Reactions to Nigeria's Proposed Ban on Smoking and Rituals in Nollywood Films.

Reactions to the Federal Government's proposal to outlaw smoking, money rituals, ritual killings, and the glamourization of these vices in Nigerian cinema are conflicting.

Recall that during a recent national stakeholders' engagement on smoke-free Nollywood in Enugu, Dr Shaibu Husseini, Executive Director/CEO of the National Film and Video Censors Board, NFVCB, revealed the government's position.

The NFVCB and Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, or CAPPA, organised the event, which brought together actors, directors, and producers of motion pictures from all over the nation in one location.

Attendees included representatives from a range of guilds and associations within the Nigerian film industry.

Husseini called the Nigerian film industry's glamorization of smoking, ritualistic behaviour, and murdering an industry emergency that called for audacious and ambitious action from all parents, guardians, and stakeholders.

He stated: “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.

Others included in the regulation are ritual killings and glamourising 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 Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, pursuant to section 65 of the NFVCB Act 2004, has approved the regulation.

The minister has approved the ‘prohibition of money ritual, ritual killing, tobacco, tobacco products, nicotine products promotion, and glamorization display of crimes in movies, musical videos and skits regulations 2024. We have also forwarded the approved copy to the Federal Ministry of Justice for official gazette.”

He mentioned that the goal of the sensitization campaign was to inform interested parties about the risks associated with smoking in Nigerian films.

He explained that aside from the health implications, glamorizing smoking in films poses a negative influence on teens and young adults, who constitute the largest segment of Nigerian movie viewers.

He said the board was set to undertake detailed enlightenment programs in secondary schools, tertiary institutions, local communities, faith-based groups, and other institutions.

“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 smoke-free Nollywood, therefore, we seek your collaboration to develop creative content that discourages smoking and promotes positive health messages,” he stated.

There is currently disagreement among industry stakeholders on the policy.

Actors and actresses, among other industry professionals, had differing perspectives on the development in interviews with DAILY POST.

Veteran Nollywood actor Bob Manuel Udokwu added to the conversation by stating that most Nigerians were misinterpreting the government's action.

“I believe that the restrictions about smoking and a few other practices, like ritual scenes in Nollywood films, are being wrongly reported as a ban by the media.

There is no outright ban on those practices in our movies, rather the Federal Government through the National Film and Video Censors Board, NFVCB, is making sure that film makers are not inadvertently promoting smoking and ritual acts in films.

They can be done when it becomes compelling to use them to tell stories like in documentaries and true life stories.

The NFVCB is already having meetings with movie makers to explain the new position of the government on the matter and we, as practitioners, support the move.

I had a long fruitful phone conversation with the Censors Board chairman, Dr Hussein Shaibu on the matter.

He assured me that he is there to make classifications and content of movies, music videos, skits and the likes better and more dignified for various categories of viewers/audiences. Dr Shaibu is a veteran of the entertainment industry, so there is nothing to worry about,” he said.

However, Nollywood actress Jennifer Obodo believes that rather than focusing on the Federal Government's smoking ban and ritual acts in Nollywood, they should consider more pressing matters pertaining Nigeria.

“The first question I asked when I saw this was- is it that they watch just the beginning of movies and forget to watch the end or what?

Movies are make belief; a form of interpretation of a story and not just the narrative itself. If the government wants to ban smoking, then it should start by banning the sale or production of cigarettes.

What is the essence of parental guidance in movies? The Federal Government should just sit down and focus on how to make Nigeria a better place.

Fuel is expensive, food stuffs are expensive, there are no good roads, kidnappings are everywhere and all the leaders could think of is to ban smoking and rituals in Nollywood. So, is Nollywood Nigeria’s biggest problem now?

Let me ask: what’s their contribution to the so called Nollywood and entertainment industry as a whole, for them to wake up and think that they can tell us what to do? Please, we have other pending issues that need urgent attention and action, not Nollywood.

If possible they should just ban the entire industry; no more production of films in Nigeria. Let everybody go and rest,” she said.