Adebayo Salami, renowned as Oga Bello, has posted a video where he explains the origins of the Nollywood movie industry and its pioneers.
Nigerian actress, scriptwriter, and filmmaker Aisha Lawal previously asserted that the Yoruba celebrities were the ones who established and initiated the Nollywood movie industry.
Aisha Lawal’s statement ignited a debate among different ethnic groups within the Nollywood community.
In a video interview shared by Oga Bello, several veteran actors, including Taiwan Hassan (popularly known as Ogogo), Lanre Hassan (popularly known as Iya Awero), and others, share their insights into the inception of Nigeria’s movie industry.
Many of them affirm that figures like the late Herbert Ogunde, Ishow Pepper, and Kola Ogunmola were involved in acting even prior to the existence of television and home videos.
Aisha Lawal’s statement sparked a contentious debate among the diverse ethnic groups within Nollywood. She stated, “We own the industry. Go back to research. The industry belongs to the Yoruba people. If you go back to research, you will hear from people like Hubert Ogunde and Ade Love. I don’t want to go into details. But, if you go and research very well, you will discover that Yorubas own this industry, we started this industry. We messed up at some point, but we are not playing catch-up. We are there already. Now, everybody wants to shoot a Yoruba movie.”
You can observe their discussions in the video below:
In response to her statement, Mazi Jude Pondi expressed his concerns about Lawal’s remarks. He stressed the importance of respecting the contributions of all ethnic groups that constitute Nollywood and avoiding statements that could foster division.
Pondis issued a statement on social media, urging the Actors Guild of Nigeria and other key Nollywood stakeholders to step in and request a public apology from Aisha Lawal.
In his words, “It has been nearly 48 hours since Aisha Lawal made her irrelevant, inconsequential, and false statement that Yorubas started and own the Nollywood industry, and till now, neither the Actors Guild of Nigeria nor any other Nollywood stakeholders have reprimanded her or demanded a public apology to rectify her derogatory and defamatory remarks. Even the Yoruba community hasn’t voiced their concern over her assertion. I’m disheartened to see that she is conducting a 5k giveaway on her page, indicating her lack of remorse for her words.
A blatant bigot, not even prominent Yoruba-born celebrities like Falz or Mr. Macaroni have condemned her statement. I believed our problem was politics, but I hadn’t realized that tribalism has damaged us to the point of irreparability.
This woman proclaimed in a national newspaper, ‘Tribune,’ that Yorubas own the Nollywood industry, and yet no one has taken action to discipline her for making such unfounded claims. Nollywood has thrived due to the collaborative efforts of individuals from various tribes, and for one person to assert that a particular tribe solely owns it, only serves to fragment our unity. Aisha Lawal should face suspension from Nollywood until she shows remorse for her actions and gross misconduct. If not, her statement will tarnish the hard work everyone is putting into building a better industry. Why is unity so difficult in this country? Even those tasked with uniting us are causing division. Why???”