Francis Duru, the Nollywood actor, has attributed the dominance of Yoruba movies in cinema and on Netflix to the community’s ability to create and protect opportunities.

He said Igbos failed to do the same despite their early role in the growth of Nollywood.

Duru shared his views on the evolution of the Nigerian film industry in an interview with Yan Kontent Factory.

Why Yoruba movies have stronger visibility

The actor said Igbo filmmakers allowed their Yoruba colleagues to dominate a space they helped create.

He blamed this on complacency and a failure to protect Igbo cultural identity.

“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,” he said.

Duru also blamed the Igbo community’s “individualistic mentality” for its declining visibility in Nollywood.

“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.

“You need to be proactive and ask yourself, ‘There is a new market space; why am I not there?’

The actor said many of the people who pioneered Nollywood were traders. He noted that others later saw the industry’s potential and invested in it.

“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.”

Duru questions lack of Igbo stories

Duru also questioned why stories about prominent Igbo figures are rarely adapted into films.

“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 added.

Yoruba pioneers such as Hubert Ogunde, Duro Ladipo and Moses Olaiya were active in Nigeria’s film and theatre industry from the 1950s.

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