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Ghanaian govt bans Nigerian films
ALPHONSUS NWEZE, Onitsha
NOLLYWOOD,
Nigeria’s home movie industry, may be in for difficult times as the Ghanaian
government is said to have banned sale of such films in the neighbouring West
Africa nation.
A Nigerian businessmen based in Ghana, Mr.
Uche Okafor, involved in the distribution of Nollywood products in that country,
told Daily Champion in Onitsha weekend, that Ghana is doing all,
including outright seizure to discourage the sale of Nigerian home videos in
that country.
According to him, they (distributors) in
the past one month have been harassed at the border and major streets of Accra
for bringing in and selling Nigerians films and videos in Ghana.
Okafor alleged that government agencies in
Ghana are carrying out daily raids on markets even as officials of state told
them that Nigerian films and videos have been banned in the country.
Chairman of Nigeria Film and Video
Producers Association, Mr. Rob Emeka Eze, confirmed this, saying they have been
receiving news of the development from their distributors in Ghana.
Eze said they have become handicapped and
have been experiencing low sales since the development became glaring.
According to him, film producers have made
necessary enquiries and discovered that the Ghanaian Government has not done
anything to stop the raids.
"As at this moment, they have not given
our distributors genuine reasons for their actions. Nigeria and Ghana have free
trade relations, so I cannot understand," he said.
Eze, who is also chairman of Onitsha
Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ONICCIMA), said there
were speculations earlier in the year that the Ghanaian government had plans to
censor Nigerian films.
He said that Nigerian producers and
marketers might have lost about N150 million in the last one month due to the
development.
Eze said, however, they will storm Abuja
soon, to consult with relevant authorities especially the Ministers of Tourism,
Information and National Orientation, Foreign Affairs, Finance, The presidency
and Ghana High Commission in Nigeria on the development.
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