By Usama Abdullahi
It’s highly frustrating that music is swiftly dominating Nigeria. So many people, especially teenagers, consider and consume music much more than anything. Despite their indecency and vulgarity in most videos, the youths see the musicians and actors as role models.
One hardly watches a music video that’s free of impurity or indecency. Unfortunately, this is not seen only in the music industry, but it has become the norm in the entertainment industry. Take, for instance, Nollywood. Unsurprisingly, the movies they release every year are mostly not good for the sanity of Nigerian adults, let alone children.
Yet children sit comfortably to watch this with their parents – their so-called responsible parents. The comedy skits are much worse. Women who get featured in those comedy skits are usually inelegant vixens. They derive joy in flashing their nudities before the audience. And the audiences are often vulnerable kids. They are kids who barely think independently, so they learn whatsoever they see.
What’s more disgusting is the vulgar languages in these skits and movies are not being filtered or edited by the supposed editors. This is proof of willful neglect of the future of young adults. But who do we blame for this? The blame lies with the supposed editors, reckless actors, irresponsible parents, vulnerable children, or the entertainment industry for its fatal disregard for prevailing indecency. I won’t fault anyone for this because society at large is undoubtedly blamable.
I’m writing this because I’m also a victim. I watch some comedy shows when I feel bored sometimes. But what I used to watch in the past few years is quite different from what I watch today. There’s an unfortunate compromise in our entertainment industry. Some contents are not merely nasty, but they are rather invective. The actors use swearwords and vulgar language excessively. For this reason, watching it diminishes the good morals that parents have infused in their children.
We can see that moral decadence in children’s increasing disrespect and utter preferences for filthy films other than films with educative content. They imitate what they see in these movies, hence the overwhelming rate of juvenile crimes. And they are too quick to download newly released songs or films, but they fail to install PDFs for free books. Moreover, they can mime words from multiple songs, yet they barely memorise a single line from their books. This is why there’s a continuous decline in the education sector.
It didn’t surprise me when I heard a seven-year-old lad miming “Coming”, a song by Naira Marley featuring Busiswa. I can’t deny his talent for miming, but, given his age, the thing is, the song is grossly inappropriate for his hearing. That is it! Arguably, there are a lot of children who have mastered numerous songs. But, you know what, this mere mobile phone has flawed the reputation of many children and corrupted their behaviours.
Do you find it hard to believe me? Please, do create a time of your own and glimpse through TikTok. I bet you can’t believe what your eyes would see. The most important question is, how do we build a better future for the upcoming or unborn generations? With all these “unavoidable” indecencies, can we actualise this vision?
Although the damages seem too much, still we can lessen it through the help of the National Film and Video Censor Board (NFVCB). Therefore, let’s appeal to the NFVCB to double their effort in seeing that songs with foul lyrics, X-rated movies, video clips and comedies are filtered or banned entirely from cinemas or social media.
Usama Abdullahi wrote from Abuja, Nigeria. He can be reached via usamagayyi@gmail.com
