Francis Duru Sparks Controversy: “Yorubas Are Getting Igbo Stories Wrong

Veteran Nollywood actor Francis Duru has expressed concern over what he described as the failure of the Igbo to maintain dominance in Nollywood through the promotion of indigenous stories, despite their significant role in the industry’s early development.

Duru made the remarks during an interview on Gbam, aired on the Yan Content Factory YouTube channel on Friday.

According to the actor, the Yoruba eventually overtook the Igbo in the Nigerian film industry because they were more organised and deliberate about supporting and promoting their own.

While Yoruba figures such as Herbert Ogunde are widely recognised as pioneers of Nigeria’s theatre and film industry from the 1950s, Duru maintained that modern Nollywood emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s when Igbo entrepreneurs helped introduce and popularise the home-video format.

He lamented that despite the rich cultural heritage and history of the Igbo, their stories are not adequately represented on major streaming platforms.

Duru also criticised the portrayal of Igbo culture by some Yoruba filmmakers and writers, claiming that some have ventured into telling Igbo stories without properly representing the identity and traditions of the people.

He said:

“The Yorubas epitomise the saying, ‘Charity begins at home.’ We need to learn from them. If you don’t protect and project your own, who will do it?

“We [Igbos] created Nollywood, but if you go to Netflix today, you hardly see one movie that speaks of Igbo heritage. But the Yorubas, on the other hand, created opportunities for themselves and utilised them.

“Igbos failed to learn because of their individualistic mentality. You think you are the big man, so you are self-centred. But you forget that a time will come when you need to be expansive.

“You need to be proactive and ask yourself, ‘There is a new market space; why am I not there?’ Most of the persons who pioneered Nollywood were mere traders. So, you created something, and some people saw the gold in it, got together, called their people who have the ‘do’, and they invested in it. The Yorubas protected their own.

“Don’t get angry with them. These are people who saw their own and protected their own. What happened to you? Igbos have many great men in Nigeria.

“When was the last time you saw the epic of one of these great men? We have great writers who are now writing for the Yorubas. You even see the Yorubas crossing over to write Igbo stories like ‘Ahamefuna’ and making a mess of who we are.”