Movies on ritual killings: Nollywood fires back at Fed Govt

The Nigerian film industry, also known as Nollywood, has expressed dissatisfaction with the Federal Government's recent directive urging them to remove money ritual content from their films.

While on a media visit to the Daily Trust office in Abuja, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, blamed Nollywood for including money rituals in some of its films, claiming that this has negatively influenced the vulnerable youth.

However, in a separate interview with NollyNow, some of the practitioners blamed the federal government for the rise in ritual killings across the country.

Ritual killings, they claim, are not the result of filmmakers' efforts.

Comrade Alex Eyengho, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Nollywood Core Producers (ANCOP), believes that telling filmmakers not to make films about ritual killings is akin to telling journalists not to write about them in the print and electronic media.

"I believe it is within the Federal Government's limited knowledge to issue such directives to "filmmakers to stop making films about ritual killings." It is absurd that the government would consider such a thing in the first place. Assuming, but not admitting, that the government was correct in issuing this military-style directive, it is a clear admission of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCBfailure )'s to perform its statutory functions as a Federal Government agency in terms of appropriate classifications and censorships of motion picture contents in Nigeria, currently led by Alhaji Adedayo Thomas.

"As far as I know, filmmakers don't make movies to promote rituals." Rather, filmmakers make films to condemn Nigeria's ongoing ritual killings. Ritual killings are not the result of filmmakers' imaginations. We only bring the tragic story to the forefront in such a way that it serves as a deterrent to those who wish to commit the heinous crime. The Federal Government and the National Assembly should refrain from displaying their blatant ignorance in public.

"Nollywood and social media are not the same things." With their half-knowledge or complete lack of knowledge of what filmmakers actually do, these people up there should not get things twisted. Rather than issuing such a ludicrous directive, the federal government should

"However, in terms of the core messages and ultimate resolutions, I can only urge my most Distinguished Creative Colleagues in Nollywood to apply wisdom, professionalism, and national interest in the kind of contents they push out there," Eyengho stated.

Tony OneWeek, the gyration master and former majority leader of the Anambra House of Assembly, attacked the government on his own, saying, "Instead of funding the business, the federal government now wants to gag the writers."

Paul Obazele, a popular actor and producer, also reacted, calling the directive "shameful," adding, "How about the political class's activities and extravagant lifestyle?" Is it possible that Nollywood influenced it as well?

According to Lancelot Imasuen, a well-known film director, the federal government does not appear to be prioritizing correctly. He was perplexed as to why the government would make such an unwelcome statement that a specific sector is to blame for the country's ritualistic practices.

"Can you tell me what indices the government used to come to that conclusion?" Why did we end up where we are now, and how did we get here? When did Nollywood become synonymous with bad governance, bad roads, and the economic downturn? The Nigerian film industry has a long history of depicting what is clearly wrong with the country and proposing solutions. There are probably movies that encourage people to engage in ritualistic practices in order to make money. It's heartbreaking to hear something like this from the federal government.