Tinubu’s government confirmed the ban on smoking, rituals, and other negative vices in Nollywood films to sanitize the film industry.
Shaibu Husseini, the executive director and CEO of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), disclosed this at a National Stakeholders Engagement on Smoke-Free Nollywood held in Enugu on Wednesday, May 22.
Husseini lamented that the present-day movie industry is facing an “industry emergency” requiring bold and ambitious actions from all parents, guardians and stakeholders. He added that the regulation to ban smoking and other crimes has been approved by Hannatu Musawa, the minister of arts, culture and the creative economy. According to him, “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. “When my predecessor approached the former Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed on the need to make a subsidiary legislation to curtail the display of smoking in Nigerian movies, he saw the need to include money rituals.”
Others included in the regulation are ritual killings and glamorising other crimes to further sanitise the film industry. Movie producers, directors and actors drawn from different parts of the country, as well as leaders of various guilds and associations in the Nigerian film industry were present at the event. Kano government has also banned movies promoting cross-dressing. This includes all movies and cinematic productions promoting thuggery and cross-dressing in the state. This was announced in a press statement issued by the media officer of the state’s censorship board, Abdullah Sani Sulaiman. “It is high time we put a stop to this sort of films that corrupt the morals of the Kano people,” the board stated.
