By Terna Chikpa
The President and Chief Creative Officer of Fedmas Studios, Dr Sam Idiagbonya, has urged media students to acquire practical skills, build professional portfolios and develop entrepreneurial abilities, warning that academic certificates alone cannot guarantee success in the competitive creative industry.
Idiagbonya, who delivered a keynote lecture to students of Broadcasting, Film and Multimedia Studies at the University of Abuja, also challenged them to move beyond dependence on scarce employment opportunities and position themselves as creators of value through innovation, practical experience and enterprise development.
He said graduation marked the beginning of greater personal and professional responsibility, urging students to master essential industry skills, including production budgeting, crew management and audience engagement.
He also stressed the importance of understanding copyright, contracts, content distribution and monetisation, noting that talent without business knowledge could undermine long-term success.
The Fedmas Studios chief further identified discipline, punctuality, teamwork and respect for professional commitments as critical ingredients for building sustainable careers.
He encouraged students to embrace artificial intelligence, digital storytelling and emerging distribution platforms while retaining the ability to tell authentic African stories to global audiences.
Also delivering a keynote lecture, veteran Nollywood actor, Segun Arinze, described university certificates as door-openers rather than automatic guarantees of success.
He stressed that graduates must be prepared to solve real-world problems and deliver tangible results.
Arinze identified punctuality, consistency, teamwork, integrity and dependability as essential currencies in the creative industry, urging students to handle rejection positively and embrace continuous self-improvement.
He also advised them to build meaningful professional networks based on mutual value and character, noting that a good reputation often travels faster than a résumé.
The actor challenged students to stop waiting for employment opportunities or recognition, urging them to begin building their portfolios through content creation and practical engagements before graduation.
In his welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof. Fawehinmi, expressed delight at the presence of celebrated media personalities and practitioners, including veteran actor Segun Arinze.
He noted that seeing industry role models in person bridged the gap between screen admiration and the reality of attainable career opportunities.
He encouraged the students to maximise the interactive session, ask questions and build meaningful professional relationships that could bring such career opportunities within their reach.
As part of its corporate social responsibility initiative, Fedmas Studios also awarded scholarships to Godwin Ofejiro Friday (24/212FMU/075) and Akaahan Mbasughunter Stephanie (23/212FMU/010).