Veteran actor Francis Duru has sparked a debate after claiming that the Igbo community played a major role in the development of modern Nollywood, but that Yoruba filmmakers have since become more dominant in the industry.
Speaking during an interview on Gbam, Duru said Igbo entrepreneurs were instrumental in building Nigeria’s home-video industry but argued that the Yoruba community has been more effective in supporting, promoting and creating opportunities for its own people.
“We [Igbos] created Nollywood, but if you go to Netflix today, you hardly see one movie that speaks of Igbo heritage,” he said.
Duru called on Igbos to learn from what he described as the Yoruba community’s ability to preserve, promote and project its cultural identity through film.
He, however, clarified that his comments were not intended as an attack on Yoruba filmmakers but rather as a call for greater support for Igbo culture and storytelling within the Nigerian film industry.
