Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has reiterated the government's
decision that any programme meant for Nigerians must be produced in
Nigeria,
saying he was not appointed Minister to develop the economy of other countries
at the expense of the Nigerian economy. He said this in a statement released
today.
In a
statement he released today, Lai Mohammed said the Creative Industry's
potential of creating 1 million jobs in three years cannot be realized if jobs
meant for Nigerians are being exported to other countries under the guise of
producing, in other countries, programmes to be consumed in Nigeria.
''I didn't
say that henceforth, all music videos and films will be produced in Nigeria, or
that the production of music videos or films outside Nigeria will be banned.
All I said was that if a programme is designated as a Nigerian (local) content
programme, we will amend the Code to ensure that it is produced in Nigeria. On
that, there is no going back.''he said
The Minister
recalled how his office was bombarded with calls from concerned Nigerians when
the last edition of the ''Big Brother Naija'' was produced in South Africa,
saying he subsequently directed the National Broadcasting Commission to
investigate the circumstances surrounding the controversy.
''Following
the findings, we decided to amend the relevant sections of the Nigeria
Broadcasting Code to prevent a repeat of that development. We are now in the
process of doing that, so that anyone who intends to produce a reality show or
similar programmes for Nigerians cannot take the production of such shows
outside Nigeria. Nigerians are a very proud and resourceful people, and we are
sure that no Nigerian will be against a decision to prevent the jobs that can
be done in Nigeria by Nigerians from being exported to other countries,'' he
said.
In a related
development, Alhaji Mohammed has said the Broadcasting Code is also being
amended to help develop the local football league.
''This (amendment)
is not just about the Creative Industry. We are also going to ensure that the
NBC Code is amended in a manner that if any company in Nigeria today invests a
million dollars in promoting or supporting any (football) team or league
outside Nigeria, I want the Broadcasting Code to be amended to the effect that
it will not allow that programme to be aired unless that company supports the
Nigerian League with a percentage that will not be less than 30 per cent of
what was spent.
''This is
because we cannot continue to develop the economies of the other parts of the
world from the sweat of Nigerians and at the expense of the Nigerian economy,''
the Minister said.
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