Yoruba filmmakers are writing Igbo stories — and getting them dangerously wrong…

Veteran Nollywood actor Francis Duru has ignited a fierce cultural debate, accusing Yoruba filmmakers of crossing into Igbo storytelling territory and misrepresenting Igbo identity on screen — while laying the blame squarely on Igbo disunity and self-centredness for allowing it to happen.

Speaking in an interview on the Gbam programme aired on the Yan Content Factory YouTube channel, Naija News reported, Duru argued that despite Igbo traders effectively birthing Nollywood’s home video revolution in the 1990s, the community’s individualistic mentality allowed Yoruba producers to seize control of the industry’s most lucrative opportunities.

“We created Nollywood, but if you go to Netflix today, you hardly see one movie that speaks of Igbo heritage,” Duru said pointedly. He cited the series Ahamefuna as an example of Yoruba writers telling Igbo stories inaccurately. “They are crossing over to write Igbo stories and making a mess of who we are,” he added.

Duru praised Yoruba solidarity as a model, urging Igbo stakeholders to unite, invest collectively and reclaim cultural authorship of their own narratives before the damage becomes irreversible.