Presidential Debates: Shekarau on the Kano State Censorship Board and the Hausa-Language Film Industry

During yesterdays’ presidential debates Ibrahim Shekarau was asked about and commented on the Kano State Censorship Board and the effects of its policies on the Kano based film industry.

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Carmen transcribed the relevant bit (I did as well but she catches some phrases I didn’t).

[Time Code: 44:45]

Moderator: Now, you say that but in practical terms the impact of the hisbah in Kano has included killing a film industry that was providing employment, what is known in Nigeria as Kannywood. So there has been an exodus of filmmakers out of Kano, who get harassed when they are on shoots, who have been asked to submit their scripts for inspection, and a total disregard of the people’s rights to express themselves through art in that particular way.

Shekarau: No, I think that is totally wrong. The hisbah has nothing to do with the censorship. We have a full fledged censorship board, created by law through the legislation. And the censorship board has created rules and regulations that govern the conduct of any film industry. We have a right to decide what is right for the community. The government has the moral responsibility to protect the right, the interest, the instant transformation (?) of the society. (Clapping). So all we did, all we did, we said, if you want to register and run a film industry, you should comply with A,B, C, D, F, and we told anybody who feels any of these rules and regulations contradicts the provision of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should challenge us in court, and nobody has done that anyhow.

Moderator: You seem to be very strong in terms of protecting the rights of the majority. What about the rights of the minority inside the state that you govern.

Shekarau: We are protecting. In fact it may interest you to know that Kano state today is the most peaceful state in Nigeria. If you ask any of the so-called minority or non-indigene, they are quite happy, they are quite peaceful. In fact, today, you will be surprised to find that those you call non-indigenes or even the non-Muslim prefer to go for settlement of disagreement within the community either to the hisbah court or to the censorship board. We don’t have any problem at all. The rules are working. The society has accepted it. The film industry is thriving very well. All we say is abide by the rules and regulations. And there is no community that will live without guiding principles, without rules and regulations and will think that there will be discipline and order in that community.

I am not knowledgeable enough to comment on Shekarau’s claims here in any detail. Let’s just say that the news sources I follow do not quite bear out the picture of peaceful co-existence of the Kano State Censorship Board and film makers the governor paints in the debate. There have been court cases and there is talk of prominent film makers relocating to Kaduna. I leave it to Carmen to provide you with further detail on the disputes and legal battles. She is more familiar with the Hausa-language film industry and has been blogging about ongoing developments here. I am confident she will also link to the responses to Shekarau's comments by stakeholders in Kano's creative industries if and when they are published.

Another quick remark ... Shoot 2009

Alright, while I’m having a snack, another remark before I go back to my chapter … I had been thinking of writing about this before. In fact, I have half a short story in my head that should have preceded these links. Half a short story about friends, the trouble with friends actually, the trouble of them being passionate about something, the trouble with the fact that just because they are your friends and you love them you cannot but take their passions serious, the trouble with the fact that eventually their passion will be contagious, that the trouble is that its constantly broadening your horizon and making it even harder to focus on that one passion that you choose to write your PhD about … and, let me admit to two recent additions to the Sammelsurium (hodge-podge, smorgasbord, mishmash) of my pet interests: the discourses surrounding current censorship policies in Kano (well, I guess I’ve been reading Carmen’s blog a bit too much and, yes, it is largely due to me wondering how the climate they are creating might affect the artists I've been talking to last year) and African animation (well, I guess I got to blame Paula and lately Sylvie for that) and here now the two worlds kind of meet: Shoot 2009. (I said kind of, didn't I?) So let me quickly quote Al-Amin Ciroma's article for you:

Jos Set for Shoot 2009

Written by Al-Amin Ciroma, Abuja

[Wednesday 08 July 2009, originally published by Leadership Nigeria]

Jos, the Plateau State capital is set again to host film and television professionals from around the country for a five day intensive training and capacity building programme, SHOOT, organised by the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), Jos.

From LEADERSHIP checks, Venue for the training programme is the National Film Institute Jos.　

A statement by the corporation indicates that all the international resource persons for all scheduled courses have been contacted, and are ready for the five-day training programme, which has become an annual event for the industry.

Courses for this year’s event include, Documentary Film, Sound Design/Dubbing, Music Design for Film, Still Photography, Animation, Directing for the Screen and Digital Editing/Cinematography.According to the organisers, expression of interest to participate closes on July20, 2009.　

Already, records show that registration for participation has picked up especially against the background of the tremendous performance by the resource persons for SHOOT 2008, who incidentally are from the team of the planned event.　

They include, Barbel Mauch from Germany, Dominique Giral (France), Alfred Okoro(Nigeria), and Stephen Bayly, Sylvie Bringas, Alric Wilson and Penny Tweedie all from the United Kingdom.

It will be recalled that the SHOOT workshop, a training and capacity building programme started in 2005, as a direct response to the enormous challenges of training and retraining of practitioners and the need to sustain quality production values for Nigerian films.　

Between 2005 and 2008, 817 professionals have participated in SHOOT.

The programme provides a platform for Nigerian motion picture professionals to gain world class expertise, exchange ideas and discuss emerging creative tools and applications for quality productions.

Reports show that participants for this year’s event are in for a better deal, with the recent, commissioning of additional infrastructure at the National Film Institute, Jos venue for the training programme, by the Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili. She described them as projects of motivation, empowerment and commitment.　

The commissioned projects are the Sound Stage Complex (edifice capable of handling all productions from script to the screen), the new administrative block, and the 350-seat auditorium.

Last year, the photo laboratory and the bookshop/canteen/and csybercafé for the institute were commissioned.

The combination of these five projects are expected to provide additional infrastructure and conducive atmosphere for the training workshop which is fast becoming a capacity building menu, not only for Nigerian motion picture practitioners, but also those within the West African sub-region.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State, Information and Communications, Alhaji Ikra Bilbis is expected to perform the closing ceremony while Governor David Jang of Plateau State is expected to be the special guest of honour.

And, as we’re already at it check out the trailer to the Nigerian full-length animation movie Lifespan on YouTube (find it here) and Emmanuel Anyifite’s article in Next (here).

Alright, off I am … my chapter’s looking lonely and I think I better give it a bit of attention now … … …