The Nigerian Broadcasting Code is to be amended to discourage the production of Nigerian movies and music videos in countries other than Nigeria.
This was disclosed on Saturday by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The minister, who was on a visit to the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), said the move will empower industry practitioners, develop the sector and contribute significantly to the Nigerian economy.
According to him, the practice of flying Nigerian artists out of the country to make recordings is advantageous to the receiving nation as “they will patronise the economy of that country”.
He compared the act to “going to China or Japan to make a product that looks like palm wine and bring it back home to label it Nigerian palm wine”.
He said: “This government has agreed that henceforth, whatever we consume in Nigeria in terms of music and films, must be made in Nigeria.
“We cannot continue to go to South Africa or any other country to produce our films and then send them back to be consumed in Nigeria.
“The Broadcasting Code and the Advertising Code are very clear on this.
“For you to classify a product as a Nigerian product, it must have a certain percentage of Nigerian content,” he said.
“It is Nigerians that pay for the consumption of these products and therefore they must be allowed and encouraged to participate in their production.
“I am going to meet with the relevant stakeholders over this, to see that whatever amendment that is needed to be made to our Broadcasting Code in this regard, is done urgently, ” he added.
The Minister said the federal government is committed to making the creative industry viable and lauded COSON and its management team for achieving a lot since being incorporated in 2010.
