OSUOFIA CLARIFIES NOLLYWOOD ORIGINS, SAYS YORUBA FILMMAKERS STARTED HOME VIDEO
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By: Muftau Fatimo
Veteran Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia, has dismissed claims that he said Yoruba people founded Nollywood, insisting that his comments were specifically about the origins of Nigeria’s home-video industry.
Owoh explained that the term Nollywood did not exist when he and other filmmakers began producing films, noting that the name was adopted much later following discussions among industry stakeholders.
Speaking on the controversy, the actor said his remarks had been misunderstood, stressing that he never attributed the creation of Nollywood to any ethnic group.
“I never said Yoruba started Nollywood. When did Nollywood come out? When we started film, there was no Nollywood as a name,” he said.
However, Owoh credited Yoruba filmmakers, particularly veteran filmmaker Hubert Ogunde, for pioneering the home-video tradition and contributing significantly to its popularity in Nigeria.
“Ogunde is not Igbo. I am telling you that Yoruba started it,” he added.
Reiterating his position, the actor maintained that his comments were about the history of home video in Nigeria, not the origin of Nollywood.
“Yoruba did not start Nollywood; they started home video and the rest,” he stated.
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