Cleric, parents and stakeholders in the entertainment industry have decried the use of girls who dress indecently to appear in music videos, saying such nudity negates the country’s cultural values.
They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Lagos that the broadcast of such music videos on television stations had continued to have negative effects on the country’s image.
Dr Ikechukwu Erojiokwu, a lecturer in Theatre Arts at the University of Nigeria, (UNN) Nsukka, said nudity in music videos would always have negative influence on how people function.
“Personally, I think that what we see goes a long way to influence how we function.
“The use of nude-girls in videos expresses indecency in the country’s mode of dressing and an unethical behaviour in the entertainment industry.
“In effect, the use of nude or almost nude-girls in our videos, influences inappropriate dressing, which is rampant in most cities today,” he told NAN.
He noted that the now trending music videos had a subtle behavioural pattern which was not the case in music videos produced in the 1990s.
He said: “Our contemporary videos can be described as subtle porn with strong negative influence with regards to attitude and behavioural patterns.”
Similarly, an up-and-coming Reggae musician, Solomon Umoh, popularly called King Solomon, described the use of nude-girls in music videos as a style encouraged by Nigerian viewers.
“The elders and leaders of our society have refused to condemn it.
“This ongoing trend, I believe, does not promote our values and culture positively,” he said.
Umoh also called “Prince of love,” said that most lyrics in contemporary music were not conveying any positive message but were selling because of their beats or the artists.
The artist said that some television stations were encouraging such videos to attract more viewers to their stations.
“Have you ever seen nude pictures in Indian films or videos?
“The government should set a standard and our leaders should lend their voices to stop this trend,” he told NAN.
However, a Catholic Church cleric, Rev. Fr. Pius Eluka, said that such a trend had not added any value to the nation and the female gender as well.
“Such a trend is a sign of people who are not proud of their own natural gifts from God.
“It shows that we are still mentally colonised by believing that everything that is Western in nature is good,” he said.
According to the cleric, it is a serious indication that the future may be disastrous because we have lost principles that can guide our tomorrow.
Similarly, Afro hip-pop musician, Donkeegan Onyido, flayed the use of nude-girls in music videos, adding that it gave a negative impression about the country.
“Nude girls appearing in music videos are not portraying anything positive about the country but it is rather corrupting the youth,” he said.
According to Onyido, producers engage them because they believe it helps them to sell their videos.
He said that the girls found in such videos were simply after making quick money, saying they would accept any role just to make their money.
Also speaking, Mrs Tina Emejom, who is a mother of three, said that most music videos did not teach any moral lessons to the young ones.
“Most of our Nigerian music videos are too erotic and because of that, we should not allow our children, especially our young girls, to watch them.
“It is not because they are not nice or interesting to watch but because of their contents.
“Such videos focus on ladies who expose the sensitive areas of their bodies,” she said.
According to her, we don’t want a situation whereby our small children will go out and start dancing erotic styles and touching their bodies.
She advised young artists who want to produce music videos to reduce the sexual explicit contents which advertised naked bodies and immoral dance styles.
Also, Mrs Ruth Isibor, the president of Catholic Women Organisation (CWO) in Ijegun, a Lagos suburb, tasked the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to rise to its constitutional responsibility.
The NFVCB should sanction and prohibit the airing of music videos that were celebrating nudity on television stations.
“When these young musicians are given strict conditions in the production of their music videos, they will check their contents and ensure they do not derail,” she told NAN.
