By Ola Kay
.”..Today, I am delighted to announce to you that the Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, pursuant to section 65 of the NFVCB Act 2004, has approved the regulation..”
The Chief Executive Officer, CEO of the National Film and Video Censors Board ,NFVCB, Shaibu Husseini, has announced that the federal government gave an approval for the prohibition of money rituals and glamorising vices in Nigerian films as a way of sanitizing the industry and the society at large.
Husseini stated this in Enugu on Wednesday, at event jointly hosted by the NFVCB and Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA.
“Today, we are facing an industry emergency requiring bold and ambitious actions from all parents, guardians, and stakeholders. When my predecessor approached the former Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, on the need to make subsidiary legislation to curtail the display of smoking in Nigerian movies, he saw the need to include money rituals, said Husseini.
“Continuing, the NFVCB boss said: “Others included in the regulation are ritual killings and glamorising other crimes in order to further sanitise the film industry. Today, I am delighted to announce to you that the Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, pursuant to section 65 of the NFVCB Act 2004, has approved the regulation..”
He added that, “The minister has approved the ‘prohibition of money ritual, ritual killing, tobacco, tobacco products, nicotine product promotion and glamorisation display in movies, musical videos and skits regulations 2024’. We have also forwarded the approved copy to the Federal Ministry of Justice for Gazette.”
According to him, the sensitization programme was to educate stakeholders on the danger inherent in smoking in Nigerian movies.
He noted that, besides the health implications, glamorising smoking in films poses a negative influence on teens and young adults, who constitute the largest segment of Nigerian movie viewers.
He assured that the film board was set to undertake comprehensive enlightenment programmes in secondary schools, tertiary institutions, local communities, faith groups and other institutions.
The NFVCB boss said that, “As you all know, the film industry occupies a central position in the entertainment and creative sector, and it is imperative that we continue to place the highest premium on the progress of the film industry.
“The NFVCB supports smoke-free movies and supports smoke-free Nollywood, and we therefore seek your collaboration to develop creative content that discourages smoking and promotes positive health messages.”
He noted that after a series of engagements, the NFVCB, in collaboration with the CAPPA, decided to make “subsidiary regulations” to address smoking in movies since this aspect was not expressly spelt out in the extant law.
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