Documentary on China's poverty fight screened in Nigeria

ABUJA - Dozens of Nigerians from all walks of life had an opportunity to experience how China fought a successful war against poverty when a documentary showcasing the entire process was screened in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, on Thursday evening.

The viewers say at the end of the screening that they were largely inspired by the Chinese documentary, and charged to partake in the fight against poverty in Nigeria.

Titled Voices From the Frontline: China's War on Poverty, the documentary, jointly produced by the China Global Television Network and the Kuhn Foundation of the United States, provides an intimate portrayal of China's historic anti-poverty campaign by following some cases that highlight the poverty alleviation strategy adopted by China.

The public viewing of that documentary in Abuja marked the opening of the Doc-China Festival in the most populous African country. Aimed at promoting the cultural exchange between China and other countries across the globe while giving an insight into Chinese culture, and its people, the Doc-China Festival, co-organized by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism and CGTN, will start with a grand ceremony in Beijing later this month and go on till the end of the year, according to Li Xuda, the cultural counselor of the Chinese embassy in Nigeria.

More than 50 of CGTN's best video productions including award-winning documentaries, such as the Voices From the Frontline: China's War on Poverty screened in Abuja, will be aired on selected television channels during the festival.

Speaking on the 60-minute documentary after its screening at the China Cultural Center in Abuja, Mohammed Sulaiman, president of the Society of Nigerian Artists, says he was inspired by the brilliant documentation of the Chinese leadership's commitment to lifting millions of people out of poverty within a stipulated period.

He says the documentary showed that the sincerity of purpose of the Chinese officials on the front line, up to those at the highest level, played a key role in the eradication of poverty by China.

"I am inspired because it is a story that will touch your heart and you really want to see it comes to fruition," says Sulaiman, who is also the president of the China Alumni Association in Nigeria. "What we have to learn from here is the attention to those details and knowing fully well that we actually need to uplift our own downtrodden, the poor."

According to him, developing countries need to first get rid of those ills that will not make the fight against poverty work effectively, besides the structures and heavy level of funding.

Fidelis Duker, a movie producer and director in Nollywood, Nigeria's movie industry, says he was more inspired because of the entire process of lifting more than 400 million people out of poverty in less than eight years "in an amazing manner".

"You could see that there was nothing spectacular. It was a very simple process. They had to use the people to lift themselves out of poverty. Not getting some elite to go and get them, they had to get the people from among themselves," says Duker who claims to have immediately posted some parts of the documentary on Facebook, to share with his teeming followers.

He says more Nigerians needed to see the documentary, noting Nigeria had the same challenge as China, as well as a goal of lifting 100 million people out of poverty within a decade.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari last year inaugurated the steering committee for the "national poverty reduction with growth" strategy to achieve the national mission of lifting millions out of poverty.

"Education will take people out of poverty. If the people are educated, the challenges we are facing now won't be found. When you begin to educate people, this issue of insecurity will be out of the way. We can do it in Nigeria if we are determined to do it," Duker says.

Speaking earlier at the opening ceremony of the Doc-China Festival in Nigeria, Memunat Ladi Idu-Lah, the director of international cultural relations at the Ministry of Information and Culture, lauded the motive of the festival, saying it will enable more developing countries to learn and be inspired by China's development strategies and strides.

"Some of CGTN's best video production will be screened so that more Nigerians will know the new development of today's China," the official adds.