Executive director of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) Dr Shaibu Husseini has ramped up his engagements with key stakeholders in the Nigerian creative sector across the country.
QEDNG reports that Dr Husseini, at a meeting with online publishers in Lagos on Tuesday, May 14, thanked President Bola Tinubu for his appointment and minister of art, culture and creative economy Hannatu Musawa for her leadership.
He assured the media of President Tinubu and Musawa’s commitment to Nigeria’s creative economy
A journalist and artiste himself, Husseini highlighted some of the things he met at the NFVCB and the direction he wants the agency to take.
Husseini added that his appointment was a call to do things he had written about as a journalist and art practitioner.
“I see my appointment was like ‘all these things you have been writing all these years, come and do them’. I remember those years my annual reviews must contain reports about the National Film and Video Censors Board and the Nigerian Film Corporation,” he pointed out.
He continued, “I met a staff of over 450 operating from six zonal offices and centres in nearly every state and Abuja ready to work, but only needing leadership.
The board is facing eviction from its rented apartment.”
His immediate priority includes getting a permanent site for the agency just as he looks forward to celebrating 30 years of the board’s creation in June.
He added that the board is drawing the curtains on the era of censorship and moving towards classification of content in line with current global standards.
“I have looked around the world and every country has moved towards classification,” he told his audience.
He also informed his colleagues that the NFVCB has reached an understanding with streaming platforms to ensure that all content uploaded on their platforms has the board’s classification.
He assured creators of 48 hours for content to be classified, while skits and content of about five minutes will be classified within six hours.
