In this interview, Ayodele Ganiyu, the executive producer and founder of Unchained Vibes Africa, a cultural organisation and social enterprise committed to developing arts and culture, explained why they are making case for the freedom of artists in Nigeria, supporting those at risk and the reasons behind their visit to Kano.
What is the mission of your organisation?
Our mission is to leverage on the power of arts to promote civic education, good governance, human rights, cultural diversity and the spirit of solidarity in Africa. Out co-values are professionalism, nonpartisanship, respect for diversity, mutual respect and gender equity.
Why are you in Kano?
We are in Kano because our organisation has a mission to leverage on the power of art to catalyse social change and the fact that artists need to enjoy some level of freedom to be able to use arts for social change, which involves saying the truth. That can be uncomfortable to many; and as such, artists may run into trouble.
One of our most important activities is supporting artists that are at risk, in terms of harassment, challenges, attacks, among others. It will interest you to note that Kano records the highest number of artists at risk, with about 85 per cent of recorded cases. We are here to engage with the community of artists and other relevant stakeholders, with a view to finding a lasting solution that would put an end to the abuse of the freedom of artists.
It is unfortunate that Kano State records the highest cases of deprivation of the freedom of artists. We believe there is something wrong somewhere; that is why we feel there is need to get all the stakeholders together to propose a way out.
We are in Kano for a stakeholders’ meeting on the issue of artists’ freedom, with a view to promoting the power of arts in the development of civic education, good governance, human rights, cultural diversity and the spirit of solidarity in Africa.
To what extent are you involved in Kano cases?
To a very large extent because we realised that the best practice globally is to practise within the scope of the law. For instance, the Nigerian film industry is ranked the second largest after Bollywood, in terms of volume.
This shows that we are indeed a very important creative community around the world; and as such, there is a need for us to do more. There is need for artists to benefit more from what they are doing as they stand as a very important tool contributing to the country’s economic development.
Unfortunately, our artists, especially here in Kano, are not benefitting from their talents due to excessive restrictions. Moreover, the rate at which the freedom of artists across the entertainment sector is being abused is alarming; hence the need to provide the sector with the necessary support.
What is your view on the call to review the 23-year-old Kano State Censorship Board laws?
It is unfortunate that despite the fact that the Kano State Censorship Board has laws, they were never made public. As you know, laws are meant to be public documents, but we couldn’t find a copy when we were looking for it. The best we got was what was published in a book.
As far as Unchained Vibes is concerned, these laws are obsolete; they are not meant for people living in 2024. This signifies that indeed there is a need for the laws to be reviewed to suit the present day activities of the arts community. There are so many loopholes; and the laws are not transparent.
In fact, one of the reasons we are here is also to engage the regulatory body – the Kano State Censorship Board – to see how these laws can be amended for peaceful and harmonious relationship among key actors in the industry. Moreover, from what we have gathered, many of the provisions of the laws are unconstitutional as they are contrary to the constitutional provisions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It was reported that you made some recommendations, including the suggestion to change the name of the censorship board; why?
The recommendation is what we believe to be a starting point for the reform because a name matters a lot in what an institution does. In the case of the Kano State Censorship Board, we believe that the word ‘censorship’ shouldn’t be there. The immediate past boss of the National Censorship Board had confessed that Nigeria was the only country that retained this word in its regulatory body’s name.
There are such boards across the globe but without the word, censorship; they were named ‘classification boards.’ The word censorship is somehow dictatorial and military in nature; hence changing the name of the regulatory body will be a step forward in having a more civil manner of doing things.
How would you rate the northern entertainment industry?
The northern entertainment industry has huge untapped potentials; that is why talents have been migrating from the zone to Lagos. Many of today’s talk-of-the-town artists originally migrated from the North. This is what we are trying to address. Let there be an encouraging atmosphere for all to practice without much restrictions. The talents and potentials are there but with limited resources to go places.
Political and social clashes have been identified as impediments to the progression of artists. How would you respond to this?
Education, empowerment and reorientation will surely do it. Every practitioner has to be sensitive to various factors. We are optimistic that instead of an aggressive approach to rectify a bridge in societal values, integration and effective engagement would do the magic.
What advice does Unchained Africa have for artists in northern Nigeria?
Artists should refrain from partisan politics; they should be wise enough not to be used by politicians. They should treat their engagements with politicians with caution. They should understand that they have a career to build and reputation to protect.
Northern artists should also use their skills to promote equity and justice, among other things, for a better Nigeria that we will all be proud of.
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