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https://www.nairaland.com/8746616/omotola-faces-backlash-over-experience

MY TAKE ON THE OMOTOLA ISSUE: WE LIFT AS WE CLIMB, WE TEACH NOT TEAR DOWN - By Chief Gary Austine Ebuka Ugboma Nzeawo of Ndoni

Good day Nairalanders,

I’ve been following the trending story around veteran actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and the old interview clip that resurfaced about an alleged pronunciation issue on a Hollywood set.

I will be brief, but I will also speak from experience.

1. MY OWN EXPERIENCE IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
Many years ago, before I answered the call to law, I was a music producer. One of the projects I’m most proud of is Ollie Gee’s monumental hit song "Daddy Moh".

Here’s what most people don’t know: The golden female voice and exclamations on that song was rendered by Joan Emi. And for the record, Joan Emi is IJAW, not Igbo.

Did that stop us from making an authentic Igbo-sounding song? No.
I took my time to sit with her. I taught her the proper Igbo pronunciations, the tonality, and the exclamations. We rehearsed until it sounded native.

Today, that song is still played everywhere and 90% of listeners assume the female voice is a native Igbo speaker. That is the power of coaching and mentorship.


2. MY ANGLE ON THE OMOTOLA MATTER
From the clip, Omotola noticed an Igbo actress struggling with Yoruba/Egun pronunciation and reported it to the supervisor.

With all due respect to Mama O, my verdict is this: That was a missed opportunity for leadership.

Instead of flagging the issue to the supervisor in a way that could jeopardize the lady’s job, the more professional and humane approach would have been:
"Supervisor, I noticed she’s struggling with the lines. With your permission, let me coach her for 10 minutes so we can get this take right."

Why I say so:
1. Authenticity matters: Yes, language accuracy is important for film. I agree 100%.
2. But so does solidarity: Nollywood itself was built on this. Non-Igbos played Igbos. Non-Yorubas played Yorubas. We coached each other. That’s how we grew the industry.
3. Hollywood is even tougher: Africans get very few chances there. The last thing we should do is create an environment where we report each other instead of raising each other.

3. THE BIGGER LESSON
We cannot preach "Africans supporting Africans" and then practice "report first, coach later".

In law, in music, in film - excellence is achieved through teaching. You correct in private, you praise in public. You lift as you climb.

If Joan Emi could sound Igbo because a producer took time to teach her, then that Igbo actress could have sounded perfect in Yoruba if a senior took 10 minutes to coach her.

That’s my angle. No hate, no tribalism. Just a call for professionalism with humanity.

I stand to be corrected.

What do you all think?

Chief Gary Austine Ebuka Ugboma
Nzeawo of Ndoni
Barrister and Solicitor, Supreme Court of Nigeria
FICMC, ACIArb UK
Former Music Producer

You are quite correct sir......I totally concur,I am yoruba but I also found omotola's action is reprehensible!! Even she would have been schooled on some English pronunciations right there on set while she was learning the ropes and nobody repudiated her for that and there are still many more corrections and coaching she will equally need.

It is typical of them, tribalist. Na una send that fat bons. She is nothing but a tribal bigot

I like fine girls, especially ibo girls

The ones with sense and not broke o, not just the look...

😉

Let’s help each other grow. Too much fighting. Naija

Some enlightened Nigerians may consciously suppress their ethnic biases, but sometimes those feelings surface unconsciously and reveal what is truly in their hearts. As the saying goes, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

In Omotola’s interview, her deliberate emphasis on identifying the tribe in that particular context raises questions about whether there was an underlying ethnic bias. She could have made the same point without specifically mentioning “Igbo.” If the tribe was not relevant to the issue being discussed, what purpose did mentioning it serve?

It is worth reflecting on why that particular detail was emphasized, especially given the sensitive ethnic tensions that already exist in Nigeria.

Nigeria is a funny place!

It’s surprising to me that the female voice on Ollie gee’s “daddy moh” wasn’t Igbo,it was perfect like an igbo woman sang it
They did another one I forgot the name now

Never knew Omotola had Fish brain

I don arrive dey worry her

I realize that social media is all about generating traffic for matters that are not even worth examining nor debating.

Comparing apples to oranges.

Omotola's discussion centered around trying to correct cultural errors in the setting of the story being acted with an Egun and Yoruba background, while the ignorant American producers could care less about the accuracy of their production.

if the example cited about Ollie Gee's song was relevant, it would have been that the Ijaw lady would have been singing Ijaw choruses and making Ijaw exclamations instead of the Igbo chorus and exclamations we all enjoyed in that Igbo song.

Imaging Mr Ibu dancing like a Fulani in the musical video to Flavour's Ada Ada song?

A parting advice to all Igbos as I have always made on this forum. Stop cloaking yourselves with a persecution complex. You should refrain from always seeking to be a victim.

I have absolutely nothing to add.

This is a great writeup devoid of bias and sentiment.

Even Davido's motto is : we rise by lifting others.

Samuels90:
Let’s help each other grow. Too much fighting. Naija

On social media the fight most times than often has to do with Yorubas & Igbos.

So she didn't offer to help

Wow

VDM has said it all in his video.

Omotola jalade is currently being dr@gg3d because of her recent interview that involves an Igbo lady and their roles in a Hollywood movie - Vdm speaks pic.twitter.com/SH7KKZOKF1

— Adegbola John (@AdegbolaJohn3) September 12, 2026

There was a time this lady and the likes of olu Jacobs were acting igbo roles and nobody reported them for not pronouncing igbo words correctly.

My take is that:


You cannot be calling others out for what you claimed to be VICTIMS MENTALLY when you are also parading your HYPOCRISY MENTALITY.


That is calling others out while your problem is even bigger than there's.


This is the real Hypocrisy we are always talking about here.


😎

Jegede shokoya of new masquerade was igbo but portrayed yoruba on new masquerade of the 80s,
The sitcom was never shot in Lagos or any other south west, when I was in pry school I thought he and his wife ramota in the sitcom were yoruba,

Yet we enjoyed it, both Christians and Muslims, and all tribes in mostly southwest, south east and south south,
Omotola wasn't professional,
When u are a Nollywood super Star, an upcoming Hollywood beginner is bigger , take it or leave it,
I love the reply,
I DONT CARE

Trash take.
But then, it's not surprising, coming from who is making the 'take'.
It's very difficult to find a Nigerian who thinks sanely and rationally. So hard!.
That's because their thought processes are warped by factors such as tribalism, religion, corruption (when it's beneficial to them or their tribe), and other biases.

Lithiumite:
You are quite correct sir......I totally concur,I am yoruba but I also found omotola's action is reprehensible!! Even she would have been schooled on some English pronunciations right there on set while she was learning the ropes and nobody repudiated her for that and there are still many more corrections and coaching she will equally need.

I'm Yoruba but 🤡


My 1million on it that you are not Yoruba.

Trash take as usual from our perpetual victim.

Throwback:
I realize that social media is all about generating traffic for matters that are not even worth examining nor debating.

Comparing apples to oranges.

if the example cited about Ollie Gee's song was relevant, it would have been that the Ijaw lady would have been singing Ijaw choruses and making Ijaw exclamations instead of the Igbo chorus and exclamations we all enjoyed in that Igbo song.

A parting advice to all Igbos as I have always made on this forum. Stop cloaking yourselves with a persecution complex. You should refrain from always seeking to be a victim.

What do u mean by persecution, who went to usa Hollywood to disgrace herself?

You are just wasting ur time trying to enlighten people who can't do without tribalism, tribal bigotry it's already embedded in their dna.

Nonsense

Africans supporting Africans when another African is there that can do a better job

Same you hypocrite always complain that Americans think all Africans/ Nigerians have the same accent when watching movies centered on the continent

Throwback:
A parting advice to all Igbos as I have always made on this forum. Stop cloaking yourselves with a persecution complex. You should refrain from always seeking to be a victim.

You sha found a way to blame igbos no be you again

Lol.. Y'all just want to make omotola the villain by all means. You're talking about the way she flagged it to the producers, blah blah blah... Were you there? You don't know how she presented it or what her approach was.

Hollywood is not nollywood where you can just start doing things not in your contract. If she was the director/producer, that's a different thing entirely.

If you lavish your time on social media without benefits, just scrolling to read trash, you're a fool.

Mrexcell:
You are just wasting ur time trying to enlighten people who can't do without tribalism, tribal bigotry it's already embedded in their dna.

No mind them uncanny birds are the ones trying to blame the innocent upcoming artist instead of jaklde

What she did was what they're known for, backstabbing, betrayal, bitterness and hypocrisy. It's in their dna.

Every Nigerian that just couldn’t look past this triffle matter but rather think to lend a voice in support or against the matter is a tribal jingoistic bigoted fool.

Klington:
There was a time this lady and the likes of olu Jacobs were acting igbo roles and nobody reported them for not pronouncing igbo words correctly.

And she has not accused anyone of not pronouncing Egun or Yoruba words.

Even those who were acting as Egun or Yoruba were not necessarily Yoruba.

The error she sought to correct was about the background Igbo exclamations in the movie production, that was supposedly set up as an Egun and Yoruba background.

Imagine General Nanisca (Viola Davis) in Woman King speaking Igbo instead of Fon spoken by the Dahomey?

Imagine King Ghezo acted by the Yoruba John Boyega, speaking the little Yoruba he knows instead of the Fon language of the Dahomey people he was leading against the Yorubas of Oyo?

Imagine the victorious Dahomey Agojie female warriors returning to Dahomey and the people welcoming them with Yoruba language songs instead of Fon language songs?

The crux of the matter is not the ethnicity of who acts what role, it is about not introducing an error based on your ethnicity into a script that should be otherwise.

Was Omotola or Olu Jacobs speaking Yoruba while acting as an Igbo girl or an Igbo Igwe?

If they did, won't the Igbo filmmakers of that project correct them?

Did the Americans know that the background exclamations made by the Igbo lady was not suitable to the setting of that movie? Did they even care when it was brought to their notice?