The National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) have formed a joint committee to design and implement a plan to nationalise 70 per cent of cartoon content in Nigeria. The committee was inaugurated on Wednesday and is tied to a policy approved by the Federal Executive Council last year to localise and domesticate most of the cartoon content aired across the country.
During the inauguration, the Director-General of NOA, Issa-Onilu, explained that the initiative is important because cartoons have a strong influence on children. He said the policy would help young viewers connect with Nigerian heroes while learning about their achievements and cultures. According to him, the initiative supports the Nigerian Identity Project, which promotes honesty, hard work, respect, discipline and unity.
He said, “As we all know, cartoons are not just entertainment. They are powerful, formative tools that influence how children perceive the world and their place in it. Cartoons shape attitudes, values and aspirations, and for too long, the dominant narratives on our screens have been foreign — detached from the realities, identities and values of the Nigerian child.” He added that it was time for children to see themselves, their cultures and their values reflected in the stories they consume.
Issa-Onilu noted that the initiative aligns with the National Values Charter and represents the first institutionalisation policy under the Nigerian Identity Project focused on national cartoon animation. He said NOA is already working with stakeholders in the animation industry to produce world-class content and hopes to achieve 70 per cent localisation within the next three years.
He said, “The funding essentially is not going to come from the government alone. There is already funding through the Ministry of Creative Economy, where creatives can access loans — about $100m or so is available there — and many of them, including animators, are applying.”
Speaking for NBC, the Director of Broadcast Policy and Research, Mrs Stella Erhunmwunsee, said the Commission would collaborate with NOA to review its broadcasting code in order to support the rollout of more local cartoon content. She said this collaboration would help create a regulatory environment that encourages the production and airing of indigenous children’s cartoons.
She added, “So, some of the ways that the NBC can collaborate are mainly in making provisions in the Nigerian Broadcasting Code to back up the display of the indigenous children’s cartoons we expect to be created. Luckily enough, we are having our code review, and we are hoping that the NOA will participate fully so that together we can come up with provisions that will help in fulfilling this great policy”.
