The Display Of Ritual Killing And Tobacco Smoking In Nollywood/Music Videos Is Now Prohibited – FG

The Executive Director/CEO of National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Shaibu Husseini has come out to say that the Federal Government has approved the prohibition of money rituals and glamourizing of vices in Nigerian films.

He recently had his say while speaking at a National Stakeholders Engagement on Smoke-Free Nollywood held in Enugu, and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to him, the Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa has just approved the regulation that prohibits money ritual, ritual killing, tobacco, tobacco products display in movies, musical videos and skits.

Shaibu added that the approved copy of the new law has also been forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Justice for Gazette.

His words, “Today, we are facing an industry emergency requiring bold and ambitious actions from all parents, guardians and stakeholders.

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 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 the 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 Product Promotion and Glamorisation display in Movies, Musical Videos and Skits” Regulations 2024.

We have also forwarded the approved copy to the Federal Ministry of Justice for Gazette.”

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.