Lagos — Kannywood is the spatial expression of that part of Nollywood which is based in Kano. Located in this predominantly Hausa-speaking commercial centre, its films use the Hausa language as it tries to set its action and drama in Hausa culture, idioms and cosmology.

Grafted originally from popular Hausa community drama onto the Indian film pattern, it found itself largely rooted in the theme of love. Love, of course, is one theme that young people ruminate on, and Kannywood immediately established a solid constituency among the youths, ensuring it a huge audience not only in Northern Nigeria but also in such countries as Niger, Mali, Ghana, Chad and Cameroon.

Within a short time it became a major industry in Kano, providing thousands of youths with jobs in a period that has been seeing the contraction of job opportunities in many other sectors of the economy. These jobs span from those directly involved in the making and production of films to those in the support services as well as those in the distribution and sales chains of the industry.

Yet ironically the very theme that assured Kannywood its boom is also its source of tension and conflict with censorship authorities in the state. Film as an eclectic endeavour not only thrives on experimentation but also on cross-cultural borrowing. Kannywood is no exception and soon it became a subject of criticism that it was polluting the minds rather than educating the youth; that it was not the authentic Muslim-Hausa culture it was meant to be portraying. Within the context of a government that has made commitment to the full implementation of Sharia in the state a cardinal principle of governance, it was only a matter of time before the clash would occur as government officials and religious figures began to be strident in their criticism of the film industry. Matters reached a climax with the so-called Hiyana affairs in which a private love scene via a mobile phone was unintentionally turned into the arrival of Kannywood in the genre of Hausa blue films. This set the stage for the long-drawn conflicts between the film producers/actors and the state censorship board, which could result in a more stringent censorship law that has seen many conflicts and even detention and prosecution of some artistes and producers.

It is in this context that an entirely different genre of the Kannywood films has arrived on the scene. Released late last month by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Naura is an educational film that is meant to enlighten young people on the potentials of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in transforming lives and societies. The title, Naura is taken from the Hausa word meaning a device or technology,

The aim of Naura is to provide an innovative way to raise awareness on the use of computers, and information technology in general, among the public, especially youth and children. The film features three village children whose characters reflect intelligence rather than what the villagers feel about them (naughty children). Ikilima, Abdul and Aminu encounter Naura, a computer, which transforms into a human form (a woman) and tells them fascinating stories about itself and its uses for humanity.

Encountering Naura on their way back from school, their encounter took them to the fairyland of computers, where they field questions that children will naturally ask their toys: Do you eat? What sort of food do you eat? Do you get sick? What medicine does the computer take when it is sick? All these, no doubt, are common questions that we adults also ask about the computer. In this encounter, we learn about computer virus and anti-virus, we are told about the Internet and how it is transforming education and commerce, and we learn about the different digital storage media that have made organizing and retrieving information in the present age so effortless.

The story basically takes us through the history of the computer, its different parts, functions, uses and the types of professional engagements that people could aspire to in the information technology sector. Created in an atmosphere that fosters learning, combining emotional appeal and humorous effects, it is meant to target children between the ages 7 to 16, although it is useful to those beyond.

We also see a society coming to terms with managing change. At first the association of the kids with the computer-woman, Ansa (a play with the barrowed Hausa word for answer), became a source of conflicts and tension between families, as each tries to put the blame on the wards of other parents for the naughtiness of the children. We also see the typical disbelief that people usually express on their first contact with the computer. However, as the story progresses and people become better informed about the computer, these conflicts are resolved and the computer becomes the centre of a new communal unity to address their collective problems.

Directed by a team of youth producers, and acted by youth, it accords well with the vision that the youth indeed are the drivers of the future of the society. All the actors are young people below the age of 30. As a collection of amateur artists, it was a risky experiment, but then it shows the kind of trust that the initiators of the film have in youth as agents of change.

It may score low in acting and voice quality, and in the use of the camera, but surely it has a story that will not only appeal to the audience but also surely improve the knowledge of youth, in a very accessible way, about ICTs in general and computers in particular. Since awareness is a major step in the effective use of ICTs, the film will contribute in promoting greater awareness of ICTs among children. In the same token, its advocacy would surely motivate governments and other stakeholders to ensure that our kids have the chance to place their fingers on the keyboard early in their educational career, so that they do not become unduly disadvantaged in a world that not only valorizes ICT knowledge and skill but also one in which these skills are critical to making individuals live a meaningful and productive life.

This is one film that needs to be shown to every child in the basic education classes. It is hoped that the producers will inject English subtitles to make it accessible to a wider audience, beyond its Hausa locale. In many ways, it gives a new fillip to Kannywood, one that would surely unite the film industry and the government in the use of film to promote greater public understanding of the many issues that confront society today.