Kano films censors board shuts 15 shops

Rabo said in an interview in Kano that banning the sales of such films has become necessary as it is against the teachings of Islam and therefore will not be allowed in the state.

 The director general also said it was unfortunate that apart from the shop owners, under aged children who can easily be influenced are also involved in hawking such films along the streets without knowing the implications. He also said the ban was as well in the interest of potential customers who might not get to these children even if they found the films were bad.

 Speaking on the matter, secretary of the Kano film sellers association, Malam Isa, described shutting down the shops by the censorship board as unfortunate as the director general of the board did not keep to the promise of briefing them on what stand it is taking on the sales of the film before acting.

 “I can recall that the DG sometimes in October last year invited us for a meeting at A Dai Daita Sahu and during the meeting, one Islamic scholar, Malam Aminu Daurawa, mentioned that watching the film was not appropriate and after the meeting, we met the DG at his office on the matter and he told us that was just a dialogue among scholars which does not involve us. He then promised that he was going to inform us on any development thereafter but unfortunately, he didn’t.  The next thing we saw was the closure of the shops,” he said.

 He however said they were ready to comply with the ban on the film so long as it has been proved by Islamic scholars that selling and watching the films were Islamically prohibited. According to him, “we have reported the case to the Emir of Kano and as Muslims we are ready to comply with the ban so long as it is Islamic scholars that will come together to prove that the film is contrary to the teachings of Islam.”

 He also said it was unfortunate that closure of the shop had affected negatively the lives of those affected, saying the “business has been their major source of livelihood and now that the board has closed the shops, these people are finding it hard to survive”.