Kannywood, KNSG Dispute Takes New Dimension

Tag: LED Board

For almost eight months now, Kano state government and the Kano State Filmmakers' Association have been in serious disagreement over the conduct of film activities in the state. In the past, the dispute was only between the two bodies, but now some Islamic organisations have started taking part in it. In this report, Sunday Trust analyses the situation

When Kano state government lifted the ban order on filmmakers a few months ago, many people thought the eight month-old disagreement between the state government and the filmmakers would be over. However, the dispute has now taken a new twist with both parties pointing accusing finger at one another.

The disagreement, Sunday Trust also observed, has split filmmakers into pro- and anti-government factions. While the pro-government faction was supporting the on going reform in the film industry, the anti-government faction, on the other hand, was against the move.

The pro-government group, Sunday Trust observed, are the filmmakers who have registered with the Kano State Censorship Board, while the anti-government are those who refused to register and also consider the registration exercise as illegal.

Apart from being registered with the board, the pro-government group had threatened to form a parallel association to enable them conduct their activities in accordance with the rules and regulations laid down by the board if the other group fails to comply with the government's policy.

Sunday Trust findings revealed that going by the new dimension taken by the dispute, if immediate and appropriate measures are not taken, the fight may turn to be between the filmmakers on one hand, and religious organisations and the general public on the other.

Three weeks ago, one of the factions, the anti-government group had under the aegis of Kano State Filmmakers Association, summoned its members to a special conference at Mambayya House and expressed their position on individual registration with the Kano State Censorship Board.

Some of the resolutions taken at the meeting included kicking against individual registration introduced by the Board, dragging the state government to court with a view to have clear interpretation of the law governing the establishment of Kano State Censorship Board, calling on filmmakers who have already registered with the Board to immediately withdraw their membership or face automatic dismissal from the association, among other things.

At the same meeting, special prayers were conducted against the Board's executives and the present government of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau over what the filmmakers viewed as violation of human rights. The anti-government faction also described the activities of the Board as a move to cripple filmmaking activities in Kano through the introduction of stringent measures in the film industry.

The dispute, however, has now begun to attract other parties, particularly religious organisations, which have gradually taken over the fight on behalf of the people of Kano.

About two months or so ago, some pamphlets containing words of condemnation against the filmmakers were distributed at some Juma'ah (Friday) mosques and other religious gathering centres in the state, calling on Muslims to boycott Hausa movies.

Although the pamphlets carried no signatures and/or logos, their circulation generated a lot of controversy in the state with some filmmakers pointing accusing fingers at the censorship board for being the sponsor of the publication.

The Chairman of the Kano State Guild of Artists, Aminu Aliyu Sharif Momoh, told Sunday Trust recently in an interview that the motive behind the publication was to create an unpleasant relationship between filmmakers and the general public.

"Maybe the sponsors of the publication wanted the general public to start lynching filmmakers in the state; otherwise I see no reason for the publications at this time when we are not on good terms with the State Censorship Board", Momoh said.

Aminu Momoh, who attributed the ongoing dispute between them and the government to lack of mutual understanding between the two bodies, also said, "If only the two would sit down and analyse their problem, the matter would have been resolved since".

But in a swift reaction to this allegation, the Director General of the Kano State Censorship Board, Ustaz Abubakar Rabo Abdulkarim, said the Board has no hand whatsoever in the production and distribution of the said publication. "The Board has never published or distributed any pamphlet with the aim of tarnishing the image of the filmmakers in Kano. What the board wants from the filmmakers was their co-operation in the ongoing move to sanitise the industry".

Abdulkarim therefore advised the filmmakers to always think twice before making such allegations, assuring that the Board had no intention of crippling the activities of filmmaking in the state, but rather wanted to boost their activities in the eyes of the world.