Nigerian agency seeks permission to go after BBNaija and transvestites
The National Council for Art and Culture (NCAA) has asked the House of Representatives to give it a legal framework to sue the organizers of Big Brother Naija (BBN) for nudity on the show.
>The council is also seeking the power to arrest and prosecute transvestites in the country.
The council's chief executive, Segun Runsewe, made the appeal on Tuesday during an investigative hearing by a House ad hoc committee.
The committee is responsible for investigating duplication of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The current bill banning cross-dressingThere is a bill in the House to amend the Same Sex (Prohibition) Act to prohibit cross-dressing in Nigeria.
The amendment, sponsored by Muda Umar (APC, Bauchi), seeks to modify Articles 4 and 5 of the main law.
The bill proposes that “A person engaging in cross-dressing is guilty of an offense and liable to imprisonment for six months or a fine of five hundred thousand naira.”
Crossdressing, nudity in BBNaija not our culture – RunseweMr. Runsewe, who has spoken out widely against famous Nigerian transvestite, Okuneye Olanrewaju, popularly known as Bobrisky, told lawmakers that he ordered the police to disrupt Bobrisky's birthday celebration. p>
He said he had already raised the issue of nudity in bbnaija to the organizers.
“I was the first person who brought Big Brother Nigeria to NBC to report them because they had…I took it and Big Brother (organizers) tried to reach me and told them that if the culture in other parts of the world is to be naked – nudity etc. they should not bring it to Nigeria because our culture is rich and it respects the integrity of our country,” said he said.
A lawmaker, Alex Egbonna (PDP, Cross-River), complained that the intervention did not stop the display of nudes on the show.
"That's the problem with Nigeria: you start something, you don't finish it. But they were still naked even in the last event. That thing you started, take them where you took them - is not over is what I say. They are still doing the same thing. They should have learned. There is no solution to what you started and that is the Nigerian factor,” he said.
Responding, Mr Runsewe said that if lawmakers give the council the necessary power through the legislative framework, the problems will be solved.
"I'll give you an example. When Bobrisky started acting like a woman, I got up and followed him to Lagos. I 'scattered' his (birthday) party and I I said, 'It's not our culture.' But in the end, this is only part 1. This honorable house just needs to empower us with a legal framework and this nonsense will stop,” he added.
The Big Brother Naija ended their Season 7 reality show on Sunday. It was won by Ijeoma Otabor better known as Phyna.
Organizers said the show titled “Level Up” gobbled up more than N4.7 billion.
Merger of MDA in the tourism sectorMeanwhile, the committee is considering the merger of some MDAs in the tourism sector.
The MDAs concerned are the National Council for Art and Culture, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the National Gallery of Art and the National Guidance Agency.
The others are: the Nigerian Tourism Development Commission, the National Institute of Hospitality and Tourism, the National Theater and National Troupes, the Center for Black African Art and Civilization and the National Institute of Cultural Orientation.
The chairman of the committee, Victor Danzaria, in his opening remarks, said that the committee had a mandate to assess, verify and analyze the root causes of the regular disputes between certain established agencies.
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The National Council for Art and Culture (NCAA) has asked the House of Representatives to give it a legal framework to sue the organizers of Big Brother Naija (BBN) for nudity on the show.
>The council is also seeking the power to arrest and prosecute transvestites in the country.
The council's chief executive, Segun Runsewe, made the appeal on Tuesday during an investigative hearing by a House ad hoc committee.
The committee is responsible for investigating duplication of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The current bill banning cross-dressingThere is a bill in the House to amend the Same Sex (Prohibition) Act to prohibit cross-dressing in Nigeria.
The amendment, sponsored by Muda Umar (APC, Bauchi), seeks to modify Articles 4 and 5 of the main law.
The bill proposes that “A person engaging in cross-dressing is guilty of an offense and liable to imprisonment for six months or a fine of five hundred thousand naira.”
Crossdressing, nudity in BBNaija not our culture – RunseweMr. Runsewe, who has spoken out widely against famous Nigerian transvestite, Okuneye Olanrewaju, popularly known as Bobrisky, told lawmakers that he ordered the police to disrupt Bobrisky's birthday celebration. p>
He said he had already raised the issue of nudity in bbnaija to the organizers.
“I was the first person who brought Big Brother Nigeria to NBC to report them because they had…I took it and Big Brother (organizers) tried to reach me and told them that if the culture in other parts of the world is to be naked – nudity etc. they should not bring it to Nigeria because our culture is rich and it respects the integrity of our country,” said he said.
A lawmaker, Alex Egbonna (PDP, Cross-River), complained that the intervention did not stop the display of nudes on the show.
"That's the problem with Nigeria: you start something, you don't finish it. But they were still naked even in the last event. That thing you started, take them where you took them - is not over is what I say. They are still doing the same thing. They should have learned. There is no solution to what you started and that is the Nigerian factor,” he said.
Responding, Mr Runsewe said that if lawmakers give the council the necessary power through the legislative framework, the problems will be solved.
"I'll give you an example. When Bobrisky started acting like a woman, I got up and followed him to Lagos. I 'scattered' his (birthday) party and I I said, 'It's not our culture.' But in the end, this is only part 1. This honorable house just needs to empower us with a legal framework and this nonsense will stop,” he added.
The Big Brother Naija ended their Season 7 reality show on Sunday. It was won by Ijeoma Otabor better known as Phyna.
Organizers said the show titled “Level Up” gobbled up more than N4.7 billion.
Merger of MDA in the tourism sectorMeanwhile, the committee is considering the merger of some MDAs in the tourism sector.
The MDAs concerned are the National Council for Art and Culture, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the National Gallery of Art and the National Guidance Agency.
The others are: the Nigerian Tourism Development Commission, the National Institute of Hospitality and Tourism, the National Theater and National Troupes, the Center for Black African Art and Civilization and the National Institute of Cultural Orientation.
The chairman of the committee, Victor Danzaria, in his opening remarks, said that the committee had a mandate to assess, verify and analyze the root causes of the regular disputes between certain established agencies.
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