Nigeria has a cunning plan to deal with its reputation as the world's centre for fraud. It is not shutting down the scams, although it has been doing a bit of work on this, it is getting heavy with adverts and films that mention its 419 antics.

A blockbuster sci-fi movie which caricatures some Nigerians as gangsters and cannibals has been banned in the country. Recently a Sony PlayStation advert which implies they are fraudsters also received the Nigerian government's attention. District 9, which has topped the UK box office for two straight weeks and ranked in the top 10 in North America, is an allegory on segregation and xenophobia, with alien life forms cooped up in a township set in Johannesburg.

While everyone in the film is nasty the Nigerians are portrayed as gangsters, cannibals, pimps and prostitutes. Their leader's name is pronounced Obasanjo -- the same as that of Nigeria's former president. And coincidently the same as the name of a bloke who wants me to run some money to him in an email I got the other day.

Nigeria has banned cinemas from showing it and has seized any prints of the flick. Information Minister Dora Akunyili, who is spearheading a "rebranding Nigeria" campaign said all countries have prostitutes and criminals and Nigerians don't eat human flesh. She has written to the producers telling them to edit out references to Nigeria, which of course is unlikely to happen. (She shouldn't bother writing to me either. sub.ed.)

To be fair Nigeria has been doing a lot to clean up its act on corruption. But if District 9 is about Nigerians being criminals and conmen she will have her work cut out for her reversing the world's view while scammers still send out emails to gullible rich Americans.