NOA, NBC inaugurate committee to promote 70% indigenous cartoon content

Lanre Issa-Onilu, director-general of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), on Wednesday inaugurated a joint committee of the agency and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to develop an implementation framework for promoting 70 percent indigenous cartoon content in Nigeria.

Issa-Onilu said the constitution of the committee follows a policy decision of the federal executive council (FEC) to domesticate the majority of cartoon content as a strategy for cultural preservation and youth reorientation.

He said cartoons are powerful tools that shape children’s attitudes, values and aspirations.

“For too long, the dominant narratives on our screens have been foreign, detached from the realities, identities, and values of the Nigerian child,” he said.

“It is time for our children, the lions of tomorrow, to see themselves, their cultures, and their values reflected in the stories they consume.”

Issa-Onilu said the initiative aligns with the Nigerian identity project and the national values charter.

“The true essence of being Nigerian lies not only in our languages or attire but in the values we live by,” he said.

“Specifically, this committee’s work reflects the first institutionalisation policy under the Nigerian identity project.

“We are not just naturalising cartoon content; we are internalising values, pride, identity, and hope.”

Issa-Onilu thanked the NBC and members of the committee for their support.

“Together, let us build a future where Nigerian content does more than entertain; it educates, uplifts, and unites,” he added.

Stella Erhunmwunsee, director of broadcast policy and research at the NBC, said the strategy had been tested in other countries.

“In Canada, Canada supports and practises indigenous cartoon content through indigenously owned studios,” she said.

“Even in South Africa, they have it. For Nigeria to have done this, it’s saving us a lot.

“These days you hear some of our little children, and when they are speaking, you don’t even know whether they are Nigerians or from other countries.”

Erhunmwunsee said the NBC would support the policy through the Nigerian broadcasting code.

“We would make provisions in the Nigerian Broadcasting Code to back up the display of the indigenous children’s cartoons that we’re expecting to be created,” she said.

She said the NBC would collaborate with media houses and lead government sensitisation campaigns, adding that the commission would also provide technical training on local content and broadcast regulations.