Filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has revealed that he invested more than N8 billion of his personal funds in the development of KAP Film Village and Resort in Oyo State.
Afolayan made the disclosure during an interview with former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, on the Nidacity podcast, released on YouTube on Tuesday.
The filmmaker said the facility had never had access to public electricity since it was established, forcing the resort to depend entirely on diesel-powered generators.
According to him, the sharp rise in diesel prices has made the cost of operating the facility increasingly unsustainable and raised concerns about its long-term viability.
“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 recalled raising concerns months ago about the sustainability of powering the facility with diesel, adding that a friend subsequently offered to supply him with the product on credit.
However, he said the arrangement had not resolved the underlying financial challenge.
“It’s still not sustainable,” he said.
Seeking to reduce the resort’s dependence on diesel, Afolayan disclosed that about N200 million was spent last year on a green energy system.
He, however, said the renewable energy installation was not sufficient to power the entire facility.
“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 appealed to the Federal Government and relevant agencies to support the project through grants and other forms of assistance.
He argued that the scale of his personal investment in the facility warranted government intervention.
“And if we’ve managed to do that, I think there should be some sort of support, like from government agencies,” he said.
The filmmaker added that some businesses that had received government grants had invested considerably less than what had been committed to KAP Film Village.
“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.
Afolayan also explained that the 100 rooms at the film village were constructed after accommodation became a major challenge during the production of his film, Anikulapo.
He said cast and crew members had to stay in private homes because there was no suitable accommodation at the production location.
“When we shot Anikulapo, we didn’t have accommodation. We were squatting in people’s houses. Sola Sobowale and Bimbo Ademoye even brought their cottons and freezers from home. So I had to build 100 rooms in the film village to make everyone comfortable,” he said.
Located in Oyo State, KAP Film Village and Resort has hosted several major Nollywood productions and has emerged as one of Nigeria’s notable privately funded creative infrastructure projects.
