WATCHING Nigerian movies these days can be really distressing for parents who are still struggling to raise godly children. What we find in the movies are violence, sexual immorality, ritual kidnappings, among others.
A movie that shows the deadly reign of an armed robbery group will only teach our children the terrible lifestyles of criminals, and not the lessons when the armed robbers are caught. The reason for this is that our children will be infatuated with the action-packed robbery scenes, and might be tempted to also give such a trial. That is why we find so many youths joining cult groups as soon as they gain admission into tertiary institutions.
It is no longer news that some of our youths also want to live life on the fast lane, and that is why some of them involve themselves in ritual killings. We have heard stories of tertiary institution students using fellow students for ritual purposes. These students have not started working, but they are already thinking of living big.
I believe seeds of immorality are being planted in our youths by what they see on screen, particularly in movies. This is where the video censors’ board comes in; it is the responsibility of this organisation to work harder in the area of classification of these movies. It is also important for parents to also be mindful of the classification of movies they buy so that their children won’t pick up bad habits, while movie producers should also try as much as possible to reduce scenes that impact negatively in the lives of children. I don’t know what a sexual scene will achieve other than corrupting our children; if the director wants to make the viewing public know that a man and a woman had sex, it is not when the two actors engage in raunchy sex scenes that the public will be able to interpret the intention of the director. Violence and immorality are on the rise in the country, and it is high time something was done about it. Everybody has a role to play in this regard.
- Dr Taju Alalade,
Ilorin, Kwara State.
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