The appointment of Shaibu Husseini as the new Chief Executive of National Films and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has been described as a round peg in a round hole.

In a statement signed by the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Friday, December 12, 2024, Shaibu, and 10 others, were appointed new heads of culture parastatals.

Ngelale said the new directors were mandated by the president to discharge their duties in accordance with the highest standards of professionalism, diligence, and patriotism with a view to making the creative sector more vibrant and robust.

According to Dr Sola Balogun of Department of Theatre Arts, Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), “the appointment is well deserved.” The Editor, Arts and Life of the Nation Newspaper, Ozolua Uhakheme, also believes the appointment is a “confirmation of the advocacy that the creative economy should be driven by experts and people who are knowledgeable of the sector’s workings.”

Shaibu, a seasoned journalist and film critic, has covered culture, theatre and film for The Guardian for over two decades. He obtained a PhD in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos. His PhD was on film studies, as his thesis examined the Structure of Film Production Companies in Nollywood.  A trained and seasoned theatre, film, broadcast, public relations and culture expert, he is an alumnus of the United States International Visitors Leadership Programme and the AIG-Public Leaders Programme of the Blavtanik School of Governance of the University of Oxford.

A one-time Secretary of the Governing Board of the National Theatre/National Troupe of Nigeria (from 2011 to 2015), until his appointment, he was Director of Dance and Music and Head of the Strategic Communication Unit of the National Troupe of Nigeria.
He is reputed as one of the most consistent documentarists of Nigeria’s vibrant film and movie industry Nollywood and he is an astute commentator on arts, theatre and film development in Nigeria and the continent of Africa.

The Chair, for 16 years running, of the Selection Committee of Africa’s premier film award- the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) and a member of the prestigious AMAA jury, Shaibu has attended several conferences, workshops and festivals and has sat and currently sits on a number of local and international Committee on film, theatre and allied matters including serving on the Board and on the jury of a number of festivals, awards and committees including the Board of the Mainframe Film Institute run by the legendary Tunde Kelani, the board of In-short International Film Festival and on the Board of the Bank of Industry (BOI) Nollywood Fund amongst others.

Author of Moviedom: The Nollywood Narratives, Shaibu is a Senior Teaching and Research Fellow at the Mass Communication Department of the University of Lagos. He was a former member of the Nigeria Official Selection Committee charged with the responsibility of deciding Nigeria’s entry for the Best International Film category of the Oscars.

A current voting member of International Golden Globes Award and a consultant to the Berlin International Film Festival, Shaibu, a pioneer artiste of the National Troupe of Nigeria, has considerable theoretical, practical and field experience in the area of Theatre, cultural administration as well as in Public Relations, Advertising, Journalism, Broadcasting and film. He has equally served as resources person, trainer in the field of theatre, culture and mass communication.

He considers himself an enthusiastic, dedicated, detailed and capable theory cum practically oriented professional who is able to improve the ability of an organisation to deliver outcomes that matter.