Veteran Nollywood actor Francis Duru has attributed the growing dominance of Yoruba filmmakers in Nollywood to what he described as their stronger culture of collective support and organisation.
Duru acknowledged the contributions of Yoruba pioneers to Nigeria’s film industry but argued that the modern Nollywood movement emerged largely from the home-video era pioneered by Igbo practitioners in the 1990s and early 2000s.
According to the actor, the Igbos have since lost significant ground because of an individualistic approach, while the Yoruba community has been more deliberate about creating opportunities and promoting its own people.
He said, “The Yorubas epitomise the saying, ‘Charity begins at home.’ We need to learn from them. If you don’t protect and project your own, who will do it?
“We [Igbos] created Nollywood, but if you go to Netflix today, you hardly see one movie that speaks of Igbo heritage. But the Yorubas, on the other hand, created opportunities for themselves and utilised them.”
Prompt News reports Duru argued that Igbo professionals needed to move away from an individualistic mindset and recognise the importance of working collectively to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the entertainment industry.
“Igbos failed to learn because of their individualistic mentality. You think you are the big man, so you are self-centred. But you forget that a time will come when you need to be expansive,” he said.
He further urged Igbo filmmakers and investors to be more proactive in identifying new markets and supporting people within their community who can contribute to the industry.
“You need to be proactive and ask yourself, ‘There is a new market space; why am I not there?’ Most of the persons who pioneered Nollywood were mere traders. So, you created something, and some people saw the gold in it, got together, called their people who have the ‘do’, and they invested in it. The Yorubas protected their own.
“Don’t get angry with them. These are people who saw their own and protected their own. What happened to you? Igbos have many great men in Nigeria.”
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The actor also lamented what he described as the limited representation of Igbo history and personalities in contemporary films, despite the community’s rich cultural heritage.
“When was the last time you saw the epic of one of these great men? We have great writers who are now writing for the Yorubas. You even see the Yorubas crossing over to write Igbo stories like ‘Ahamefuna’ and making a mess of who we are,” he said.
