- Veteran star Nkem Owoh, referred to as Osuofia, stated Yoruba filmmakers assisted present and popularise Nigeria’s home-video market.
- He made the talk about comic Bae U’s YouTube program, * Curiosity Made Me Ask *, while dealing with claims that he stated Yoruba individuals began Nollywood.
Veteran Nollywood star Nkem Owoh, commonly referred to as Osuofia, has actually weighed in on the dispute over the origins of Nigeria’s home-video market, firmly insisting that Yoruba filmmakers played a significant function in presenting and popularising the format.
The star made this understood throughout a look on comic Bae U’s YouTube program, Curiosity Made Me Ask, where he was asked to clarify his supposed declaration that the Yoruba individuals began Nollywood.
The conversation follows a debate stimulated by late star Francis Duru in August 2026, when he highlighted the substantial contributions of the Igbo neighborhood to the advancement of Nollywood, especially throughout the industrial home-video boom of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Reacting to the concern, Owoh discussed that Nollywood was not the name utilized when Nigerian filmmakers at first started producing motion pictures. According to him, the name was embraced much later on when market stakeholders came together to develop an ideal identity for the growing movie market.
He stated:
“First of all, you have actually offered me this incorrect allegation that I stated, Yoruba began Nollywood. No. Yoruba began this movie on … when did Nollywood come out? When we began the important things, there was no Nollywood as a name. We sat together and we’re branding, you understand, concepts and all that, how the important things is going to pertain to fulfillment. And ultimately, we picked Nollywood.”
The star kept that Yoruba filmmakers was accountable for making home-video productions extensively popular in Nigeria. He likewise acknowledged the contributions of veteran filmmakers Hubert Ogunde and Adebayo, whom he referred to as individuals whose works he appreciated.
Speaking even more, Owoh stated:
“So, Yoruba began the important things. They made the important things incredibly popular home video and all that. Yes, they did. And I’ve stated it numerous. Ogunde and Adebayo Papa. These are individuals I enjoy to view their thing.”
When Bae U jokingly recommended that Hubert Ogunde was Igbo, the veteran star instantly disagreed, preserving that the filmmaker was Yoruba.
“Ogunde is not Igbo. I’m informing you that Yoruba began it. When Ogunde was out, I do not believe there was any Igbo male who was that popular because,” he included.
Owoh later on clarified his position, differentiating in between the start of home-video productions and the introduction of Nollywood as a market name.
“The Yoruba did not begin Nollywood. They began Home video,” he clarified.
Historically, Yoruba taking a trip theatre professionals played an essential function in the early advancement of Nigerian home entertainment, transitioning from phase efficiencies to movie and tv productions. Amongst the significant leaders was Hubert Ogunde, whose work assisted form the nation’s early movie and theatre market.
The facility of Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) in Ibadan in 1959 likewise marked a considerable turning point in Nigeria’s broadcasting history.
The industrial home-video market experienced significant development throughout the 1990s, with Igbo filmmakers and businesspeople playing popular functions in broadening the market.
The name Nollywood acquired worldwide acknowledgment in 2002 after New York Times reporter Norimitsu Onishi utilized it in his September 16 report entitled Step Aside, L.A. and Bombay, for Nollywood.
Owoh’s newest remarks have actually included another measurement to the longstanding conversation about the contributions of the Yoruba and Igbo neighborhoods to the history and development of Nigeria’s movie market.
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