The federal government is set to implement a policy that will ensure that 70 per cent of the contents of cartoons will basically be about Nigerian values.

The director-general of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, told journalists on the sidelines of a town hall meeting with stakeholders in Lokoja, Kogi, on Saturday.

Mr Issa-Onilu also said cartoon creators would be engaged to produce local content as part of measures to bridge the parenting gap and ensure good value systems.

This, he said, would enable the children to know Nigerian history, know about the heroes of the country, and celebrate their achievements and cultures.

“Our children must know the heroes of the communities and be proud of where they come from, so that they will be good ambassadors of their cultures and communities,” he said.

The NOA boss decried the surge in decadence of the right values and characters in the country due to children’s exposure to foreign cultures on television and social media that were alien to Nigeria’s moral values.

The director-general further disclosed that the federal government would soon introduce citizenship studies as core subjects at all levels of education in Nigeria.

Mr Issa-Onilu added that NOA would be engaging about 37,000 citizen brigades in schools at all levels of education across the country to promote national values.

He added that the agency had compiled data with detailed information on leaders of various unions and associations across the country for proper mobilisation to support all government policies, programmes and activities.

The stakeholders at the town hall meeting include religious and traditional leaders, civil society organisations, women and youth groups, media organisations, and retired state directors of NOA, among others. 

(NAN)