Some executives avoid Igbo talents for fear of creating rivals — Zubby Michael

Nollywood actor Zubby Michael has revealed that some industry insiders and executives hesitate to back Igbo talents due to the fear that their mentees may quickly surpass them as competitors. Speaking in an interview with Broadway TV, Michael noted that Igbo individuals are quick learners and can acquire knowledge rapidly, often in a fraction of the time required by their mentors.

He explained, “Igbo people are fast learners and they are capable of making it big with just a little. You might decide to mentor an Igbo person and what took you 10 years to learn, he will learn it in one year and six months.” Michael further suggested that this reluctance to support Igbo talents extends beyond non-Igbo executives, with some Igbo industry leaders also harboring similar concerns.

“Industry executives, including some Igbos, don’t like supporting Igbos because they feel like they will get betrayed by their mentee outshining them,” he added. These remarks follow a recent concern expressed by veteran actor Francis Duru, who lamented the dwindling presence of Igbo-centric narratives in Nigerian cinema. Duru, in an interview on Gbam, urged Igbo filmmakers and investors to adopt the strategies employed by the Yoruba film industry to safeguard and promote their cultural stories.

He argued that the dominance of Yoruba filmmakers in major release windows and streaming platforms like Netflix is partly due to the lack of Igbo filmmakers' ability to adapt, invest strategically, and protect their regional narratives, stating, “When they say charity begins at home, that’s what has happened to the Yorubas. We need to learn from them. If you don’t protect your own, if you don’t project your own, you know, who will do it?”