Kunle Afolayan Seeks Government Support After Investing N8bn in Resort

Nigerian filmmaker and entrepreneur, Kunle Afolayan, has called on the government to support his business after investing more than N8bn of his personal funds in his resort, KAP Village.

Afolayan said the absence of public electricity at the facility since its establishment had placed a huge financial burden on the business, forcing him to depend almost entirely on diesel to keep operations running.

The filmmaker spoke during an interview with former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, on the Nidacity podcast, released on YouTube on Tuesday.

According to Afolayan, the rising cost of diesel has become increasingly difficult to bear, raising concerns about the future of the resort.

“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,” he said.

He recalled raising concerns months ago that the cost of diesel was becoming unsustainable and could eventually force him to shut the resort.

Although a friend offered to supply diesel on credit, Afolayan said the arrangement was still not a long-term solution.

He said he was now looking towards renewable energy, revealing that he had already spent about N200m on a green energy project, although it was not sufficient to power the entire facility.

Afolayan argued that having invested billions of naira in the project from his personal resources, government agencies should consider providing support.

“If we’ve managed to do that, I think there should be some sort of support, like from government agencies,” he said.

The filmmaker also compared his investment with businesses that, according to him, had received government grants despite investing considerably less.

Meanwhile, Afolayan revealed that he built 100 rooms at the film village after facing accommodation challenges while shooting his hit movie, Anikulapo.

He said the production team struggled to find suitable accommodation, with some cast members, including Sola Sobowale and Bimbo Ademoye, bringing personal belongings such as mattresses and freezers from home.

“When we shot Anikulapo, we didn’t have accommodation. We were squatting in people’s houses,” he said.

Afolayan explained that the experience prompted him to construct 100 rooms at the film village to provide better accommodation for cast and crew and make future productions more comfortable.