Veteran Nollywood actor Francis Duru has criticised the Igbo film community for failing to sustain dominance in Nollywood despite pioneering the industry, accusing some Igbo writers of allowing Yoruba filmmakers to take over Igbo-themed stories and distort them in the process.
Duru spoke during an interview on “Gbam,” a show aired on the Yan Content Factory YouTube channel on Friday.
The actor argued that while Yoruba filmmakers such as Herbert Ogunde were recognised as early pioneers of Nigerian cinema in the 1950s, Nollywood as it is known today was built by Igbos who introduced home video into the market in the 1990s and early 2000s. He said the Yoruba film industry has since overtaken its Igbo counterpart because of stronger organisation and greater internal support.
According to Duru, Yoruba producers and writers are now the ones telling Igbo stories on screen — and getting the details wrong.
“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?” he said.
He noted that despite Igbos having built Nollywood from the ground up, Igbo heritage is barely represented on platforms like Netflix today, unlike Yoruba content, because Yoruba stakeholders created and protected opportunities for themselves.
Duru attributed the decline to what he called an individualistic mindset among Igbos, saying success bred self-centredness rather than a drive to expand collectively. He said the pioneers of Nollywood were largely traders who spotted an opportunity, brought in people with the right skills, and built an industry — a model he said the Yorubas replicated and Igbos failed to sustain.
He added that many talented Igbo writers now work primarily for Yoruba productions, pointing to shows like “Ahamefuna” as an example of Yoruba creators telling Igbo stories inaccurately.
“You even see the Yorubas crossing over to write Igbo stories like ‘Ahamefuna’ and making a mess of who we are,” Duru said.
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