Veteran actor Kanayo O. Kanayo and music icon Mike Okri have criticized the Federal Government’s recent approval of a ban on smoking and the glamorization of money rituals and killings in Nigerian films, skits, and music videos, calling the move ‘a joke.’
On Wednesday, the government, through the Executive Director/CEO of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Dr. Shaibu Husseini, approved the “Prohibition of Money Ritual, Ritual Killing, Tobacco, Tobacco Product, Nicotine Product Promotion, glamorization, display in movies, musical videos, and skits” in accordance with Section 65 of the NFVCB Act 2004.
Dr. Husseini made this announcement during a National Stakeholders Engagement on Smoke-Free Nollywood, in collaboration with Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), held in Enugu.
Reacting to the development, veteran musician Mike Okri described the federal government’s action as a joke, saying, “It’s a way to silence the movie industry.”
“Whoever is behind this from the FG is joking. It’s a way to silence the movie industry. They should focus on the real challenges facing the country,” Okri stated.
Additionally, popular actor Kanayo O. Kanayo called the move ‘sensible nonsense,’ criticizing the Honourable Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa, for approving what he sees as an attempt to gag filmmakers.
Dr. Husseini stated that the censors board places a high premium on the progress of the film industry by ensuring that films, music videos, and skits are free of depictions and glamorization of harmful substances like tobacco, violence, criminal acts, immoral acts, ritual killing, and money rituals.
He emphasized, “Today, we are facing an industry emergency requiring bold and ambitious actions from all of us as parents, guardians, and stakeholders.”
After a series of engagements, the NFVCB, in collaboration with CAPPA, decided to create a Subsidiary Regulation to address smoking in movies, as this aspect was not expressly covered in the existing law.
