Osuofia Clarifies Yoruba Filmmakers’ Role in Nollywood’s Beginnings

Nkem Owoh, known as Osuofia, says his earlier remarks referred to Yoruba pioneers of Nigeria’s home-video tradition—not to Yoruba filmmakers founding Nollywood as a whole. In an interview on a YouTube programme, he said the name Nollywood came later, after Nigerian filmmakers had already begun making and sharing films. Owoh praised the contributions of Yoruba theatre practitioners, including Hubert Ogunde, Duro Ladipo and Moses Olaiya. He also recognised the role of Igbo filmmakers and entrepreneurs in the commercial growth of home video, pointing to Kenneth Nnebue’s 1992 film *Living in Bondage* as a landmark. His comments have renewed discussion about how theatre, home-video production and commercial distribution shaped Nigerian cinema. The industry’s growth involved contributors from across the country.

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