Osuofia speaks on Yoruba filmmakers’ role in emergence of Nollywood

Veteran Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh, better known as Osuofia, has set the record straight about the origins of Nigeria's home-video industry and its relationship to the emergence of Nollywood. During an appearance on the show Curiosity Made Me Ask, which is hosted by comedian Adebayo Abidemi, Osuofia addressed questions about his previous remarks on the contributions of Yoruba and Igbo filmmakers to the growth of Nollywood.

He rejected allegations that he had stated Yoruba people founded Nollywood, clarifying that the term did not exist when he and fellow filmmakers began producing movies. Osuofia explained that the name "Nollywood" was coined later, after industry stakeholders gathered to deliberate on strategies to develop and brand the Nigerian film sector.

"First of all, you have given me this wrong accusation that I said, Yoruba started Nollywood. No. When we started the thing, there was no Nollywood as a name," he asserted. Nevertheless, Osuofia acknowledged the pivotal role Yoruba filmmakers played in the early days of home-video productions in Nigeria. He singled out veteran director Hubert Ogunde and filmmaker Adebayo Salami, also known as Oga Bello, as key pioneers and promoters of home-video entertainment.

Osuofia reiterated that Yoruba filmmakers did not create Nollywood, but rather established the home-video market. This clarification comes as discussions continue regarding the roles played by Yoruba and Igbo filmmakers in shaping the Nigerian film industry. In August 2026, the late actor Francis Duru had argued that Igbo entrepreneurs were instrumental in building modern Nollywood during the home-video boom of the 1990s and early 2000s.

The 1992 film Living in Bondage, produced by Kenneth Nnebue, is often cited as a catalyst for the commercial home-video market that laid the groundwork for contemporary Nollywood.