YORUBA FILMMAKERS PIONEERED NIGERIA’S HOME-VIDEO INDUSTRY, NOT NOLLYWOOD — OSUOFIA

Veteran Nollywood actor, Nkem Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia, has acknowledged the pioneering contributions of Yoruba filmmakers to Nigeria’s home-video industry but maintained that they did not establish Nollywood.

Owoh made the clarification during an interview, explaining that Yoruba filmmakers had already established and popularised home-video productions long before the name Nollywood emerged.

According to the veteran actor, the contributions of Yoruba theatre practitioners and filmmakers to the growth of Nigeria’s film industry cannot be overlooked, particularly their early efforts in producing and distributing indigenous-language movies.

He specifically acknowledged the works of late legendary filmmaker Hubert Ogunde and veteran actor Adebayo Salami, popularly known as Oga Bello, whom he said he enjoyed watching.

Owoh’s remarks have once again drawn attention to the history of Nigeria’s film industry, the distinction between the early Yoruba home-video movement and the emergence of Nollywood, as well as the contributions of different ethnic and regional film traditions to the development of Nigerian cinema.