Mallam Rabo speaks

Abubakar Rabo Abdulkarim was appointed Director General of the Kano State Censorship Board by Governor Ibrahim Shekarau in August 2007, following the leaking of a phone video of a popular actress having sex with a boyfriend-a scandal that rocked the Hausa film industry and culminated in the Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria suspending shooting in Kano for six months.

"Mallam Rabo" as he is popularly known in Kano, cracked down on the industry with stricter interpretations of the 2001 censorship law than had previously been enforced. Rabo has a B.A. in Mass Communications, from Bayero University, Kano, and was formerly the commandant of Hisbah, the Shari'a police. He spoke with Carmen McCain in his office at the NTA on January 27.

Would you mind giving a brief summary of what the Kano State Censorship Board is trying to accomplish?

Kano State as an entity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is mandated by the constitution to establish a censoring organ or agency. The mandate of the law is to ensure all filmmaking and related projects are properly managed. There is the marketing aspect of this business, and there are the stakeholders, equally accommodated by the law, to be regulated.

The other aspect of the law has to do with publications in general. The law mandates that all literary projects should be censored, to ensure they are free of pornography and obscenity.

A quote from one of the publications of the censorship board: "Productions must not jeopardise sensitivity of the general public, whether in religion, culture, law, state, and ethics of the profession." Could you clarify how you define culture?

We have what we call material culture. Material culture is very flexible and Hausa-Fulani as a society accepts changes. We don't quarrel with any material culture that comes our way with regard to housing, environment, anything that is going to be constructive, even from our neighbours or from far.

We welcome that kind of development because culture is flexible. But the one we can't compromise is the attitudinal culture, and it has to be well represented in the course of any project, be it literary or electronic. Because that attitudinal culture represents the societal values, it is what is being transferred from generation to generation.

But the attitudinal aspects of our culture remains, if it is being adulterated or misrepresented in creative arts, obviously there will come a time where Hausa-Fulani will have no place to be traced or to be placed.

Now in the course of borrowing culture, we are very mindful of our societal values... We believe in dignity. Anything that will tarnish the culture of the Hausa Fulani when it comes to dressing, we will not allow. Anything that will undermine such principles that made Hausa-Fulani as a society,..

The definition of culture has to do with the attitudinal culture; we want to remain original.

On the ban on dancing and singing [in Hausa films]. Could you clarify that?

Before the new management of this board came into existence, dancing in a reckless way, in a very obscene mode, sometimes in a seductive and abusive way, were 95 percent content of Kannywood projects.

That is what made the state government charge this board to ban all alien dancing and cultures that were smuggled into Kannywood projects. We [want] original dancing, the rawan dab'e, the lugude, which are original.

So if it is done in a culturally appropriate way, is it permissible?

We allow it, especially when it tallies with the story line.

There have been cases where people have been taken before the court and sentenced, for example Ibro (popular Hausa comedian, Rabilu Musa), I think, was sentenced to three months in prison without option of fine, without the opportunity of a defence counsel. So could you explain whether the mobile courts could convict without the right of legal representation?

It is misinformation to say that the board or our mobile court tries people without being given the right of legal representation. Over 85 percent of the cases dealt with by the mobile court of this board were undertaken in the presence of defense counsels or the accused persons.

It is a misnomer to say that people were not given the right of having representation. Even that of Ibro you mentioned, he pleaded guilty, and he repeated it.

I know Ibro was arrested and within maybe 30 minutes of arriving, he's been tried....

What we are operating is a mobile court. And our law was very categorical. Mobile court is of strict liability. Nobody was ever prosecuted by this mobile court without being given a fair hearing.

So what exactly is the Censorship Board censoring? Is it all films in Kano or is it just Hausa films?

All films in Kano, including those that were produced outside Kano but intended to be sold in Kano.

I know part of the Kano State censorship law is no touching between men and women, no clothing that...?

It's not true. There are certain story lines that we will allow.

So, as long as the touching between men and women is in the story line of the film...?

Apart from the story line, it must not entail any seductiveness. It must not attract sexual harassment, it must not pass any message.

So it is up to the interpretation?

Of course and our interpretation goes with our society, goes with our locality.

In your press briefing of February 11, 2008, you say "every individual operator MUST register and be issued with a license to operate be it artiste, scriptwriter, designer, director, producer, and other related persons." So, what if for example, an actor from Lagos appeared in the film, do they have to register with the Kano State Censorship board?

They don't have to. We are referring to our resident stake holders, professional crew, those who don't have anywhere except Kano as their place of domicile.

Also, the law says every practitioner has to have a minimum diploma. What of those, for example, who are not Western educated, but have the skill? For example, very talented actors-are they not allowed to act?

We are not by that referring to actors. You don't have to measure them from educational qualifications. We are referring to a professional crew member, a producer, a director, a cinematographer. For that you are supposed to go to school. We are encouraging education because education is the best way you do it.

Your board insists that female artists must be under the care of her husband/ parent/ guardian. Not independent. Can you clarify what you mean by that?

The womenfolk by our culture and religion, has to be under the custody of her parents/guardian because of what we call historical factor. There were a lot of sexual abuse cases being handled by the Board. [This] made the Board assume the social responsibility. To ensure the dignity of the womenfolk is protected. This is why we say she will be brought to us as somebody certified like her parent or guardian.

Is there an age limit on that or does that apply for any woman?

It is for women only because for men, there were not these nasty historical issues.