The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) Tuesday announced that it would henceforth restrict the depiction of smoking, ritual killings and money rituals in movies, music videos and skits.
NFVCB’s Executive Director, Shaibu Husseini, disclosed this in Enugu at a National Stakeholder Engagement on the “#Smoke-Free Nollywood” campaign, which was organised in collaboration with Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA).
Mr Husseini said the federal government would prohibit the depiction and glamorisation of smoking, violence, criminal acts, immoral acts, ritual killings and money rituals in Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry.
He said the country faced a film “industry emergency requiring bold and ambitious actions” from parents, guardians, and stakeholders.
“Therefore, after a series of engagements, the NFVCB, in collaboration with CAPPA, decided to make Subsidiary Regulations to address smoking in movies since this aspect was not expressly spelt out in the extant Law.
“Today (Tuesday), I am delighted to announce to you that the Honourable Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, under Section 65 of the NFVCB Act 2004, has approved the “Prohibition of Money Ritual, Ritual Killing, Tobacco, Tobacco Product, Nicotine Product Promotion, Glamorization, Display in Movies, Musical Videos and Skits” Regulations 2024. We have forwarded the approved copy to the Federal Ministry of Justice for Gazette,” the official said.
Mr Husseini explained that the goal was eradicating smoking in movies and skits.
He added, “We will work with the industry to see how we achieve zero, completely smoke-free Nollywood.”
He identified the tobacco industry’s tricks to promote smoking but expressed confidence that the government was prepared to counter them.
Mr Hussein said: “Of recent, we realised that tobacco industries hide under the banner of entertainment to flaunt smoking. The NFVCB is well prepared to take leadership in this regard and has planned and begun implementing innovative ways to achieve its mandate, especially at this crucial time when the National Assembly is insisting that there is “Need to Curb the Rising Spate of Cultism, Trafficking, Consumption of Illicit Drugs and other Substances among Youths in Nigeria”.
“The Board had been urged to undertake detailed enlightenment programs in secondary schools, tertiary institutions, local communities, faith groups and other institutions, as well as impose restrictions on home movies promoting social vices.”
Participants at the event included veteran and top filmmakers, producers, scriptwriters, marketers, and distributors from across the country, such as Zeb Ejiro, Fred Amata, Segun Arinze, Bolaji Amusan, and The Aneke Twins, as well as leaders of various guilds and associations in the Nigerian film industry.
Smoke-free Nollywood
The participants affirmed their commitment to a pro-health Nollywood by signing a pledge to ensure a smoke-free Nollywood.
CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, stressed the need for stakeholders to work towards a Smoke-Free Nollywood in the interest of a healthy future for Nigerian children.
Mr Oluwafemi said, “Shockingly, studies have shown that smoking remains prevalent in Nigerian movies in contravention of the NTC Act and the Tobacco Control Regulations 2019, which explicitly prohibits tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorships in movies and entertainment. There is also a clear provision for warnings that should accompany any tobacco depiction necessary for “Historical Accuracy and Artistic Expression.”
“With the power to tell the Nigerian story, shape our future, and build a genuinely productive society, Nollywood ensures that the growing concerns of non-communicable diseases in Nigeria are addressed. Movies and music videos must reverse the role they play in painting smoking and tobacco use as an excellent way of life.
“With more than five million young Nigerians aged 15 years addicted to smoking cigarettes, our job, not just as movie practitioners and industry experts but also as parents, is to rise to the occasion and act right to protect our children and prepare for a smoke-free future. We are at a point where we must stop the glamorisation of smoking and, instead, promote healthy lifestyles.”
In-Country Coordinator of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), Michael Olaniyan, who delivered a presentation titled “A Code of Practice for Smoking in the Entertainment and Plenary for Next Steps”, urged stakeholders to be careful not to breach the NTC Act while shooting movies.
He added that the Act demands the prohibition of avoidable/unnecessary smoking scenes, avoidable/unnecessary tobacco use of any kind, glamorisation of tobacco use, tobacco brand marking, tobacco product placements and sponsorship by tobacco companies, among others.
Consensus
The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC)’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ali Nuhu, backed the move to rescue “vibrant and energetic youths from the claws of smoking-related and early health challenges.”
Mr Nuhu, who was represented by the NFC’s Director, Public Affairs, Brian Etuk, lamented that most Nigerian youths have become victims of circumstances having taken to smoking habits, with consequential health challenges and damage to body organs.
“We must, therefore, use the power of film/movie to help address the gradual but avoidable drifts that are ultimately life-threatening.”
Concurring, Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ugochi Madueke, noted the “incredible influence” Nollywood holds over public perceptions and behaviours and urged film industry professionals to promote public health by making movies smoke-free.
The Alliance Coordinator for the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, Olawale Makanjuola, congratulated the NFVCB, adding, “We all know the role film, and most importantly, Nollywood, plays in our culture. For us, there is no better partner than the NFVCB and the creative industry in ensuring our screens remain smoke-free, thereby strengthening our public health infrastructures.”
Warner Music Africa (WMA) is planning to establish a new creative hub in Lagos, Nigeria.
The move will mark the opening of Warner’s first fully-owned office in the market. WMA says that its expansion into Lagos will enable it “to provide more of its A&R, Operations and Marketing expertise to Nigeria’s creative ecosystem”.
WMA’s plans to expand in Nigeria arrive at a time of significant recorded music industry growth in the wider Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region.
According to IFPI, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was the fastest-growing music region in 2023. It was also the fastest-growing music region globally in 2022.
Recorded music revenues in Sub-Saharan Africa grew by 24.7% in 2023, fuelled, according to IFPI, by a 24.5% rise in paid streaming revenues.
Ahead of the opening of its new office in Lagos, Warner Music Africa’s management team, including Alfonso Perez-Soto, President of Emerging Markets, Warner Music; Laverne Thomas, Operations Lead, WMA; Temi Adeniji, Managing Director, WMA, and Yoel Kenan, CEO, Africori, met with government officials in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja last week.
According to Warner Music Group, this “pivotal journey” saw the executives engage in meetings with key government officials to “establish crucial relationships and to bolster WMA’s mission of empowering Nigeria’s vibrant creative sector”.
During the Warner executive team’s visit last week, they met two senior ministers and the Special Advisor to the President of Nigeria.
Amongst them were: Minister Ayodele Olawande, Nigeria’s Minister of State For Youth Development, who provides insights into youth empowerment initiatives and holds a crucial role in the creative sector for national development. They also met with Minister Hannatu Musawa, the country’s Minister for Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy, and a prominent Nigerian lawyer and politician.
The WMG team also met with Adeagbo (Oluwadunsin) Ayomide, the Special Advisor to the President on Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy.
WMG says that its meetings in Nigeria underscore its “longstanding commitment” to the market.
In 2019, Warner Music Group invested in independent Nigeria-based music company Chocolate City in a deal that WMG said at the time will “dramatically grow the reach of African artists around the world, and will create new opportunities for global superstars in the region”.
In 2022, Warner Music Group acquired a majority stake in Africori, a prominent African music distribution, music rights management and artist development company which has offices in Johannesburg, London and Lagos.
WMG first invested in Africori in early 2020. The original deal gave WMG access to what it called “Africa’s largest catalog and A&R network”, as well as enabling WMG to establish a presence in many African markets for the first time. WMG’s publishing division, Warner Chappell Music, also inked a global deal with Africori in 2020.
In addition, the Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund (WMG/BFF SJF) has contributed more than USD $400,000 to Nigeria’s creative sector via its Repertoire and Core Funds.
For example, it contributed $200,000 in 2022 to the West African Vocational Education and $150,000 in 2023 to The Sarz Academy which nurtures emerging talent in music production.
Meanwhile, WMG noted on Wednesday (May 22) that Temi Adeniji and Alfonso Perez-Soto’s leadership “has been instrumental in driving the success of Warner Music’s global artists in Africa and their local repertoire across the globe”.
According to WMG, they have played “a pivotal role” in signing and promoting superstar Nigerian artist CKay, whose viral single Love Nwantiti has achieved significant success, recently being certified 8x platinum in the US.
Additionally, WMA recently signed 26-year-old Nigerian singer-songwriter Joeboy, who has amassed 2 billion streams over the past five years.
As part of the deal, Joeboy has created his own record label, Young Legend which will partner with Warner Music Africa for global distribution of its artists’ music.
Earlier this week, Temi Adeniji, Managing Director at Warner Music Africa and Warner’s SVP of Sub-Saharan Africa, joined the MBW podcast to discuss the rise of music from Africa and more.
By Murray Stassen, MUSIC BUSINESS WORLDWIDE
Davido made this revelation in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
The pledge on Tuesday, February 20 is an outcome of the Adeleke Foundation founded by Davido in 2022 with the help of other charitable organisations, in a bid to help vulnerable children.
In July 2023, he announced the foundation donated over 200 million to orphanages in the country and 13,818 children benefited from it. He also promised to donate some more money in 2024.
In the press release posted at the time he said: "I founded the DAF in 2022 with a strong desire and passion to continually assist and create a proper framework for the ongoing charitable works to benefit the good people of Nigeria...", arts and entertainment online portal xtribeafrica reported.
The charitable tradition began back in 2021 after the singer's birthday, when he made over ₦200 million in donations after sharing his bank account details on his Twitter (now X) page.
South African singer Tyla's victory at the Grammys, beating four Nigerian nominees, has fuelled the rivalry as the two nations prepare to face off at the Afcon semi-finals on Wednesday.
"South Africa won today but Nigeria will win on Wednesday where it matters most" one user wrote on X.
Tyla won for her song Water in the Best African Music Performance, over Davido, Arya Starr and Burna Boy.
Nigerians have called on their national team, the Super Eagles, to avenge them.
"No Nigerian won a Grammy, but a South African won. This is Nigerians being generous so that when we win them in AFCON, they will have something to banter with," another user wrote on X.
Nigerian Afrobeats giant Burna Boy was nominated in a total of four categories but did not walk away with a golden gramophone, yet his spellbinding performance at the award ceremony left the audience in awe.
Despite the fierce rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa, Davido extended his congratulations to Tyla on X and told her to "keep soaring".
South Africa was also represented by comedian Trevor Noah who was at the helm of the prestigious award ceremony as he was hosting for a fourth time.
Tributes are pouring in for popular Nigerian rapper Oladips, following his death at the age of 28.
"We are still in shock as we speak," his management said in an Instagram post.
The cause of death is unclear but the post read he "kept his battles within himself" for two years.
Oladips was a talented musician who rapped about political issues like the ENDSars protests against police brutality.
He also touched on the subject of mental health and depression in his songs.
"His story telling rap was top notch" one fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Big Brother Naija contestant Hermes Iyele expressed his shock over the young rapper's death saying: "May God grant the family the grace to carry this grief."
The rapper was due to release his new album titled SUPERHERO ÀDÚGBÒ (The Memoir) on Thursday. His last single was called Die Young.
Oladips rose to fame when he won a rap competition called the King is Here hosted by Nigerian music giant DBanj in 2015.
Oladips's death comes a few months after another popular musician, Mohbad, died in September, leading to countrywide protests.
By Danai Nesta Kupemba, BBC
A remarkable concert in Abuja saw the convergence of young music lovers and climate activists determined to use the universal language of music to amplify their message about the dangers of global warming.
Eclipse Nkasi, a music producer based on the outskirts of Lagos is generating afrobeat music using artificial intelligence. One of his first creations is an artificial musician named Mya Blue.
In Nigeria, the power of dance is being used to battle mental illness and the stigma attached to it. Men and women in the capital, Abuja, are coming together to attend free weekly salsa lessons for those battling trauma and depression … or even just to keep fit. Al Jazeera’s Michael Appel reports.
A Nigerian Afrobeat star facing trial on charges of assaulting a police officer will embark on a delayed concert tour after being released on bail, his manager said Wednesday.
Seun Kuti, who was in court on Wednesday, has concerts scheduled in more than a dozen countries but his departure had been on hold because of the trial, his manager Ayo Moses told The Associated Press.
The son of Nigerian musical icon and political agitator Fela Kuti, who himself was serially detained by Nigerian military regimes, Seun Kuti had been held for more than a week after he was caught allegedly assaulting a police officer in Nigeria's economic hub of Lagos.
At Wednesday's court hearing, the presiding judge ruled that it was the public prosecutor – not the police – that had the power to prosecute the musician. The judge then adjourned the case until a further hearing on July 3.
"He is on bail and as a responsible citizen, he will continue to enjoy his rights because he is presumed innocent," Femi Falana, his lawyer, said after the hearing.
Viral videos appeared to show an agitated Kuti shouting and pushing the officer along a major road in Lagos last week. It is still not clear what caused the confrontation, though Kuti alleged the officer in question "tried to kill me and my family."
While he was in detention, the police searched Kuti's house, causing an uproar among some Nigerians and his lawyers. But Benjamin Hundeyin, a spokesperson for the Lagos police, defended the search as necessary and approved by the court.
"In the course of our investigation, we stumbled on certain suspicious things that needed to be proven/disproved beyond reasonable doubt," Hundeyin said without providing further details.
Nigerian Afrobeats star Seun Kuti was arrested Monday (May 15) after being accused of assaulting a police officer in the commercial hub of Lagos.
Kuti was detained at the Lagos State police headquarters after turning himself in, according to police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin, who tweeted photos of the celebrity in handcuffs.
The son of Nigerian musical icon and political agitator Fela Kuti, who himself was serially detained by Nigerian military regimes, Seun Kuti was “captured on video assaulting a police officer in uniform,” the police said.
Videos posted online appeared to show an agitated Kuti pushing a police officer as the officer stood beside a police vehicle along a major road in Lagos on Saturday.
It was unclear what led to the confrontation, though Kuti tweeted that the officer in question “tried to kill me and my family.” He suggested the officer tried to ram their car.
Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba ordered an investigation into the incident. The inspector general “assures Nigerians that acts of contempt/disdain for symbols of authority will not be tolerated while offenders of such hideous crimes will be surely brought to book,” the police said.
“I welcome the investigation and will give my full cooperation!” Kuti responded on Twitter.
Related story: 'The system is rigged': Seun Kuti on reviving Fela's political party
Nigerian music has gained wide acceptance both across the continent and around the world. Genres like afrobeat and highlife have remained popular. However, African classical music isn't as well-known. But one Nigerian musician is looking to change that. Struggling Kenya 7s in desperate battle to avoid relegation.
Top Nigerian artists have joined music fans from across the world to congratulate singer Tems on winning a Grammy award.
She won the Best Melodic Rap Performance category for her contribution to the hit song "Wait for U" with Future and Drake.
They beat a strong field which included Kendrick Lamar and DJ Khaled.
Artists including Tiwa Savage, Waje and Omowunmi have posted messages congratulating Tems.
"It's Tems' time. Nobody can stop her shine. Superstar," posted Afrobeat singer Olamide.
Many fans have also taken to Twitter to congratulate her.
The 27-year-old has been praised by fellow artists for her vocal talent.
She reportedly has collaborations lined up with several mega starts including Beyoncé and Rihanna.
Meanwhile, South Africans Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini and Nomcebo Zikode also won a Grammy Award - for Best Global Music Performance for their collaboration Bayethe.
In a history-making event, Nigerian superstar Davido joined the duo of Aisha and Trinidad Cardona to perform ‘Hayya Hayya’ (Better Together) at the finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup 2022 Official on Sunday.
The track is the first single of the multi-song FIFA 2022 World Cup 2022 official soundtrack.
It is Davido’s first public performance since his son, Ifeanyi, died in an unfortunate drowning incident in September.
The trio performed the FIFA theme song before the estimated 88,000 fans in attendance at Lusail Iconic Stadium, Qatar.
The tournament’s closing ceremony, which FIFA dubbed ‘A Night to Remember’, also featured a performance by Puerto Rican reggaeton singer Ozuna and French rapper Gims’ collaboration Arhbo’.
Moroccan-Canadian singer Nora Fatehi, Emirati pop star Balqees, Iraqi musician Rahma Riad and Moroccan vocalist Manal concluded performances with ‘Light the Sky’.
The trio emerged from underneath the stage, simulating a blossoming flower.
History made
Davido made history as the first Nigerian artiste to perform on a FIFA World Cup stage.
It is the first time that the tournament’s soundtrack will feature a multi-song collection, with international singers showcasing diverse musical genres that span the world setting.
During the tournament, other Nigerian singers, Kizz Daniel and Patoranking performed before football lovers at the FIFA fan arena in a series of concerts by the football governing body.
Amid speculations, Davido, who arrived in Qatar before his appearance at the FIFA 2022 World Cup’s closing ceremony, was supposed to perform at the beginning of the football tournament but couldn’t.
The ‘Stand Strong’ singer’s appearance at the World Cup was first announced on Thursday by Chinese businessman Stephen Hung on Instagram.
Before then, the singer’s fans doubted whether he would form as he had maintained a social media silence after his son died.
Fans react
Unknown to many, Nollywood actress and filmmaker Omoni Oboli is one of Davido’s biggest fans.
The actress spared no words in celebrating the arrival of the singer and his wife, Chioma, at Qatar, the venue of the World Cup.
“My joy is full. My love for these 2 is something even I can’t comprehend. We are all praying and rooting for you,” she captioned a photo of their arrival on Twitter.
Background
Although he is the first Nigerian to grace the World Cup stage, other Africans have been privileged to perform at the acclaimed arena.
In 1998, Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour and Axelle Red performed their song ‘La Cour des Grands’ (Do You Mind If I Play) at the tournament’s opening ceremony hosted by France.
The song was from the album, ‘Music of the World Cup: Allez! Ola! Ole’, released in 1998 by Sony Music Entertainment.
It was also chosen as the official anthem of the FIFA World Cup that year.
Also, Grammy-winning singer Angelique Kidjo performed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa.
She was one of the headline artists for the Kick-Off Celebration Concert in Johannesburg.
By Ovwe Medeme, Premium Times
Related story: 3-year-old son of Davido drowns in home pool in Nigeria
