An aide to the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka, has slammed actor Francis Duru for claiming that Igbos built Nollywood but have lost control of the movie industry to Yoruba people.

Duru made the claim during an appearance on Yan Content Factory YouTube podcast.

According to him, “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.”

Reacting, Olayinka schooled the actor by revealing the genesis of the movie industry and the players behind it, which are Yoruba people.

He shared on X, "Francis Duru's Misinformation on Nollywood. The first HOME VIDEO produced and sold in Nigeria was ṢÓṢÓ MÉJÌ by Ade Ajiboye (Big Abass). It was released in 1988.

"In 1989, Alade Aromire produced and released ẸKÙN.

"Earlier, ÀJÀNÍ ÒGÚN was produced by Ola Balogun in 1976 as the first major indigenous commercial CELLULOID FILM. It was followed by ÌJÀ ÒMÌNIRA, produced by Adeyemi Afolayan (Ade-Love) in 1978.

"In 1979, Hubert Ogunde produced AIYÉ, his first CELLULOID FILM.

"Ogunde, who created the first PROFESSIONAL THEATRE company in 1945 and transitioned stage plays into influential Yoruba-language films, also produced JÁÍYESINMI, ÀRÒPIN N'TÈNÌYÀN, and ÀYÀNMỌ́.

"The first English-language Home Video, LIVING IN BONDAGE, was produced in 1992.

"So, where did Francis Duru get his story of 'Igbos built Nollywood but Yorubas have become dominant' from?"

ASA