Leadership (Abuja)
Nasir S. Gwangwazo
31 May 2008
Abuja — Emeka Mba, director-general of the National Film and Censorship Board, has commented on the issue of the new conditions of film making as put together by Kano State Censorship Board, conditions which made stakeholders to take court action against the KSCB: "I'll speak on another condition which is about educational requirement. I said the best entities to set the requirements for film making should be the guilds. The guild determine the entry, and set their conditions for practitioners. Even we the regulators would find it easier to control the industry through the guilds.
"The other thing I must mention is that we must have respect for our guilds. If within the guilds and associations there is lack of respect, the government will not respect you, and it is easier for us as regulators to use divide and rule tactics. But once you are united, that can not happen."
The national director general of Film and Video Censorship Board, who is also a professional film maker, said, "With regards to locations and scripts setting, I do not belief that the script should be submitted to the Kano State Censorship Board. This is my personal view." But he however added, "as in any country you must let security agencies know that you are coming out to shoot in public places.
He said, "For instance, if you live in London and you are going to do a movie in a park or any street, you need a permit from the City of London. But if you are going to shoot in a bedroom, you need no permit. And a condition for the permission might be that, you submit the synopsis to them. You have to go to the local government or state authorities for permit, but not the censorship board."
"I know there are difficulties, but I will make my point clear and public that some of the measures by KSCB are too stringent, and I therefore call on the director general to revisit them. I also call my colleague in MOPPAN to understand the principles, as this would help us work together. I think by the time we come back here in the next three months, the results will be evident."
He further said, "I want to assure you that the conditions under which you have been asked to operate was agreed upon with the leadership of Kano State censors board. That was the assurance I got this morning, and they are going to do something to correct things within a short time to ensure that people go back to work.
"And I want you to in turn respect the DG as an authority. I have pleaded with him to use his good office to speak on the positive side of the industry, rather than the negative side. As a DG of film censors board I cannot say, 'this Kannywood or Nollywood is useless' in public, rather, I would say that 'there are challenges in the industry, that we need to handle'. So, I made a call to my counterpart, Mallam Rabo, to do same thing, to promote this same industry, and he assured me that something would be done about it."
Mba further lamented that, "T he films we do here are not Kano films, but Nigerian films. We all are Nigerians. So, I can assure you that, we will not sit back and see Kano become excised from Nigeria as far as film making is concerned. We are going to take all the steps, because this issue is being looked upon by the highest authority of government. That is why I am here. If we let it go, tomorrow, somebody else will do the same, and another person will say, 'do not watch a film in our house; it needs to be permitted'.
"But far more importantly, I want you to respect the religion, tradition and culture of the state, as well as professionalism. You must show people that you are willing to go with that commitment. If not, the opportunity we see now, will be lost. And if we joke with this opportunity, it may be Kaduna's gain or Bauchi, or Katsina!"
He confirmed to the stake holders that, "Once again, you have my total support and that of my board. But this is conditional in the sense that, everybody here, must submit themselves to the authority of the guilds and associations under MOPPAN. You must respect the tradition of film industry everywhere in the world."
On the issue of the possibility of conflict between the national and state censorship boards he commented that, "We may have constitutional issues about federal and state power, but so far, KSCB is a legal entity. The basic problem in Kano State is not about this arrangement, but it is with the composition and attitude of the censorship board which needs to be corrected. We are a national body. You can still bring your films directly, but we can seek advice of the state censors board on matters relating to local issues."
On whether the director general of the state censorship board will deceive him as the practitioners fears, Mba said, "One thing I can tell you is that, I am somebody who works in faith. One thing I can assure you is that, we are not afraid of the state board , but the fact is that, we have to give the state the benefit of doubt. We deliberately allow the issue to be resolved internally, until it is beginning to manifest that our own authority is being questioned.
"We are national body. Kano state is part of Nigeria. Kano state cannot excise itself out of Nigeria. It can't set local standard contrary to the national laws. But there is no problem in that, because we cannot sit at Abuja and determine what happens in Sokoto, Benin or Bayelsa. So, we have to engage state governments and even the local governments as per the issue of scensorships.
"I can assure you that when I go back to Abuja I'll do a letter to them (KSCB) confirming what we agreed, and I will copy the minister, so that somebody will know that we were not deceived. You may doubt Malam Rabo (KSCB Director General), but I do not doubt him. I have everything we did in writting. If after all of these I'm deceived, it will be evident to all of us, and there is consequences for deceit, I belief."
Mba specifically appeal to pressmen covering the event. "I can see that there is a media war on this issue. I plead with you to promote the good side of the matter so that we can all work together. because you will begin to see positive results in few weeks," he said.
He also stressed the need for Kano State as a centre of commerce to do more in investing in infrastructure needed for distribution, training and capacity building of filming. He suggested that the state government should promote and create fund for sponsoring the desired films that will promote the socio-cultural agenda that are indicated in his presentation during his press briefing.
He urged film practitioners in the state to respect the state government. "If you need a loan or assistance they are closer to assist you. But they need to revisit the conditions, because it is not just affecting the state, but Nigeria at large. I don't think it is a question of religion. Iran is an Islamic country, but has the highest number of female directors in the world."
Earlier, the president MOPPAN, Malam Sani Mu'azu, told Mr. Mba that, "I want to announce that, we have gone to the Federal High Court in Kano, and we have filed in a case, in which each and every guild in the film industry in Kano signed to say that we are challenging the role Kano Film Censors Board is taking. But when you go to court, you won't be doing so because you want a fight, but to settle."
When our correspondent contacted counsel to MOPPAN, Barrister Ahmed Garba, he shed more light on the suit. "There are so many prayers we want the court to declare. One of them is to declare as unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect, all the conditions put in place in a press briefing on February 11, 2008, by the present director general of Kano State Censorship Board."
In his vote of thanks, the national secretary of MOPPAN, Dr. Umar Faruk Jibril, thanked NFVCB for their concern over the matter, he also expressed thanks to the state film practitioners for their endurance and for remaining law abiding during the entire conflict. And to the press, he appreciated them for exposing the actual situation to the world.
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