Samuel Samiái Andrews[1]
Culture, Morality & Creativity
Media reports recently in Nigeria state that the government through its agency, the National Film and Video Censor Board (NFVCB), issued a directive to censor and ban certain categories of creative contents and expressions of cinematographic works made in Nigeria or made by Nigerian filmmakers (Nollywood).[2] Filmmaking is both a constitutional and statutory right of Nigerians.[3] It is also an internationally guaranteed right, which are stipulated by international treaties of which Nigeria is a signatory to most of these treaties. It is a fact that all laws are local, loosely interpreted to mean that a nation-state is the sole sovereign to set laws for its jurisdiction that enforce acceptable norms, policy, and social good governance of her people. However, in contemporary era, law making that offends laws in the books within the same geographical sphere of a nation state may offend the rights of its people. Making laws from the prism of enforcing moralities, sectional sensitivities and ideologies, a nation state risks descending into State sponsored illegalities and illegal deprivation of private properties (intellectual property is a mostly private property).
Moral, religious, and ideological sensitivities or idiosyncrasies are complex outcomes that requires the highest scrutiny in a nation state like Nigeria. In Nigeria, we have people of different religious, social and cultural beliefs. Therefore, forcing any socio-cultural norm on an entire people is not just unfair but unconstitutional. The terms- ‘...ritual killings and glamourizing other crimes…’ is legally ambiguous and sociologically worrisome. Most contents shown on Nollywood are realities of the Nigerian culture, folklore, and history. So, why criminalize, illegalize, or shame our culture? Nollywood scholars have linked the emergence and ingenuity of Nollywood to its ingenuity and originality of interpreting Nigeria’s Indigenous culture and folklore.[4] I am not stating here that the Nigerian culture or history is solely rich in criminality or gruesome killings of her people. However, if it happens (which is a fact) what is wrong or illegal in showing these events on cinematographic platforms or singing about them? Can NFVCB ban the existence of smoking? So, why engage in the impossible?
Some Indigenous Nigerian culture and customs may be caught in this NFVCB ban or censor directive. For instance, an unelected public official may cite a section of a Regulation (which has not even been subjected to public scrutiny) to ban Ifa incantation, Ekpe masquerade, Ekpo masquerade and other traditional customs, which in most part of Nigeria may include skulls of dead animal, hides and skin of wild animals, in the name of gruesomeness or whatever word they may invoke.
‘Na who send you’?[5]
Cultural sensitivities have become a quasi-public policy of the National Film and Video Censor Board in its regulatory activities.[6] NFVCB demands cultural sensitivities as one of the criteria in granting permission for the release of a Nollywood film.[7] This policy seems to have been a trend from its early days coming into existence. The current directive of NFVCB concerns smoking in movies, cultural scenes (reality) in films-sacrifices, ‘money making rituals’ etc. Who defines what depictions of creativity are immoral or illegal? The government or the people of Nigeria? Who censors an artistic creation-visual or audio depiction of fictions and non-fictional events? Why do we have categorizations-classifications of films- fit-for audience- ‘R’ ‘Adult’ ‘G’ etc.?
It appears to me that we have experienced this censorship or Ban threat from NFCB before.[8] Half of a Yellow Sun, a movie based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book with similar title, faced censorship issues. Other Nigerian directed and produced films have faced similar fate.[9] Nigerians were not denied watching this movie in spite of the censorship by NFVCB. There is always a will in the underground economy and unregulated Internet spaces. The delay in release of the film in Nigeria due to NFVCB’s interference may have affected the bottom-line of the filmmakers in Nigeria. Censorship or ban of creative contents affects the creative entrepreneurial spirit and efforts of Nollywood.
A more effective approach to regulation of artistic and literary works
NFVCB and other creative regulators should adopt sensible and effective national policy to regulate citizen’s conduct. These public institutions should avoid arbitrary abuse of power or infringement of the citizen’s creative rights legally protected as private property under the Constitution of Nigeria. Within the jurisprudential divide, one common denominator remains that laws should be effective and ‘democratically’ made for governance. Where laws or rules become anti-citizen, the essence of societal Ordering becomes complicated. In modern or contemporary governance, the formal and institutional arms of government conduct empirical and deep consultations with the people for filtering feedback and analyzing overall significance of a new law. Did the NFVCB conduct any consultation with the stakeholders in the overall creative industry in Nigeria and experts in the subject field? I am not aware of such, as a researcher and scholar on Nollywood.
Nollywood remains one of the remaining productive sectors of the Nigerian economy that lifts its citizens out of poverty and shines a better light upon Nigeria in the comity of nations. So, why mess up with a good thing? The Nigerian government should go back to its drawing board and approach this issue in a smarter way based on global standards of classification of movies. Banning goods or products that have some form of recreational or entertainment benefits to a people does not work.[10] In a digital era of creative production with ubiquitous distribution platforms powered by digital technology, how can NFVCB enforce its ban or censorship? How effective is (was) banning or censoring online piracy of Nigerian movies? From studies and research banning online content did little dent on piracy (an obnoxious affliction on Nigeria’s socio-economic objectives) of audiovisual contents on the Internet. Rather, another regulatory body in Nigeria adopted a more effective mechanism to dull the effects of piracy on movies and musical works on Nigerian creatives.[11] The unintended consequences of the NFVCB censorship and ban directive will be the creation of another wave of black-market economy for Nigerian films that may undercut legit Nollywood producers and directors, including artists, actors, actresses, and the downline community. The issue is (NFVCB) regulate, smart regulation and regulator to impel Nollywood’s creatives.
[1] Professor Samuel Samiái Andrews, a United States Ambassador’s Distinguished Scholar & Professor of Intellectual Property Law lives in Saudi Arabia. Part of this contribution initially appeared in his SJD dissertation ‘Reconceptualizing Nigerian Copyright Law to Protect Nollywood’ -Suffolk University Law School, Boston. Massachusetts, USA, 2018. He teaches law at College of Law, Al Yamamah University, Al Khobar, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
*I have adapted the article’s theme from ‘Reconceptualizing Nigerian copyright law to protect Nollywood’ -Samuel Samiái Andrews, a SJD dissertation deposited and presented to Suffolk University Law School, Boston. Massachusetts, USA (2018, April 17); Samuel Samiái Andrews, ‘Reforming Copyright Law for a Developing Africa (2018-2019) Journal of the Copyright Soc’y USA vol 66 page 1; Samuel Samiái Andrews, ‘Reconceptualizing International Law to Protect African Creative Industries (2018) Obafemi Awolowo University Law Journal, (Page 217). A longer version of this article is forthcoming.
[2] Vanguard Newspaper, ‘FG bans ‘money rituals, smoking other vices in Nollywood movies’ (22 May 2024) <https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/05/fg-bans-money-rituals-smoking-other-vices-in-nollywood-movie> last visited 10 June 2024.
Andrews (n1) (Reforming copyright laws for a developing Africa).
[3] Connor Ryan, ‘Nollywood and the Limits of Informality: A Conversation with Tunde Kelani, Bond Emeruwa and Emem Isong’ (2014) 5 Black Camera 168, 176-77.
[4] Ryan (n3)
[5] Nigerian Pikin English that loosely means-where did you get the capacity or what authority do you have?
[6] Dul Johnson, ‘Culture and Art in Hausa Video Films’ in Nigeria Video FILM 200 (Jonathan Haynes eds., 2000); Matthias Krings, ‘Conversion on Screen: A Glimpse at Popular Islamic Imaginations in Northern Nigeria’ (2008) 54 Africa Today 45-68; Abdallah Adamu, ‘Islam, Hausa Culture and Censorship in Northern Video Film’ in Viewing African Cinema In The Twenty-First Century 63 (Mahir Saul, et al. eds., 2010).
[7] Johnson (n6); Adamu (n6).
[8] British Broadcasting Corporation, ‘Half of a Yellow Sun Film delayed by Nigeria Censors’ (25 April 2014) <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27162545>; Nathan Ekpo, ‘Censor Board Killing Nollywood’ Nigeriafilms.com (13 July, 2015) <http://www.nigeriafilms.com/news/34514/27/censor-board-killing-nollywoodshan-george.html> ; Michelle Faul et al, ‘Nigerian Film Encounters Roadblocks in Nigeria’ Associated Press (1 May 2014) <https://www.yahoo.com/movies/nigeria-film-encounters-roadblock-nigeria-152459893.html>; Biyi Bandele, ‘Why Can’t Nigerians Watch Country’s Biggest Movie?’ CNN.Com (21 May 2014) <http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/21/opinion/why-cant-nigerians-half-yellow-sun/>
[9] Bandele (n8)
[10] Ros Hodgkins, ‘Being a censor drives you mad. It’s not the material that corrupts. It’s the job’ The Guardian (20 November 1998 <https://www.theguardian.com/film/1998/nov/20/features> visited 11 June 2024.
[11] The Nigerian Copyright Commission has been mostly smart and proactive in its regulatory functions.
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