By our reporter 29.8.2026
Nollywood actor Francis Duru has argued that Ibos pioneers in the Nigerian film industry have been unable to get organised just their Yoruba counterparts.
Speaking on Friday in an interview with Gbam, Duru submitted that Yoruba Nollywood practitioners are organised and that is the reason they have become dominant. He said Ibo traders developed the home-video market which rapidly contributed to the growth of Nollywood, but they now play second fiddle.
“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?” he said.
“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,” Duru stated.
The actor blamed what he described as an individualistic mindset among some Igbos for the loss of influence.
“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,” he said.
“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,” he said.
He also questioned why more films had not been made about prominent Igbo figures and historical personalities.
“Igbos have many great men in Nigeria. When was the last time you saw the epic of one of these great men?” Duru asked.
Francis Duru...speaking the truth.