By Pascal Oparada
Lights, camera, action!
This is how the porn industry in Nigeria booms. Estimated to be over $100 million, it is second only to drug peddling and oil and gas.
Scripted and acted by Nigerians, sometimes in open places and in hotels, it is fast becoming a past time of many youths in the country.
All the metrics are in their favour and show that they are getting serious visits and hits, which no knowledge based websites in the country has or would ever have. Most of these websites rank higher than most popular and serious ones.
For instance, one of the websites analytics show that in one month they have had over three million visits, mostly through paid membership.
Another one shows over two million visits with or without membership payment.
It means that more Nigerians are paying to consume pornography in way that far outweighs any other country in Africa, coming second only to Egypt.
The adult film industry in America has been limited to preventing child pornography.
In the United States Code of Regulations, under title Title 18, Section 2257, no performers under the age of 18 are allowed to be employed by adult industry production companies. The failure to abide by this regulation results in civil and criminal prosecutions.
To enforce the age entry restriction, all adult industry production companies are required to have a Custodian of Records that documents and holds records of the ages of all performers, according to Wikipedia.
But Nigeria lacks laws to even prevent or protect children from pornography either as actors or consumers.
In 2016, video tape of Miss Anambra, Chidinma Okeke, surfaced online which went viral and is available on most of these websites which could be accessed by children.
Pornography is not illegal by legislation in Nigeria hence the industry booms on a scale that would be alarming to the Nigerian government.
With no regulations, or lack of enforcement by the government, the websites litter the cyberspace and has no age restrictions on them before access is gained.
“Unfortunately, there is no law against pornography in Nigeria”, says Wale Ogunade, a legal practitioner and President, Voters Awareness Initiative.
“And social media has exacerbated pornography in Nigeria. But that is where the National Assembly should come up with laws that forbids pornography on social media”, Ogunade said.
According to Ogunade, the proliferation of pornography is destroying the moral fabrics of the nation because it encourages delinquency in our youths.
“In the near future,” according to Ogunade, “our children would pick up these things from wherever they can find them and throw them on our faces if action is not taken now.”
Ogunade said that the National Assembly members, who are supposed to pass laws that would protect Nigerians are guilty themselves. He gave an example of a Senator who was seen in a tape with two women having sex. But, instead, the senator rationalised his action.
When TheNiche contacted Nigeria Communications Commission’s spokesperson, Tony Ojobo, he absorbed the commission of any culpability, saying it does not regulate content, but rather the job of Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
NBC did not respond to inquiries sent to their email as that the time of filing this report.
Some blame it on the economy because many of the actors are offered huge amounts of money to get naked in front of the camera. They are spurred by Nollywood exploits in recent times.
Others blame it our explosive music industry where such acts surreptitiously flourish.
It has been estimated to outgrow the American porn industry in the near future.