August 27, (THEWILL) – Nollywood actor, Gideon Okeke, has attacked his colleague, Aisha Lawal, for saying that the Yorubas own Nollywood.
Lawal had stated in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, that the Yorubas are not trying to play catch-up with their English counterpart, but they are the owners of the industry.
“We own the industry. Go back and research. The industry belongs to the Yoruba people. If you go back and research, you will understand what I mean from people like Hubert Ogunde and Ade Love.
“I don’t want to go into details. But, if you go and research very well, you will discover that Yorubas own this industry, we started this industry. We messed up at some point, but we are not playing catch-up. We are there already. Now, everybody wants to shoot a Yoruba movie”, she had stated.
Reacting to Lawal’s assertion, Okeke took to Instagram to slam the actress.
He stated that Nollywood is not owned by a tribe, but it is rather a collective entity.
“The Nigerian film industry, Nollywood as it is called, is not owned by the Yorubas. The gold in the north of Nigeria is not owned by the Hausas.
“The oil in the south east is not owned by the Igbos or riverine dwellers. The acronym WA-ZO-BIA is a wrapper that ties and joins us all, by the hip.
“Stop being ridiculous with your blinded quest for individuality. Your separatist behaviour reeks of ignorant entitlement.
“Your education is nothing, if it can’t impart a positive, inclusive change in the world around you.
“Tueh! Nonsense”, he wrote.
