‘Igbos failed to learn, Yorubas protected their own’ – Francis Duru

By Tolulope Oke

Veteran Nollywood actor, Francis Duru, has blamed what he described as the Igbo community’s “individualistic mentality” for the perceived dominance of Yoruba filmmakers and actors in Nollywood.

Francis Duru said the Yoruba have been able to overtake the Igbos in the industry because of their organisation, collective support and willingness to create opportunities for their own.

The actor made the remarks while reflecting on the history and evolution of Nollywood.

Although Yoruba pioneers such as Herbert Ogunde played significant roles in Nigeria’s early film industry, Duru argued that the modern phenomenon known as Nollywood emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s when Igbo entrepreneurs and filmmakers drove the home-video revolution.

He, however, said the Igbos failed to consolidate their position in the industry.

“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?” Duru 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 attributed the situation to what he described as an individualistic mentality among Igbos, saying this had prevented them from building a stronger collective presence in Nollywood.

“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.

He urged Igbos to become more proactive in identifying emerging opportunities and investing collectively in the promotion of their culture and heritage.

“You need to be proactive and ask yourself, ‘There is a new market space; why am I not there?’” he said.

Duru noted that many of the people who pioneered Nollywood were traders who recognised the commercial potential of home videos and invested in the industry.

“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,” he added.

The actor urged Igbos not to resent the success of Yoruba filmmakers, but to learn from their approach to promoting their people and cultural heritage.

“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,” he said.

Francis Duru also lamented what he described as the lack of films celebrating prominent Igbo figures and historical personalities.

“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,” Duru said.

He further criticised what he perceived as instances of Yoruba filmmakers adapting Igbo stories, citing *Ahamefuna* as an example.