Sometime in February this year, the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) released new guidelines for the distribution of films in the country. Anybody interested in being a marketer was told to raise his capital base. The sum varied according to the scope of business an organisation wants to do. They were also told to get banks involved in their operation.

Having been used to an industry that was not structured, and which grew out of little or no input, marketers in the country called for the head of the NFVCB boss, Emeka Mba. In Lagos, a coalition of Yoruba marketers was formed with the sole aim of either getting Mba to rescind the decision or get sacked. He was booed and heckled in the press and some people only stopped short of giving him the middle finger at public functions.

The Board later reduced the amount people were asked to pay but insisted that marketers must put the right structures in place to be registered. It failed to budge on demands that each marketing outfit should have a lawyer and accountant to look at their operations and advice them.

Having waited so long, NFVCB is set to start implementing its new framework beginning from March 2008. By then only registered marketers will be allowed to distribute films in Nigeria.

We hear that about 2,000 marketers have since collected and submitted forms for the new registration by NFVCB. Out of the lot, more than 1000 are from Onitsha. The Lagos crowd is said to be the most irresponsive. Anyone who does not meet the new guideline risks having its operation outlawed by the government.

Luckily for Mba, his principal, John Odey, the minister of information and communication is on his side. The government believes that Nollywood should stop running by accident but by design.

A massive public awareness campaign on the new guidelines will begin in January. Materials for the promotion have been collected and paid for.

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