Who, for God’s sake, would tell movie producers that portraying raw s£x in home videos is an abomination, a no-no?”
Those were the words of Jide, a Lagos parent, after watching a Nigerian flick on a terrestrial channel.
He added: “I got home late last night and decided to enjoy a bit of a movie on a terrestrial channel, and what spectacle did I behold? Actress Kemi (surname withheld) is being treated to a hot session of doggy style in the full glare of the camera, leaving nothing to the imagination.
“There she was, screaming with pleasure as her partner pounded away.
“The saving grace was that I was alone in the living room. But I could have had my nine-year-old daughter by my side.”
Jide expressed concern that when movie producers are not engaging in raw s£x, they describe the act so loosely that even an unintelligent child would decode.
“For goodness sake, they call it a home video and even tell us that their movies are meant to teach and entrench our rich culture.
“Which part of our culture tells us to perform sexual acts in the open? Throughout my childhood and up until now, I have never seen people mating in the open.”
Watching our home made movies is gradually becoming a nightmare for many Nigerians.
Before now, Nigerian filmmakers and producers were in the habit of playing down obscenity in home movies.
For instance, ‘Domitila,’ a Nigerian movie produced by Zeb Ejiro, popularly known as Igwe Gabosky, and released in 1996, though centered on prostitution, did not display any form of nudity. It was one of the early movies targeted at addressing the ills of prostitution.
The film featured A-list actors like Anne Njemanze, Sandra Achums, Kate Henshaw, Adah Ameh and the late Enebeli Elebuwa, among other great artistes.
The usual practice then was to do a romantic scene discreetly and leave the rest for the viewer to imagine. But that is no longer the case as the trend now is to bare it all just so it may appear real.
One of such films was premiered early in the year with the nude scenes in it now of concern to many. In one of the loose scenes, a popular Nollywood actress is seen with bare boobs and butt while an actor fondles them.
In another Nollywood movie released last year, a scene where another actress revealed her breasts irked many and for a very long time became the point for discussion.
Not a few parents have criticised such movies for glorifying sexual acts even where it was not even needless.
Films like ‘Oloture,’ ‘Shanty Town’ and ‘Anikulapo,’ are believed to have enjoyed a lot of views more for their nude scenes than their storylines or production quality.
For instance, 11 days after ‘Anikulapo’ was released, the released weekly top 10 list of the most watched movies by Netflix showed that the flick had been viewed for 8,730,000 hours.
As at January 4, 2023, ‘Shanty Town’ had also been viewed by about 340,595 people on Netflix.
Expressing angst over the sexual content of Nigerian movies, 30-year-old Bose Thomas blamed the trend on the influence of western culture, the need to belong or be accepted by a culture that is generally accepted across the globe.
She was of the opinion that a few people have chosen to accept it, and this would continue. “Because these issues are not talked about enough and they are not addressed the way they ought to be done from the outset, that is why we are currently battling with these excesses in movies.”
According to Thomas, the issue is now deeply rooted in our society. “We see nudity everywhere now and nudity has become an acceptable culture for many people.
“I believe that you do not need to expose your body to pass across meaningful information and knowledge to the society,” she said.
Thomas is worried that the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) is not doing enough to curb the excesses of film producers.
“The Censors Board is a major contributor to the widespread nudity in Nigerian movies. They have the power to control the movies that will be produced. If they had flagged such indecency from the start it would not have got to this point,” she said.
For the NFVCB to change this trend is an uphill task, because, according to Thomas, this has become the new norm for many Nigerians. She described what she termed excessive nudity in Nigerian movies as unnecessary. “But, unfortunately, these so-called Nigerian artistes are trendsetters in our society.”
Thomas is worried that the Nigerian culture is deteriorating as the customs, tradition; social and moral behavior, love, and respect for others are being jettisoned.
While commending Netflix’s interest in Nigerian movies, which has caused them to be viewed across the globe, she is not happy that in a bid to fit and blend into the global lifestyle, Nigerian actors have thrown away their culture and adopted the western way of life.
Efforts made by our correspondent to get the reactions of some artistes and other stakeholders in the movie industry met with a brick wall as many of them pleaded to be excused from what they termed a debate.
The Nigerian movie industry is estimated to generate between $500 million and $1 billion on a yearly basis. It also reportedly employs 300,000 people and more than one million people indirectly.
For Alhaja Sidikat Bakre, watching Nigerian movies with her children is forbidden.
According to her, she made that decision after watching a Yoruba movie in which she was embarrassed with the way two prominent artistes played a romantic role.
She said: “I think the scenes could have even been acted without making it look as if it was real. The two artistes were kissing in the film as if their lives depended on it. It was deep, my brother.
“Unfortunately for me, I was watching the film with my daughters who are teenagers: one 15, the other 18. I was in a serious dilemma because I could not change the channel. You could feel the silence in the sitting room.”
Though Bakre has watched other Nigerian movies after the incident, she said it was the last time they sat together to watch any Nigerian movie, irrespective of the content.
She was of the view that Africans have cultures and should not allow foreign cultures to erode African values.
Speaking with a mother of three, Mrs Toyin Aliu, who has a 22-year-old undergraduate daughter, she said that while she could watch those so-called Nigerian movies with her 22-year-old daughter, she would not allow that with other children.
According to Aliyu, she had been teaching her children sex education and dissuading them from watching movies with sex content.
“My 19-year-old son does not watch those movies; he prefers war films. Likewise, my daughter. But you cannot tell what these children can do, so I always make sure I teach them in the way of the Lord. Some of those Nigerian films are not healthy for children.”
She is happy that her youngest child has imbibed her teachings because anytime she suspects they want to kiss in a movie, she leaves the scene.
Aliyu reminded the reporter that it is not only in movies that one sees a lot of naked bodies as the same applies to some musical videos.
Subomi, a 16-year-old son of Aliyu, says he watches Nigerian movies very often. He said he had seen two Nigerian movies released some months back, but he was uncomfortable with their contents as he had expected them to depict Nigerian culture. “They shouldn’t have put those nude scenes. I don’t think they are necessary. I don’t know why they included them,” he said.
Aliyu told our correspondent how some siblings got themselves pregnant after watching films and decided to put what they saw in the film into practice.
“The said family is in grief now. I think it was because their parents allowed them to watch that rubbish. Their parents were always with them watching those films together.
“I’m afraid that by watching these movies, what will preoccupy the minds of these children is sex, sex, and sex, which is dangerous,” he said.
Subomi’s sister, 22-year-old Tinu, also deplored the nudity content of Nigerian movies, describing them as inappropriate. She added that her mum feels bad each time she watches films with nudity content.
Advising filmmakers, she said: “They should stop the exposure and the nudity aspects because some children also watch. It is not appropriate for children to watch those movies with adults and see those nude scenes.”
A church administrator and pastor, Oluseye Ayandare, said many Nigerian films are slipping into nudity because of the corruption in society. According to him, such movies tend to attract more viewers and this has become a fad of sorts.
He said: “It does not come only from Nollywood movies. Look at Big Brother Naija, what is the attraction behind it? Many watch it because of the graphic, the explicit, and the nudity it contains.”
“This graphic nudity is not limited to movies; those doing music videos have also embraced this fad. “Videos where you have people who are dressed properly do not sell except those who expose parts of their bodies.
“They make more money when they are unclad compared to when they cover everywhere. The idea of using lewd language and explicit sexual scenes are recent.”
Ayandare noted that the content of Nigerian movies was different from what they are now when he was growing up. “Now, both movies and music videos, neither of them has the right content. People just want to do something lewd, something useless, using vulgar language.”
Ayandare who incidentally is a trained artiste, noted that serious movies do not sell. Although movies with sex scenes are at variance with his Christian faith, he admitted that people of his faith also watch these movies.
According to him, the church is helpless, as it cannot be at the competitive edge with the secular professional movie makers.
“If you look at the technology involved, does the church have such? If you look at equipment, does the church have such? The church does not.
“Though the church is trying to encourage such by introducing drama groups, the truth is that no church believes in the running of video or in the running of movies for church members.”
Also reacting, Fred Iwenjora, a writer, journalist, and stakeholder in the film industry, expressed the view that criticism of nudity in Nigerian movies is like making a mountain out of a molehill. He said it is part of the growth and development of the industry.
According to him, rather than focus on the artistes, the directors should take the flak because directors, not the artistes, make films.
He said: “Every Nigerian has seen what others do in other parts of the world. If you are not like an ‘Oyinbo’ man, you are regarded as a fool.
“We have our phones and we see what others are doing. The influence has started coming in and overtaking us.
“If you are talking about that, can’t you see the mode of dressing among students in higher institutions? In the universities, they dress the way they like, they do what they want.
“It is civilisation. We have all grown more than we used to know. The world is a global village now.”
According to Iwenjora, unhindered access to the internet also influences the type of movies Nigerians prefer to watch.
He said: “The Internet is the biggest influence because we see everything all over the world from the confines of our rooms.
“What about pornography that people are hiding to watch? Every child has a phone now, what they are going to see, you don’t know.
“You don’t know when they start to crave what they see. If they give them nudity, they collect it fast. Usually, it is what people want to watch that the filmmakers give to them.”
‘Don’t crucify filmmakers’
While African society is a cultural society and has some value, Iwenjora argues that culture is dynamic.
According to him, while African culture frowns at nudity, in some cultures, nudity or semi-nudity is no big deal.
“In some cultures, the mode of dressings is just tying a small wrapper with every other part of the body exposed. You show other parts of the body that are well-manicured and you just cover the breasts and the hips. What do you call that one?”
While people of faith and conservatives in society would continue to frown at the growing incidences of nudity in Nollywood movies, he disclosed that it would be difficult for the National Film and Video Censors Board to sanction some of these films because the board “is a classification board. The body does not have the right to censor but to classify.”
The Nation gathered that the entry of online streaming sites like Netflix has reduced the power of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB).
The National Film and Video Censors Board is the regulatory body set up by Act No.85 of 1993 to regulate the film and video industry in Nigeria. The Board is empowered by law to classify all films and videos whether imported or produced locally. It is also the duty of the board to register all films and video outlets across the country and to keep a register of such registered outlets among other functions across the country and to keep a register of such registered outlets among other functions.
Unfortunately, NFVCB has not been able to exercise control over these films by Netflix.
“You should understand that if Netflix gives you money to do a film, it is beyond the Nigerian market. Internationally, it is accepted.
“Netflix is not just for you; your culture is different from the one that is watching Netflix. A lot of people are watching Netflix all over the world, and each person and their own biases, people in other climes may not see these things as an issue.
“It is only in sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa where religion plays a role that they can talk the way you are talking. They don’t care,” Iwenjora said.
Stripping in movies is not recent
The hues and cries that greeted the rate of nakedness in Nigerian movies may not be necessary after all as this has been part of the Nigerian movie industry, except that it was not as pronounced as it is today.
According to Iwenjora, “they did Musanga in the forest of Arochukwu in Abia State. It was supposed to be an epic film and in an epic film, people in Africa do that nakedness.
“There are places you go where people are not wearing bra, and they want to show the reality of the era. Women were submitting their breasts for oiling, for the make-up people to oil them well so that when the camera came, it would shine. How do you explain that?” Iwenjora asked.
Rather than put the blame on the actors and actresses for the volume of nudity in Nigerian movies, the anger should be directed at directors who have the license to present their acts the way the presentation is right.
The more you look, the less you see
The argument is that those sexual scenes are not real after all. The Nation gathered that most directors and producers use special body suits or prosthetics makeup instead of what many have been able to believe is the real body of the artistes.
While clearing the air on the bare Bimbo Ademoye in Kunle Afolayan’s ‘Anikulapo, a special effect make-up artiste, Akeem Effect, explained that it was a prosthetic.
In the movie, Ademoye played the role of Arolake, the youngest wife of Alaafin of Oyo. She had an affair with Saro, a travelling cloth weaver.
The sight of the queen’s breasts and Saro’s butt generated a lot of debates about actors going nude.
Reacting, Akeem wrote on his Facebook: “Took my team and I hours to get this done… prosthetics boobs@ hakeemeffect our slogan is “stretching your imagination. “ANIKULAPO still streaming on @naijaonnetflix.”
But the challenge is how parents explain this to their children. Though the counter-argument is that these films are always rated, this may not hold water as most of these children have phones with internet connectivity at their beck and call. Here, they are at liberty to watch whatever they want.
In ‘Shanty Town, ’ another Nigerian movie, Nancy Isime, who played the role of Shalewa, a prostitute, has also said contrary to what many saw in the movie, it wasn’t her body that was exposed in the movie.
In one of the scenes, she stripped naked, leaving her buttocks and breasts bare. It did not only stop at that, Mofe Damijo, one of the A-list actors in Nigeria, was seen fondling Shalewa’s breasts.
The scene elicited lots of criticism and she had no option than to explain to the viewers that contrary to what was seen in the film, a body double was used for the scene.
In an Instagram post, she wrote:
“And We are LIVE!!
Shanty Town is now streaming on Netflix!
P.S: Simmer down Hot boys and girls, I know those gorgeous body parts excites you but they sadly belong to my beautiful body double.
Mine aren’t that succulent
Enjoy our beautiful masterpiece, get the message from each scene and Focus on the right Focus!
Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews so far, I’m so glad y’all are watching and Loving Shanty Town❤
Congratulations to the entire cast and crew!
It’s another Win for my darling Nollywood
Produced by: @iniedo & @realchichinworah.”
Unfortunately, many were not convinced by her explanation.
Reacting, @AjibolaAyonite2: Nancy Isime that’s your real boobs we all watch in shanty town, “You can’t fool us; we’re familiar with your game”
@Nysclegitplug: My point is that this is a normal thing in American movies so why are you guys seeing it as a big deal just because Nancy isime is the one on the scene Nigerians eeh
@PeaceRobert001: I still love Nancy Isime sooo fvckin’ much.
….the trending video is a body double though, plus you need to see this movie!
@joe_octave: Whether na Nancy Isime real body or not, or na Body Double. Na the oyibo standard wey Nollywood wan the give Una now. Nudity special. Shey Ini Edo don act something like this too? Why the rukus sef? Nice film
@NiiMiiiiiiii: Y’all shouting “Nancy breast and yansh” yet you want Nollywood to be like Hollywood , if you can’t comprehend, just watch the movie and enjoy But Gad,Nancy isime get yansh oooo
In defence of women
Responding to the critics in a chat with BBC Pidgin, Ini Edo, who played the role of ‘Inem’ in Shanty Town, explained that it was impossible for the movie to be shot without nude scenes considering that the focus of the story is on crime and prostitution.
According to her, it would be impossible to properly convey the message of the movie without displaying some sex scenes.
Ini Edo further stressed that Shanty Town is a story about crime and prostitution and one can’t tell such a story without displaying nudity.
The thespian noted that going naked wasn’t aimed at debasing anyone. Rather, it was in a bid to make the movie look so real.
Regrets
While many have continued to defend and rationalize their deep romantic roles in movies, actresses like Mercy Johnson-Okojie have expressed regrets over the romantic roles played in the past.
Johnson-Okojie in an interview stated that her sense of judgment has now heightened with age.
She said she would no longer act unclad or do romantic scenes as she is now answerable to many people.
“When I do that, what would the younger girls do? When you grow past a certain level, you try to go ahead and do better.
“For me, you don’t need people to tell you what’s right or wrong.
“Age is telling on me. I’ve grown past that level, I’m answerable to too many people: my husband, my kids.” she said.
“I hate to embarrass them in any way. My daughter is growing. She gets hold of my phone sometimes, begins to google, and goes like, ‘Mum, my friends said…’ And they’re very inquisitive.
“I don’t think it’s (playing unclad scenes) something I want to do to make my kids question me in any way or have something in their mind that they want to ask and they can’t.
Why censors’ board dilemma
A mail was sent to the NFVCB via its official e-mail, to get an official reaction on the increase in the number of unclad films, but as at the time of writing this report, the agency had not responded.
But The Nation gathered that it is not as if the NFVCB is not doing anything about the content of movies being released in Nigeria. Unfortunately, quite a number of them do not pass through the Censors Board.
The Board had in the past sanctioned producers and banned films. Recently, it banned a movie, ‘Osuwon Mi,’ after receiving a petition from Ta’awunu Human Rights Initiative (THURIST) on the 6th of December, 2022, alleging that the “film desecrated the sanctity of women in purdah by maliciously using the Muslim women’s veil in the movie.”
The movie, released in October 2022 on YouTube, tells a story of a young man obsessed with married women and goes on a rampage with his incessant fornicating act.
The Executive Director of the NFVCB, Adedayo Thomas, had said the board did not censor nor classify the film.
Mr Thomas said: “The film was not censored, neither was it classified, it was not brought to us, so it was the petitioner that made us know about it, and we found out it was true.
“They posted it on Youtube, and we have written to them (YouTube) to take it down.
“The producer Bisi Obanla and actress Kemi Afolabi will be sanctioned as a deterrence; drastic measures are being taken to pull down the movie from all streaming platforms and circulation..”
“The movie OSUWON MI was neither censored nor classified by the National Films and Video censors’ board,” it added.
According to Adedayo in a report, the board in 2017 seized uncensored, unclassified and pirated films worth over N300 million and prosecuted five suspected pirates.