The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, on Wednesday inaugurated a committee to develop an implementation plan for promoting at least 70 per cent indigenous cartoon content across television, radio, print and other media platforms.
The committee, comprising representatives from the NOA and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
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It is tasked with designing a strategy to domesticate and localise children’s cartoon content as part of efforts to preserve Nigeria’s culture and reorient young people.
Speaking at the inauguration held at the NOA headquarters in Abuja, Mr Issa-Onilu said the committee was established to promote Nigeria’s culture, heritage and values through cartoon content across both digital and non-digital channels.
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He noted that cartoons significantly shape children’s attitudes, values and aspirations. Still, he lamented that most cartoons available in Nigeria are foreign productions that do not reflect the realities of Nigerian children.
“Cartoons are not just entertainment, they are powerful formative tools that influence how children perceive the world and their place in it. Cartoon-shaped attitudes, values, and aspirations. And for too long, the dominant narratives on our screens have been foreign, detached from the realities, identities, and values of the Nigerian child
“In the words of an African proverb, until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter. It is time for our children, the lions of tomorrow, to see themselves, their cultures, and their values reflected in the stories they conceive. This initiative is deeply aligned with the goals of the Nigerian Identity Project, which seeks to reclaim who we are together as outlined in the National Values Charter,” he said.
How the initiative will work
Mr Issa-Onilu said the initiative aims to help children appreciate Nigeria in a positive way by promoting values such as discipline, hard work, respect and unity.
“The true essence of being Nigerian lies not only in our languages or attire, but in the values we live by, honesty, hard work, respect, discipline, and unity. Specifically, this committee’s work reflects the first institutionalisation policy under the Nigerian Identity Project, National Cartoon Animation,” he said.
He explained that homegrown cartoons would be used as tools to teach values such as respect, resilience, collaboration and cultural pride.
“This policy recognises that homegrown cartoons can serve as critical tools for teaching our children the values we cherish. Values such as respect for others, resilience, collaboration, and pride in one’s cultural heritage. When our children watch characters who look, sound, and think like them, navigating life with integrity, courage, and compassion, they begin to internalise these same values.
“They grow up not only proud to be Nigerian, but empowered to contribute meaningfully to society. This is why your task as committee is both strategic and urgent. The framework you develop will not only set the parameters for content development and regulation, it will define how a new generation of Nigerians come to understand themselves and their country. We are not just nationalising cartoon content. We are nationalising values, pride, identity, and hope,” he added.
NBC expresses commitment
Speaking on behalf of the NBC, the Director of Broadcast Policy and Research, Stella Erhunmwunsee, said similar strategies have been implemented successfully in other countries.
“In Canada, Canada supports and practises indigenous cartoon content through indigenously owned studios. 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,” she said.
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Mrs Erhunmwunsee said the NBC would support the initiative 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 added that the commission would collaborate with media houses and lead government sensitisation campaigns, while also providing technical training on local content development and broadcast regulation.
