preparing it into meals.
k’oun ge seku o, Ode fo ko ge tan, a tun pemiren
bo dola. (take and cut into the soup delights the Hunters family in celebratory mood after a
hunters’ wife…2x she asks her husband either to successful/bountiful hunt
cut all the meat or remain some, cut it all says the
hunter, we will hunt another tomorrow.
Opening Montage 2: Aja mi da o, Aja Ode…2x Hunters with their dogs on the move or in action
O g’omo kereu, Aja ode, o so kala gbe mi, aja ode. during a hunt
Aja mi da o, aja ode..
Opening Narration: the history of the founding of Footage of establishment of new settlements
virtually all the towns and cities in southwestern from Nollywood films like jagun jagun and co.
usually has something to do with the pathfinding
activities/bravery of the hunters who usually lead
the way for the establishment of new
settlements, some of which have now become
big cities. For example, Ikirun, Oshogbo etc.

Ogun, the patron god of the hunters is one of the

prominent members of Oduduwas’ cabinet.

Before rearing domestic animals after a

settlement has been established, hunting usually
serves as the major source of proteins for many
clans in Yoruba land, while hunters serve as the
security of the clan against external invasion and
the army of the community in case they want to
invade another territory in order to take it over.
Hunting is an ancient profession that dates back to
the earliest days of human civilization.
Historically, hunting was the only source of
protein and hunters occupied important positions
in African societies (Ajayi & Tewo, 1979). Apart
from bush meat from hunting being consumed as
food, it is also provide jobs for hunters and sellers,
 and mainly used for social engagements such as
traditional wedding, burial, birthday and
medicinal purposes (Adeola, 1992). In Western
Nigeria, hunting holds cultural significance and
has been passed down through generations,
preserving a body of knowledge that encompasses
both physical and metaphysical aspects. Small
animals like grasscutters, squirrels, bats, giant rats
brush-tailed porcupines are the varieties of hunted
animals prominent in western Nigeria (Ajayi,
1979 &Wildaid (2021).

Interview of a traditional ruler on the immense Olomu of Omu interview, with insets of videos
importance of hunters in the traditional society and pictures of some of the things he is talking
about.

Section 2

Objective: In Western Nigeria, there are several challenges facing the development of hunting film. One of the
main challenges is the limited access to modern filming equipment and technology, which makes it difficult to
capture high-quality footage of the hunting processes and equipment. Additionally, there is a lack of awareness
and appreciation for the art of hunting, and many people do not fully understand what it means to be a hunter.
Despite these challenges, it is important to showcase the hunting culture in Western Nigeria through film, as it
provides a window into the unique traditions and way of life of the people in this region.

Audio Video
Narrator: Hunting as a profession is highly Yoruba Hunters preparation videos are shown
challenging, requiring a lot of skills, knowledge and
equipment. Hence most hunters starts training from
childhood, gathering the required skillsets as well as
equipment along the line.

In 2021, Nigeria’s Television and Film industries Video of Nollywood film industry is shown
recorded 12.1% in growth and $6.4 billion in
revenue, making it the world’s fastest-growing
media market and this trend will continue for the
next 5 years (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2021).
However, despite this growth, only a little
attention is paid to the documentary sector. Unlike
other forms of screen business (movies,
animation, music), the documentary particularly
animal documentary is an aspect that is not well
utilised in Nigeria, yet it portends enormous
 opportunity potential for moviemakers.

Just like a hunter, a film maker that wants to Videos of Nigerian hunters in action are shown side
document hunting games in southwest Nigeria by side with videos of south African hunters
needs special trainings and equipment to be able
to capture the moments during a hunting
expedition, as the style of hunting still being used
in Nigeria is a bit different from that of other
places in Africa where there are established games
reserves, more sophisticated hunting guns are
allowed and some times because of already
established animal documentary industry, the
places where the hunts take place are already
rigged with multiple state-of-the-art cameras.

One of the main challenges is the limited access to

modern filming equipment and technology, which
makes it difficult to capture high-quality footage of
the hunting processes and equipment. Additionally,
there is a lack of awareness and appreciation for the
art of hunting, and many people do not fully
understand what it means to be a hunter.

Section 3
Objective: The third section provides potential solutions for addressing the identified challenges facing the
development of hunting film in Western Nigeria.

Audio Video
Narrator: in order to bridge the gap and address the
challenge of facing the ability of potential film
makers in producing high quality hunting
documentary films in southwest Nigeria, a multi-
layered approach has to be adopted as follows:

1. Collaborations between hunters associations Hunters and the filming crew discussing
and filmmakers in order to introduce the
two parties to each others world in a way
that will help both the hunters and film
makers see each other as partners in
preserving a very important part of our
culture for future generation.
2. Collaborations between film makers and Filming crew and government agents in ogun state
state ministry of forestry, to have a clear ministry of forestry discussing
understanding of areas where hunting can
take place, areas where hunting is
prohibited, laws in each state as regards
wildlife and the forest etc. so as to allow
film makers have better understanding of
the forest laws and how to prepare for a
 hunting documentary in a more effective
and efficient ways, leading to the capture of
an international standard hunting
documentary images. Stock video of Film crew in other countries rigging
3. Collaboration with both local and an area where hunting documentary is about to take
international sources of funds to be able to place before the hunting exercise
properly fund training of film crews for this
specialised area of filming, getting enough
equipment such as water resistant cameras,
telescopes, microphones etc. to be able to
rig a large expanse of areas before actual
hunting begins such that we will be able to
multiple angles of actual hunting action
taking place in real time.

Section 4

Objective: This section examines the production process, with a focus on the role of the UK-based producer
who will be managing a team of crewmembers on the ground in Nigeria. By conducting reflective video
interviews with the producer and crewmembers, this section aims to explore the various challenges that were
encountered during the production process, as well as the innovative approaches that were employed to
overcome them

Audio
Each members of the production crew introduces
themselves, their role in the production and the
challenges encountered in the course of the
production
video
Behind the scene of the members of the crew in
action and interactions between members of the
crew and UK based producer.

Things to correct on the script: time scheduling of how each minute of the essay film will be used.

The focus should be more on the making of a hunting documentary film

Why is hunting documentary film not rampant despite the advances in other areas of film making in Nigeria

History of hunters/founders of town in Yorubaland

Are the challenges from hunters, film makers, or government regulation.

What are the knowledge, technology or cultural gaps that serves as the source of challenges to shooting
hunting documentary in Nigeria.

Itemise the questions you want to ask each person in the interview. 1. Hunter, 2. Kabiyesi. 3. Forestry man

Kabiyesi:

Kindly introduce yourself your royal highness

Tell us about the importance of hunters in the society in the olden day

What do you think has changed today as it concerns the status of the hunter in the society today
What’s your take on indigenous hunting films documentary and why we are not having much of it available to
preserve our tradition

How do you suggest we can remedy the scarcity of quality Yoruba hunters documentary for the preservation of
knowledge

Hunter:

Please tell us about yourself

how did your journey into hunting start and how long have you been at it

what’s your opinion on documenting hunters activity in film for the preservation of knowledge and culture

Are you aware of any documentary film of Yoruba hunters/hunting.

What are the challenges that you feel will make filming hunting activities hard

How often do film hunting activities

What are the challenges to filming hunting activities