NOTABLE Nollywood actor, Kanayo O. Kanayo, and musician, Mike Okri, have criticised the Federal Government’s recent approval of the prohibition of smoking and glamourisation of money rituals and killings in Nigerian films, skits and music videos, describing it as ‘a joke.’
Recall that the government, on Wednesday, May 22, through the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer 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, glamourisation, display in movies, musical videos and skits” in pursuant to Section 65 of the NFVCB Act 2004.
Husseini announced the ban while speaking at a National Stakeholders Engagement on Smoke-Free Nollywood in partnership with Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) in Enugu.
But reacting to the ban, Okri said “it’s a way to silence the movie industry,” adding: “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.”
Kanayo, on his part, described the move as ‘a sensible nonsense,” saying the Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, has no job for approving a move to gag film makers.
