Osuofia made the explanation throughout a look on Curiosity Made Me Ask, hosted by comic and material developer Adebayo Abidemi, commonly referred to as Bae U.
The interview, which was released on the host’s YouTube channel on Saturday, saw the star react to a concern about his supposed claim that Yoruba individuals began Nollywood instead of the Igbo.
The remarks got here months after late veteran Nollywood star Francis Duru stimulated argument in August 2026, arguing that the Igbo constructed Nollywood however the Yoruba neighborhood has actually ended up being more dominant due to the fact that of its capability to arrange and promote its own.
Duru, who passed away in October, argued that the contemporary Nollywood home-video market was mainly driven by Igbo business owners throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
At the time, Osuofia was reported to have actually dismissed the claim, stating that the Yoruba individuals were currently deeply associated with filmmaking, theatre and “phase efficiencies long before the Igbo-led home-video boom of the 1990s.
Turning down the tip that Yoruba individuals began Nollywood, Osuofia discussed that the name Nollywood did not exist when he and other filmmakers started making movies, including that it was embraced later on after conversations amongst market stakeholders.
He stated, “First of all, you have actually provided 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 banding, you understand, concepts and all that, how the important things is going to pertain to fulfillment. And ultimately, we picked Nollywood.”
The veteran star, nevertheless, credited Yoruba filmmakers, consisting of veteran filmmaker Hubert Ogunde and Adebayo, for popularising home-video productions in Nigeria.
He stated, “So, Yoruba began the important things. They made the important things preferred home video and all that. Yes, they did. And I’ve stated it numerous. Okay. Ogunde and Adebayo Papa. These are individuals I like to view their thing.”
When the recruiter jokingly recommended that Ogunde was Igbo, Owoh disagreed, firmly insisting that the veteran 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 guy who was that popular because,” he stated.
He even more clarified the difference in between the origins of Nollywood and the home-video custom, stating, “The Yoruba did not begin Nollywood. They began Home video.”
Osuofia’s information comes amidst long-running arguments about the ethnic contributions to Nigerian movie theater.
Historic accounts keep in mind that Yoruba taking a trip theatre groups, led by figures such as Hubert Ogunde, Duro Ladipo and others, transitioned from phase to early movie and video productions in the years before the 1990s boom.
The business surge of the direct-to-video market is commonly related to the 1992 Igbo-language hit Living in Bondage, produced by Kenneth Nnebue, which assisted popularise the format that later on ended up being worldwide referred to as Nollywood. The term “Nollywood” itself was created years later on.
In September 2026, PUNCH Online veteran star Pete Edochie appeared on Isbae U’s program and stated that he had no preferred star since he considered himself larger than all his associates.
Edochie challenged anybody declaring to be on the exact same expert level as him to come forward openly, while keeping in mind that his own phase profession gone back to 1962– well before the official development of Nollywood.
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