PANAF meets showbiz stakeholders

Forum 1 year ago

PANAF meets showbiz stakeholders

The Pan-African Network for Artistic Freedom, PANAF, said it’s mobilizing a legal team to defend popular Tik Tok skit maker Murja Ibrahim Kunya who was arrested recently by the Kano Police Command on allegations of abuse, obscenity and social media misconduct.

Her case comes up on February 16, for hearing at the Shari’ah Court in Bichi .

The advocacy group which was launched in Nigeria two years ago made this known, while presenting a report to some top showbiz stakeholders during the week, in Lagos.

The report, which was the outcome of a six month research carried out by three university dons on behalf of the group, however, urged the federal government to enshrine in the country’s constitution a law that would guarantee the creative rights of Nigerian artistes.

The country’s coordinator, Mr Fidelis Duker explained that PANAF was established in 2021 in response to the need for an active and inclusive regional voice in the creative sector that could raise awareness of incidents of artistic freedom violations and collaborate with artistic rights advocates in regional and national advocacy efforts.

Duker cited instances of artistes rights being violated in the past, such as when playwright and former minister, Rasheed Gbadamosi was arrested and thrown into prison during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon for his play, “Trees Grow in the Desert” as well as Fela who was jailed for his protestant songs.

He maintained that the artists have the undeniable rights to express themselves, which is why the advocacy group was established.

Speaking further, Duker added that the essence of the meeting was to intimate the stakeholders following a report the group carried out recently on how best to project the rights of the creative people.

“We commissioned three university dons; Dr Charles Okwuowulu of the Alex Ekwueme University, Abalkiliki, Dr. Aliu Abdallah( Bayero University) and Dr. Tunde Olaifa of the University of Lagos, to carry out a research about one year, on what kind of law do they want to see, what kind of society do they want to see: what do they expect going forward.” This, he said, will enable creative ideas to be communicated not partly or partially but fully in order to actualize the true purpose of artistic works.

Duker added that the report proposes the enactment of creative expression licence law which “if upheld by the Nigerian government will give the creative artistes in Nigeria and Africa , the liberty of expression and mitigate against brutalization and humiliation by some government leaders in the Nigerian society.”

Funded by the Swedish Arts Council, PANAF is already operating in eight African countries; Rwandan, Gambia, Mozambique, Kenya, Zambia, Uganda Ethiopia and Nigeria.