Censors Board, Half Of A Yellow Sun and pornography in Nollywood

DG NFVCB, Patricia Bala

BY AZUH AMATUS: A couple of days ago, a very good friend of mine asked me if this country still has a Censors Board. And when I tried to enquire why the question, he quickly reminded me that he thinks otherwise, because pornography seems to be the new fad in Nollywood currently.

On a serious note, if not for the recent vociferation linking the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) with the delayed cinemas screening of the big budget movie, Half Of A Yellow Sun (HOAYS), many people, including yours sincerely, have long forgotten there is a body called NFVCB in this country.

In fact, since Mr. Emeka Mba left as the boss of the apex film regulatory body in Nigeria, laudable and creative activities died alongside his exit.

 As a journalist with strong bias for Nollywood and entertainment in general, I cannot remember the last time I got a press statement from the new board under the poor and lack luster leadership of Ms Patricia Bala, detailing current or future activities they are embarking upon for the good of the entire industry.

It’s been graveyard silence since her wobbly arrival.

At least, under Mba, journalists were being updated and inundated with series of laudable activities being carried out by the board on a regular basis.

These well applauded initiatives usually backed with seminars, conferences and workshops were majorly in the areas of film distribution, piracy and war against pornography, which now seems to be the order of the day under the watchful eyes of Bala and her unserious and poorly assembled team.

I make bold to say that since Bala’s arrival, pornography has become the norm in Nollywood as there seems to be no more proper censorship or regulation of films.

At present, anything goes in Nollywood and many producers no longer give a damn about censorship of their pornographic movies and materials.

In every 10 movies released since Bala assumed office, half are filled with obscene and pornographic contents to the detriment of viewers, who cry out to me on a weekly basis.

This gives credence to the fact that those saddled with the responsibility of regulating these pornographic contents are not doing their jobs effectively.

However, the big question is, are these movies not censored by Bala and her team, if they did, how come they are still being released with such obscene contents?

This to me is a huge indictment on Bala and her team, whom I think find the job of censorship too big and complex to handle.

If you doubt me, visit Upper Iweka, Idumota, Alaba and other major film distribution outlets and see the level of pornography on display, because some people at NFVCB are not doing their jobs properly and professionally.

During Mba’s time at the board, it was not this bad, at least pornography was curtailed and reduced to the barest minimum with violators being dealt with accordingly.

These days, whenever I watch Nollywood movies, my candid conclusion is that we no longer have a regulatory body in this country. Quite sad and appalling.

Bala and her team should leave HOAYS alone and battle the demon of pornography that is threatening to eclipse Nollywood.

If she had channeled all the energy wasted on fighting the release of HOAYS at cinemas on the many pornographic films being released in Nollywood on a weekly basis, the industry would have been a better and decent place for all of us.

Again, another problem I think Bala has is that she constantly keeps forgetting that leadership is all about action and responsibility and not the plum position or pecks that comes with the big office you are occupying.

Regrettably, the situation is so bad now in Nollywood movies that couples and most adults can no longer sit down comfortably and watch our films without being insulted with obscene contents, courtesy of the inefficiency of our regulatory body.

Bala should stop chasing shadows and face reality. Biyi Bandele’s HOAYS, is not the problem of Nollywood and can never be.

Part of the problems facing Nollywood is the fact that Bala and her team of inefficient regulators have failed woefully in their jobs as the watch dogs of the industry.

I want Bala to learn from the immortal words of Jim Rohn that:

“Leadership is the challenge to be something more than average.”

I still cannot recollect the last time I got a press statement from Bala’s megaphone, Caesar Kargbo, that one of the many pornographic films that littered the shelves of Nollywood has been banned or seized with the appropriate sanctions meted out to the producer(s).

I want to categorically say it here that Bala is simply playing politics with Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda’s HOAYS. She has been very inactive since assuming office, and now using the hype already built around the movie, to rev up her inefficiency and dwindling activities at the board.

So that those who put her there will think she is working, when all she does is to sleep all day.

My verdict is that Bala should leave HOAYS, alone and see how she can save Nollywood from the firm grip of pornographic film producers who see her and her members at NFVCB as sleeping and toothless bull dogs that can’t even bark let alone bite.

Personally, I think and make bold to say it that Bala should bow out now, since she has shown that she’s not capable of regulating our film industry creditably well like her predecessors, especially the cerebral Mba, who now heads the NBC as its DG.

We cannot afford to be wasting tax payers’ money on those who lack what it takes to carry out national assignments on behalf of the government and its citizenry.