Husseini Leads Shift to Content Classification at NFVCB

Iyke Bede

The National Films and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), under the leadership of its new Director General, Dr. Shaibu Husseini, has unveiled plans to overhaul its approach to content regulation of censorship to adopt the classification model.

Husseini clarified that the traditional practice of censorship, which entails the suppression or modification of films to align with regulations or societal norms, will be gradually replaced by the classification model. This approach evaluates films according to their content, aiming to provide audiences with information about potential sensitive material.

“I started a cross-section of engagement with the industry to build a world-class classification centre,” he revealed. “My initial impression was that we should focus more on classification than censorship. What has kept most of our stakeholders from the Board is the issue of censorship. All round the world, Boards have moved away from censorship to classification.”

Husseini added, “If we have classification done properly, we will have a rating on all content. And this means that in our new regime of classification, we are going to classify skits, short content, and films, because the board is set up by law to classify any video content, anything that is a motion picture produced in Nigeria or imported into the country.”

To achieve this goal efficiently, the Board is working on digitising its submission process for its content review, aiming to shorten feedback times. To promote engagement, the proposed platform, set to launch at the end of May, will be freely accessible to the public for the first two weeks.

Asides from increased revenue generation to the government with the new model that encourages filmmakers and content creators to submit their works for rating, Husseini noted that their increased participation will drive growth through investments.

“We need this data because we must not drop in our ratings as the second-largest film industry in the world. The reason the industry is not being taken seriously is because of lack of data,” he concluded.