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Sustaining Responsible Communication Film By Fr. Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo
Mrs. Helen Ukpabio comes across to me as a bold and very adventurous person. I suspect that she is a very gifted individual who can be admired for her productivity in her chosen profession. Between running a Church and producing home video films, she has done quite well for herself. In her movies, Helen Ukpabio has taken on a wide range of subjects with varying degrees of success, without doubt trying to spread her brand of the Christian gospel, radical, fundamentalist and unilateral. For anyone in the field of creative arts, a fertile imagination and an adventurous spirit can be great assets indeed. It is to such assets that Oscar Wilde must have paid tribute when he, once upon a time, uttered the irony that life often imitates art. But when such assets overrun all respect for the rights and beliefs of other people there is bound to be trouble and a price to pay. Ukpabio's imagination seems to have attained the iniquitous notch in her recent film entitled: Rapture. This is most probably the main reason for which the film has been banned by the Nigerian Video and Film Censor's Board (NVFCB). More precisely, according to media reports, Rapture has been adjudged offensive to a particular religion and the practices and belief of its adherents.
The NVFCB has, until recently, been the butt of jokes and has been justifiably criticised for shirking its responsibilities with regard to regulating the content and quality of Nigerian home video movies to which it gives approval. Many people were of the opinion that the board simply negotiates or sells approval ratings to friends and highest bidders. More recently the board seems to have woken up from a long worrisome slumber and just as well. While it is a known landmark achievement that Nigerian moviemakers have delivered Nigerian audiences from the stranglehold of foreign movies and whereas it is true that many of the movies sell substantially even beyond the shores of Nigeria, it is not always true that the films enhance the image and character of Nigeria and her citizens because of their content and quality. In fact, many Nigerian movies often inadvertently portray Nigerians as a violent, oversexed, superstitious and very fraudulent people who deserve to be feared, thanks to the evidence given by their own storytellers. This is probably one of the reasons why in 2002 some professional organizations in the movie industry like the Directors Guild of Nigeria, DGN, and the Film Producers Association of Nigeria, FPAN, attempted to regulate the industry claiming as reason the desire to enhance professionalism and bring some sense into the chaos. There are high hopes that the banning of Rapture probably could indeed confirm a revival of professionalism and responsibility also in the all-important NFVCB. Those hopes might not be misplaced because in spite of alleged protests from the owners of the Rapture, the board seems to be making effort to enforce the ban and therefore deserves to be congratulated for that. A slight absurdity in the whole exercise was that Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, still took the liberty to show clips of the same film to the public as part of its announcement even after the movie had been banned. Talk about enticement to eat a forbidden fruit! Howsoever it may be, what the ban means is that even if marketers of the film circulate it, as they probably would do to recoup their investments, those who would market and watch Rapture would at least realize that they by that act commit an illegality. That is no doubt a good starting point. There are however more serious issues that the ban of Rapture raises, namely: What really is the problem with us Nigerians? So soon after a part of our country was torn into shreds and many lives and property destroyed because of riots resulting from a publication found offensive to a religious group, one is left to wonder what was going on in Helen Ukpabio's mind while making her movie. What did she actually want to achieve? How insensitive can one be as to forget so quickly the havoc, pain and misery, which unbridled fundamentalism has already caused hundreds of people who lost relatives and property in the unfortunate mayhem of November 2002 and are yet to recover from their losses? Whoever the collaborators in the production of Rapture may be, actors, actresses, producer, script-writer, do they not feel any sense of social responsibility as professionals participating in a project which could easily disrupt the fragile peace and harmony of our society? Or is professionalism just about money alone? If this is what freedom of expression is about, what happens to the freedom of others to live in peace and hold whatever belief they choose? The audiovisual medium is a very powerful tool of communication and such a tool must be used with a high sense of responsibility. It is a medium on which irresponsible and wayward use seems to pay better and faster than ethical conduct. And Nigerians sure love the fatter and the faster paying way. With reference to public broadcasting, one can, yes, give some credit to the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, established about eleven years ago for effort made to regulate the broadcast industry in Nigeria. But it must be said that even the Commission has often lacked the ability to enforce its regulations. Anyone who has doubts should simply sample some of the so-called crusades and sermons broadcast on our radio and television airwaves. There are programs that blatantly contravene the regulations of the National Broadcasting Code on religious programs about the prohibition of all unverifiable claims. Perhaps it is time for us in Nigeria to show the red card to abusive, destructive, and irresponsible exercise of freedom in the name of artistic creativity in our country where mutual tolerance currently runs on a short fuse. If Rapture had for some reason been approved and passed into the market, what could have stopped the adherents of the offended religion reacting in the same way as the Kaduna gladiators did? Where would that have left the Nigerians who are likely to lose limbs, lives and property in the ensuing chaos? I believe that our search for national unity peace and harmony requires civility and decency in all sectors of society. For now, maybe we blame too much the military, politicians, armed robbers and the police. We ignore the fact that charlatans and self-seeking individuals of all calling can cause as much damage to our nation if they are allowed to run wild without regard for the rights of others. The searchlight must turn on all Nigerian citizens to encourage the practice of respect for the rights and sensibilities of others even when we do not share the same views, beliefs and interest. This must be done if we are to be saved the horror of violence provoked by careless professionals who have taken leave of all ethical codes of propriety and decency. Nigerian audiences deserve to be protected even from abusive and self-seeking preachers who would use the public media to demean and denigrate other people's beliefs and practices. There surely is a clear boundary between the preaching of the gospel, a legitimate and desirable undertaking and destructive propaganda. When such boundaries are well marked out and all concerned persuaded to respect them, then communication in Nigeria might begin to build communion in our community rather than destroy it. That, I believe, is the ultimate objective of responsible communication. |
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