142 african appropriations
and locations by the censors before shooting. As a prerequisite for regis-
tration, a film company was expected to have a minimum of 2.5 million
naira (20,000 U.S. dollars at the time) as working capital, professional
equipment (a detailed list of which was published by the board), and a
“crowd-free office environment” (Kano’s Censorship Laws 2008). As to
the regulations for individuals, it is worth quoting the “General Guide-
lines for General Registration of Film Operators” at some length:
- A film operative must possess “O” Level Certificate or its equivalent
(Additional qualification is an added advantage). 2. Director/Producer
must possess a Diploma or Certificate in the field of production from a rec-
ognized institution. 3. A film operative must avoid any act capable of pol-
luting public morals. 4. A film operative must observe and respect religion,
culture and public interest.... 7. Female artiste, musician and lyricist must
be under the care of her husband, parent or guardian (Not independent as
the case may be).... 13. Singing and dancing has been cancelled in Hausa
films. 14. Producer must discourage free mingling of opposite sexes for
the whole night during production. 15. An artiste must be mentally and of
sound moral behavior.^4 (Kano’s Censorship Laws 2008)
The rationale behind the requirement of individual registration was later
explained by the board’s new director as a measure “to avoid people of
quest ionable cha rac ter, d r ug add ic ts, paedoph i les, a lcohol ic s, c u lt ists a nd
robbers hiding under the guilds to pass on their corrupt morals to younger
people” (Rabo 2008). The Censorship Board’s new no-nonsense policy
of “cleaning up” Kany wood was labeled “Fire for Fire.” The meaning of
this dawned on the filmmakers when in September 2007, the director,
ac tor, a nd si nger Ada m A. Z a ngo wa s sentenced to t h ree mont hs i n pr ison
and slapped with a fine of 100,000 naira (about 800 U.S. dollars) for the
release of an uncensored album of music video clips (McCain 2013: 232).
Officially, he was charged with breaking the ban on video production
and distribution and for circulating an uncensored video. One particular
song titled “Bahaushiya” (Hausa woman), however, seems to have been
the unofficial reason for Zango’s conviction. The judge said the video clip,
in which three women dancing in an erotic non-Hausa dance style and
Zango himself performing with them, was obscene and brought disgrace
on the honor of Hausa women. The judge’s decree meant he concurred
with the Censorship Board’s director, who said that the video clip “por-