Kano State Censorship Board

Kano censorship board suspends Manyan Mata, Dakin Amarya, Labarina, 19 others for violating guidelines

By Uzair Adam 

The Kano State Censorship Board has suspended 22 Hausa film series, including Dakin Amarya, Labarina, Gwarwashi, Dadin Kowa, Gidan Sarauta, and Manyan Mata, for allegedly violating the Board’s censorship regulations.

The suspension was announced by the Executive Secretary of the Board, Abba El-Mustapha, following a management meeting and internal consultations. 

According to a statement issued by the Board’s Information Officer, Abdullahi Sani Sulaiman, the action is part of a strategic effort to ensure that all films are subjected to censorship before public release, in line with existing laws.

The Board warned all producers and owners of the affected series to halt further streaming or broadcasting of the content via television or online platforms. 

It directed them to submit their films for censorship approval within one week, starting from Monday, May 19, 2025, or risk facing legal consequences.

Sulaiman further called on television stations and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to support the Board’s enforcement efforts and help safeguard the integrity of the local film industry.

According to Sulaiman, the affected film series include:

1. Dakin Amarya  

2. Mashahuri  

3. Gidan Sarauta  

4. Wasiyya  

5. Tawakkaltu  

6. Mijina  

7. Wani Zamani  

8. Labarina  

9. Mallaka  

10. Kudin Ruwa  

11. Boka Ko Malam  

12. Wayasan Gobe  

13. Rana Dubu  

14. Manyan Mata  

15. Fatake  

16. Gwarwashi  

17. Jamilun Jiddan  

18. Shahadar Nabila  

19. Dadin Kowa  

20. Tabarmar  

21. Kishiyata

22. Rigar Aro

KSCB: Stop the release of Naburaska’s Igiyar Zato

By Ibrahim Uba Yusuf, PhD

Trends in the Hausa Film Industry often divide the industry sharply across socio-political lines. Interactions and production have also not been exclusive to the political dynamics of Northern Nigeria or Kano in particular. However, the recent development requires caution to avoid a relapse into conflict and violence.

On January 28th, 2024, I saw a short video clip of a popular actor-cum-politician, Mustapha Badamasi Naburaska. In the video of about two minutes, the actor announced his intention to release a film that would depict the aftermath of the 2023 Kano State Governorship Petition from the Tribunal to the Supreme Court. In the video, the actor further announced his intention to portray an ‘old man and a musician’ in a negative light.

To complement his pledge, the actor released a poster of the intended film called Igiyar Zato on his Facebook page and other social media platforms. The poster contains the name of the producer and the photograph of the lead fictional character adorned with artificial grey beards just to reinforce the political figure he intends to mock. Mocking a politician is not my problem. It is purely a political affair.

I am not a card-carrying member of any political party but rather a researcher and public affairs analyst interested in teaching and conducting research relating to the Hausa Home Video Industry. In fact, my PhD thesis focused on ‘Hausa Home Videos and Peacebuilding in Northern Parts of Nigeria’. These, I believe, provided me with an opportunity to understand some nitty-gritty and make informed remarks about trends in the industry. It is useful to point out that this write-up is not intended to support or discredit any political group. The essence is to draw the attention of regulatory bodies to a danger that needs their urgent attention.

Firstly, my concern is the use of grey beards in the name of mocking an individual. While the announcement and content of the film may sound pleasing to some of his comrades and supporters, it will hoist a red flag if such content could pass the rigorous screening at the Kano State Censorship Board.

The Beard Issue

The beard issue has been a subject of ridicule during the build-up to the 2023 Guber Election in Kano State. A section of the campaigners used the beard impression to ridicule a particular contestant during their public campaigns. After the pronouncement by the apex court affirming the victory of Engineer Abba Kabir Yusuf as the duly elected governor, members of his political party have been engaged in making skit performances in communities using the beard as a subject of emphasis. The skits were done in the name of celebration, to mimic the governorship candidate of the APC.

Igiyar Zato

Although the trailer of the film has not been released, if – at all – it is going to be produced and distributed, viewers and followers of Kano politics can easily predict scenes and the likely narrative it contains. From the different posters, viewers can deduce the direction, rationale and target group of the producer, Mustapha Nabraska. Of concern is the picture of Nabraska with a fictional grey beard. This depiction is a caricature of a recommended tradition of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Muslims may find this satire offensive, an act of irresponsibility and tantamount to rupturing the peace beingenjoyed in Kano State. Making jest at the Prophetic tradition, consciously or unconsciously, is forbidden. Sufficient is verse 65 of Suratul Tauba. While other scenes of the film might be valuable sources of analysis in the field of political communication, indeed, this depiction can likely provoke and create preventable chaos.

What does the Kano State Censorship Board Law say?

The law establishing the Kano State Censorship Board (KSCB) as a statutory regulatory body is not silent on what should be portrayed in films and home videos. The intended production contravenes the religious beliefs of the people of Kano. The film glaringly incorporates a form of amusement and deliberately alters the creation of Almighty Allah to mock an individual, which is not approved in Islam. In fact, these are yardsticks that some religious scholars used to engender their position on the illegality of popular culture.

The law, as it is, frowns at depictions in films that are not in tandem with the culture and tradition of the Kano people. Even though the law mandates all producers to submit their films to the Board for censoring after the completion of production, there is a need to amend that clause and mandate producers to share their ideas at the level of conceptualisation with the Board to be appropriately guided. It is left for the Board to decide what to do with the film if the producer decides to submit a copy before release.

Abba Al-Mustapha should Act!!!

In the interest of peace, the KSCB, under the leadership of Abba Al-Mustapha, should discontinue the promotion and production of the film at all costs. This is given the potential damages it could cause to the volatile situation in Kano. The Muslim community in Kano and beyond are saddened by this irrational depiction and public display, which directly affects a cherished symbol of the Prophet of Islam Muhammad (SAW). In the same way, you thwarted the distribution and sales of Queen Primer in Kano. Please act fast now.

The KSCB remains the beacon of hope in preserving the culture and religion of the people of Kano, and we hope that it will continue to do so without fear or favour. The Board should avoid politicisation and preferential treatment of members loyal to the government and deliberately make Kano a difficult terrain for actors and musicians who align with the opposition.

I urge the Board to assess the film on the scale of cultural and religious values and their attendant consequences to Kano State’s peace. Already, people are aggrieved and have been registering their displeasure, specifically on the fictional beard, as a subject of ridicule in the post’s comment section on Facebook and other social media platforms. Some comments are inflammatory and may likely throw the State into chaos.

This is the time of political healing and concentration on fulfilling the myriad of campaign promises. Any distraction is uncalled for. As such, there is a need for the Board to provide policy direction to actors and musicians who have become stakeholders in political campaigns on how to produce content devoid of promoting hatred, public ridicule and rupture.

Ibrahim Uba Yusuf, PhD, lectures at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri, and is the Director of Communications, Advocacy, and Outreach at the Centre for Media, Policy, and Accountability (CMPA). He can be reached at ibrahim.mcm@unimaid.edu.ng.

Kano Censorship Director marries Kannywood star, Rukayya Dawayya

By Habibu Maaruf Abdu

The Executive Director, Kano State Censorship Board, Alhaji Isma’ila Na’abba Afakallah, has tied the knot with veteran Kannywood actress, Rukayya Umar Santa (Dawayya).

The wedding fatiha took place on Friday, November 4, 2022, at Tishama Jumu’at mosque in Kano, after months of speculations about their relationship on social media.

The 37-year-old actress, who is also the founder of Dawayya Movies Nigeria Limited, appeared in hundreds of films in a career which spanned 22 years. Her last production, Ummi Sambo was released in Cinemas on 6 December, 2019.

This is her second marriage as she was previously married and has a son.

On the racy Hausa film, ‘Makaranta’

By Habibu Maaruf Abdu

Since the middle of the previous week, the trending news on Kannywood has been revolving around a racy film entitled Makaranta. The Kano censorship board declares the film’s director Aminu Nasara wanted for releasing the uncensored film trailer, which embodies obscene content.

The trailer starts with a school setting, and a female voice is heard talking about jima’i (‘sex’) crudely without euphemism. Two female students are then shown conversing in a classroom where one of them advises the other in a vulgar dialogue as follows:

“Banda tsabar sakaci da dolanci kawai kina zaune har ya buɗe jaka ya ɗauki bireziya baki sani ba. Idan kikai wasa da wannan dolancin kina sakin baki wataran sai ya cire miki pant…”

“If not for sheer foolishness, why would you just sit there while he opened a bag and took the bra without you knowing. Unless you are careful, he would, one day, take your panties off…”

The aforementioned are just a few of the many vulgarities in the trailer. So, if the two-minute-long trailer alone is this bad, how do you expect the complete film to be? Males and females are even shown touching one another and licentiously dancing in some scenes!

No doubt, such despicable movies are a threat to the well-being of our society. They can negatively influence viewers, especially the young generation, and dent our beautiful reputation as the Hausa Muslim populace. A film is a reflection of the society where it’s produced. I, therefore, strongly condemn the immoral movie. Making such a film is insolent, and all those involved should be brought to book.

Although the film director is trying to dissociate it from the mainstream Kannywood, his claims are unacceptable because the film is mainly in the Hausa language. Moreover, many of its characters are portrayed as Hausa Muslims (We hear names like Luba, Saudat and Suwaiba). Our society, therefore, has every right to follow it up since it’s something which, they think, could tarnish their image. The director is thus subject to both public outrage and censors punishment. The National Film and Video Censors Board should collaborate with their Kano counterpart to ban this film and impose a total ban on all films of its kind.

I will conclude by commending the efforts of the Kano censorship board in sanitizing Kannywood. Moreover, I call on them to devise more extreme punishment in dealing with the perpetrators of immorality in the industry. This would serve as a deterrent to others.

Habibu Maaruf Abdu wrote via habibumaaruf11@gmail.com.