Ayekotoo: So only Igbo actors are the nollywood actors? Do you even know how nollywood came about? Etomi Adesua is not nollywood actress but biniwood according to your logic?
can you point out where I made the claim? if an Igbo actor features in Yoruba movies that makes the Igbo a Yoruba personality not a nollywood actor. If yorubas like omotola, olu jacobs etc feature in nollywood it makes them nollywood actors but it doesnt change the cultural foundation and the igbo story that nollywood projects. If ighalo like let him become the coach of Man U it wouldn't turn Barclay's premier league to Nigeria premier league. It's still part of English football. Some Igbo's like Patience ozokwor who speak Yoruba tried the Yoruba industry but it wasn't paying. If Yoruba stories are selling as it should Igbo producers and actors would dominate your industry. But you are not making any effort to tell your stories, instead you find some of Yoruba producers try to "mix" two cultures in one movie as a way of telling yoruba story using the false pretence of producing nollywood movies which are more marketable as in "omugwo" and "wedding party".
gwafaeziokwu: They ran to establish Yoruba wood thinking it's by muscle, today they all want to be part of the Nollywood success story. We will not discriminate against them afterall the field is big enough for all players. What we do not want is revisionism and lies. Give honour to whom honour is due simple.
They haven't even got the courage to brand their industry. They don't believe in hardwork, they believe in riding on people's hardwork. They believe in government intervention in business as with the indigenization decree. Jide kosoko even called on government some yrs back to ban home videos which didn't pass through cinemas. A veiled call to ban nollywood. If they can't compete, they claim. when they can't claim they hate.
So Yoruba movies that has been in existence since the days of Ogunde doesn't count? When did the Igbo started telling Igbo stories?
You guys are boring me with all these roforofo talks!
it is not our business if you choose to abandon your industry and story. Hausas know they wouldn't be comfortable having Igbo's tell their story and its religious connotations that is why they hold onto kannywood. Yorubas have their own story told in Yoruba language, they have their actors who belong to a union separate from nollywood Actors guild of Nigeria called association of theatre act practitioners of Nigeria, so what's the fuss about being part of nollywood? Do you think an average actor of the Yoruba section be him Yoruba or English would be identified as a nollywood actor outside Nigeria?
Taye4j: Ayirada, lol. I'm sure you are one of those people who would read the headline without reading the body. How you went to school is still a mystery. I'm sure you were placed on probation.
Kindly go back and read - make sure you also understand. Then come back and say something sensible.
I don't have time for you Wikipedia pseudo-intellectuals. Someone went to wikipedia and wrote a junk history saying that "cinema industry is informally referred to as nollywood" . History of cinema in Nigeria is different from nollywood.You shouldn't try to dubiously mix them together. Nollywood started as home video not cinema that was why it celebrated 20th anniversary in 2012. if you want to celebrate your cinematography, do so without dubiously attaching to another industry.
LegendHero: Most of the movies are English produced. so what the bleep are you talking about?
who told you every English movie is nollywood? Nollywood started as Igbo stories told in Igbo language, later changed to Igbo stories told in English language for marketing expediency. They incorporated people from other ethnic groups and built a multimillion dollar empire. some nollywood movies have French and Swahili versions outside Nigeria. The North have their own story too told through kannywood. it's kinda surprising how Yoruba's try to attach to nollywood and brand their movies a such. You should be looking at ways to tell your stories to the world by building a Yoruba industry instead of riding on the back of successful people while stabbing them in the name of "modifying". We know the history well and won't let you rewrite it.
Taye4j: Why don't you write your own history? Everybody knows anything that does not favour you guys is deemed fake by the Lagos - Ibadan news.
Thank God it's not a Yoruba man that wrote the history of Nollywoood. If you don't like it, kindly find the nearest power line and hug it, better still if you are in Lagos, kindly look for the Lagoon and ..................jump.
Mr stop foaming already. what was the title of the article you posted? did you see nollywood there?
LegendHero: This is the list of the 50 highest grossing Nollywood movies of all time.
Can you clearly see the Yorubas still dominate?
Fame of Mr. Ibru you say? Is Ramsey Noah not famous? Is Desmond Elliot not famous? Is Olu Jacob not famous?
Fame is relative, we are talking about the entrepreneurial aspect of Nollywood and Yorubas are clearly modifying Nolywood and making it more viable. It’s about innovation and the Yorubas clearly understood the game.
most of these movies you listed are not nollywood movies. they are yorubawood at the least. If they are highest grossing (in your language), then have the money and don't "modify" a nollywood industry known worldwide.
You forgot to write that Gowon's speech upon taking over was disjointed. He admitted that there was no longer any basis for unity (part of the secession speech) and ended by assuring of his determination to pursue unity.
We have made progress. You have now admitted that it was an industry! One by one we will break down your attempts to rubbish the industry.
Your first mispeak was that it was not an industry.
Do you have any comments about your second statement that there were no production companies? (I'm sure you've seen the names of the production companies in my reply).
What about your third statement that it wasn't making any money (I'm sure you've seen the box office takings in my reply)
(I have noticed that anytime you make a false allegation and I disprove it, you never ever admit that you were wrong. You simply move on, shift the goalpost and make another false allegation).
Firstly, you said that the movie industry was not known beyond Nigeria and did not get any foreign input and now you say that it was reliant on foreign stakes?? That shows that you have no idea what you are talking about.
The industry was reliant on takings from the cinema business. When the economic crisis occurred and armed robbery became a big issue, people did not want to go to the cinemas for fear of being attacked at night. That's why home video became popular, because you can watch it in your house without being attacked.
Secondly, there were Nigerian owned cinemas before the indigenisation decree and that was stated in my reply, so don't try to make it seem like it was government that created the Nigerian owned cinema. The indigenisation decree was significant because it ensured that 300 foreign owned cinemas were transferred to Nigerians. There were over 300 cinemas in Nigeria at the time and yet you say that it wasn't an industry??
Thirdly, in case you don't know, the indigenisation decree was not a decree about movie theatres specifically. The decree mandated that the controlling shares of all companies in Nigeria must be in the hands of Nigerians. It was this decree that led to the Nigerianisation of Union Bank, First Bank and all such other companies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Enterprises_Promotion_Decree
Fourthly, I'm not going to play your game. You are trying to turn this into a battle between Nollywood and the Golden Age of Nigerian Cinema because you've seen that all your attempts to rubbish the Golden Age have failed. I am proud of Nollywood and I have repeatedly said so here. What I won't accept is people trying to say that there was no movie industry in the 1950s, '60s, 70s and 1980s, like you tried to do. That is patently false. It is also false to say that the movie industry only consisted of selling TV series, as you tried to assert. There were epic movies that were made like Kongi's Harvest, Bullfrog In The Sun (Things Fall Apart), Death of a Black President, Mosebolatan and others.
Besides, your latest attempts to shift the goalpost won't work. All industries have flaws and industries come and go. Your attempt to say that because the Golden Age ended in the 1980s therefore it was not an industry is laughable. Once upon a time coal was the major means of powering machines. It is no longer the major means of powering machines and the coal industry has gone into decline. Should we then say that there was nothing like a coal industry? Petroleum products are currently being used to power machines, but people are currently frantically looking for alternatives to petroleum (look at Tesla). If they succeed would we then say that there was never a petroleum industry because it went into decline? That doesn't make any sense. An industry is defined as a sector that produces goods or related services within an economy. The film industry produced services and related goods in the 1950s, '60s, 70s and '80s and it was an industry.
There was a film industry in Nigeria, it was recognised worldwide, it was profitable to the extent that foreigners invested in it, it employed a large number of people and made famous movies and anybody that tries to deny these facts does not know what he is talking about. Period!
movie production wasn't a money spinning business prior to Nollywood. You know it is the truth that's why you are running around the thread reposting comments.
naptu2: You haven't produced 1 single argument or fact in your attempt to rubbish the golden age of Nigerian Cinema. All you've said is, "I don't think it was an industry". Where is your proof that it was not an industry? None. "I don't think it was successful", where is your proof? None. "I don't think there was any production company". Where is your proof that there was no production company? None. IIt's not about what you think, it's about facts! Provide facts. I have provided more than enough facts and you have provided none.
In all your posts you speak of 'indigenization' 'purchasing power' 'oil boom' etc which suggest an industry that is over reliant on foreign stakes and excessive government intervention to survive rather that the business ingenuity of the local stake holders. most of those cinemas were own by foreigners, the then govt concerned there wasn't truly a 'Nigerian movie industry' as the bulk of the profits was going to cinema owners, handed ownership of the cenimas to Nigerians who ran it aground. if it was a self sustaining industry, the govt would only regulate not intervene. You can't run a business without a viable and efficient marketing network that gives you return on investment. Those who produced for cinema went out of job during economic recession because the cinema was expensive and wasn't really viable, at least in the Nigerian business environment. They had to run to govt owned channels to provide them content and beg for sponsorship. Nollywood brought it's own channel of marketing, building an empire where the govt was the regulator not interventionists. we've had several recessions since then yet the industry still grows.
naptu2: Your opinions are unimportant and irrelevant. What you think is unimportant and irrelevant. What's important are historical facts and they are stated there.
That's exactly what someone without strong argument would say.
naptu2: How the heck can you say that " it is doubtful whether movie making of the era possess requisite characteristics that will make one to brand it a "movie industry". There were cinema chains, Ogunde owned a Film Village, there were distributions channels that moved the films to cinemas all over the country like La Scala cinema, Odeon Cinema, etc.
Dr Ola Balogun owned the Afrocult Film Company that produced his own films and also produced Hubert Ogunde's films and Moses Olaiya's films. He had studied movie making in France (up to Phd level) and had also worked at the Nigerian Film Corporation. Do you know the number of people that were employed at the hundreds of cinema houses across the country? You might say that you are not aware of how the film industry was back then, but don't say that there was no film industry. It was a big deal in Nigeria back in the day (before the economic crisis of the 1980s).
You're still saying the same thing. It's not all about academic qualification, cinemas and film village, its about how money spinning it is. I'm inclined to believe it wasn't otherwise it would have been continued and expanded by subsequent generation of film makers. Don't even give me the economic recession excuse. of course movie production has been around way before living in bondage but my point is whether it could really be called an industry. That's why I asked whether you can have a movie industry without home video.
Nollywood changed all that. It gave birth to a movie industry in its true sense. Direct to home movies gave marketers and producers big returns, directors and writers made money and actors became popular and richer. more returns meant more and more movies. Actors formed their guild, video clubs began to boom and the government even had to establish the national films and video censors board to censor and control movies in the new industry. That is a huge different.
Coming to the original question asked by the op, yes! nollywood is Igbo. The different segments of the Nigerian movie industry evolved separately owing to cultural peculiarities, different norms and challenges. Northern segment now called kannywood has its history and style. You hear them sanctioning actresses for photoshoots adjudged indecent. In fact sometimes their movies look like Bollywood. Yoruba's have their own history. In fact the story of ola balogun, ogunde etc tell the history of Yoruba film making. Igbos also have their own history preceding the 90s. There was "things fall apart" and some other popular series before "living in bondage". It is the Igbo segment which later incorporated English language for wider reach that was branded Nollywood. It is Nollywood that most people know as the Nigerian film industry because of it's wide reach and revenue.
adekolaelect: future impossible Tens with Inamdi KANU as your Leader.
Below is a UN human rights report on Nigeria. I want your to take note of the word in bold. does it ring a bell?
Human Rights Committee reviews the situation of Civil and Political Rights in Nigeria The Human Rights Committee concluded today its review of the implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Nigeria.
In his opening remarks, Audu Ayinla Kadiri, Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said the composition of the Nigerian delegation was a testimony to its commitment to the implementation of the Covenant. He apologized for Nigeria’s inability to submit its second periodic report. Nigeria had implemented many initiatives to improve the effectiveness, accessibility, accountability, transparency and fairness of the justice system, such as the development of justice sector reform action plans and the establishment of judicial research and training centres. The Nigerian Government was firmly committed to promote and protect the human rights of Nigerians. While much had been done in this regard, across a broad range of fields, the Government acknowledged that challenges remained.

Committee Experts thanked the delegation for their presence and stressed that the purpose was to find common ground so that the Committee may formulate recommendations aiming to help the Government to move forward. They pointed out that corruption remained rampant and that implementation of the legislation was weak. They also asked the delegation to comment on recent events, notably the killing of people in Biafra region and the killing of 350 people in Zaria, in Kaduna province. Experts asked if there was a law that prohibited discrimination that would cover direct and intersected forms of discrimination. Was the Government considering repealing article 214 of the criminal code which criminalized sexual acts between persons of the same sex? What measures were in place to address the discriminatory effects of legislation on polygamy and repudiation?
Mr. Kadiri, in concluding remarks, said that the dialogue had been interesting and illuminating and the delegation had done its best to answer the Experts’ questions. “All is well that ends well,” he said, stressing that the delegation and the Committee shared a common purpose. The delegation looked forward to cooperating further with the Committee.
Anazp: So what's the issue? France supported the Biafrans during the civil war and yet the Biafrans lost woefully. Biafrans keep saying Nigeria won the war simply because the British supported Nigeria. What a joke. Cowards
French support was largely moral one. France really wanted Biafra independent but some issues made them to extremely limit their arms supplies. It is a known fact that if Biafra got 1/3 of the arms Nigeria got from just a single world power, Nigeria wouldn't exist today.
Whiteangel1234: South Sudan also took up armed the are the current newsest state in Africa
Everybody have genuine case to be free even all tribes in Nigeria we are joined by force in 1914
everybody's case look good to them until it passes political scrutiny. South Sudan fought for decades because they never the type of history south Cameroon had. it wasn't easy for them just like Biafra. That's why I said southern Cameroon's case should be EASIER.
Whiteangel1234: But the never got independence until they take up arm and fight for it 2 years ago
Not all those who take up guns are listened to. South Cameroon share separate colonial history with cameroon. They only became part of Cameroon via a referendum. It is Easier for them to convince the international community on why they should be an independent country. Its almost same with China and hong Kong except China is more powerful.
BTW, as far as this is concerned Biafra could take the same pattern.
seunmsg: The civil war atrocities as documented by Biafra are easily available with pictures. The atrocities committed by Biafra forces with pictures are classified by the Federal government in the spirit of reconciliation. Sadly, the other side won’t stop posting the atrocities of the federal forces in support of their propaganda efforts.
For unbiased minds, Biafra and federal forces committed serious atrocities during the war. Both sides are guilty so don’t be swayed by propaganda threads like this.
These are not Biafra "documents" but records from independent foreign observers. does the " spirit of reconciliation" stop you from posting those committed by Biafra if they exist?
naptu2: You still don't understand, so I'll try to break it down for you one last time.
There were lots of movies that were shot on celluloid in Nigeria in the 1950s, '60s, '70s and '80s. These movies were shown in the cinemas that I listed above. They are a completely different segment of the Nigerian movie industry.
In fact, do you know that a Hollywood movie was shot and partially produced in Nigeria in 1990. That movie is obviously not a Nollywood movie, it's a Hollywood movie. The title of the movie is Mr Johnson and the star of the movie was Pierce Brosnan, who was also one of the stars of the James Bond movies. Hubert Ogunde was a guest star.
Nollywood began because of the problems that the NTA gave independent producers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The only TV stations that existed at that time were the NTA and state TV stations. Independent producers looked for sponsors (usually UAC, PZ, Lever Brothers and Cadbury) who bought the airtime so that their productions could be shown on the NTA. However, NTA started misbehaving.
The NTA arbitrarily increased the cost of airtime and Amaka Isaac Ene (Amaka Igwe) was forced to take Checkmate off the NTA. She eventually syndicated it on state TV stations (LTV, OGTV, etc). Other producers were also forced to take their shows off the NTA.
After a caller on Morning Ride insulted President Babangida, independent producers were forced to submit their work to the NTA 5 days before it was shown, so that it can be vetted. In fact, Lola Fani Kayode had problems with the NTA way back in 1985 because her hit soap opera, Mirror in the Sun had a story about a corrupt government official and his girlfriend.
Therefore, some independent producers realised that they didn't need the NTA. They could produce their work on VHS cassettes and sell directly to the public. In fact, Amaka Isaac Ene also released Checkmate on video cassettes. The independent producer could make money from the sale of the cassette and still make money from advertiser like UAC, Lever Brothers, PZ and Cadbury and they didn't have to deal with NTA's problems. This was the beginning of Nollywood. That's why Living in Bondage is recognised as the pioneer Nollywood movie. That's why I understand what the VP meant when he said that the South East is the birthplace of Nollywood.
However, there was no name like Nollywood at the beginning. It was actually called Home Video because the movies were shot on home video equipment (camcorder and VHS cassette) and sold directly to the public. This was very different from the previous movies that were shot on celluloid and shown in cinemas.
The previous movies had fallen out of favour because of the increasing rate of armed robberies in the 1970s and '80s. People were to afraid to go to cinemas at night. Furthermore, the economic crisis of 1982 and the SAP palava of 1986 meant that people were looking for money to eat and they didn't have money to go to the cinemas.
According to Chief Eddie Ugbomah, the name Nollywood was coined by an Indian woman who said at a conference that "there is Hollywood and there is Bollywood, so this must be Nollywood". Chief Ugbomah hated the name. Why should a foreigner name our movie industry? He also hated the Nollywood industry initially. Remember that people like Eddie Ugbomah were trained movie makers and they shot on celluloid, while a lot of the people that started Nollywood were not really trained and they shot on VHS cassette. They also had very little money, while people like Eddie Ugbomah spent years raising money before they made a movie. However, before his death, Chief Ugbomah accepted the Nollywood industry as "what we have so we should try and encourage them".
Dr Ola Balogun hates Nollywood with a passion. He says that their actors and actresses do not know how to act, their movies are hurriedly produced and their scripts are nonsense. Dr Balogun got his Phd in movie making in France. When the French wanted to showcase Nollywood at the Caen Film Festival, Dr Balogun travelled to France to campaign against it. He often says that he knows where Hollywood is, he knows where Bombay is, but he doesn't know where Nollywood is (Eddie Ugbomah had also previously said the exact same thing).
Hubert Ogunde died before anyone even thought of anything called Nollywood.
Now, I do not agree with Dr Ola Balogun when he says that Nollywood is nonsense, however, I do know that there are many different kinds of movies in Nigeria and it's not all of them that are Nollywood movies. I had a friend that made movies in New York, but I would not call his movies Hollywood movies (it's not all movies that are made in the US that are categorised as Hollywood movies).
Living in bondage gave birth Nigerian movie industry which changed to nollywood. It is easy to call those ones shot on celluloid and stage performances movies but it is doubtful whether movie making of the era possess requisite characteristics that will make one to brand it a "movie industry". It is also okay to trace the background of nollywood to the stage performances of the 60/70s and the tv drama series of the 80s, but to outrightly brand them nollywood is a bit of a disservice to history. The productions of the 70s and 80s were done by which company? which marketing company distributed them?
Can you have a movie industry without home video?
Most of these were absent which was why nobody knew about them and the actors. They relied on cinema and TV sponsorship to reach their audience. is that one an industry?
To me, a virile movie industry needs three key things finance (production) creativity (directors, actors, video effects etc) Marketing
Living in bondage brought these. Nollywood didn't start because of Nta issues with producers, it started when a Vhs importer couldn't sell off his goods and decided to try production. it was successful as he made more than three times the expected profit. other businessmen had to key into that using production companies. wealthy and popular actors, producers, directors and markers were born. Nice movies were made too and lucrative industry which later became known a nollywood was born.
Politics › Re: Nigeria Is The Reason Blacks Around The World Suffer by Noneroone(m): 9:30pm On Jun 14, 2020
