‘People from villages now call themselves actors’ — AGN asks FG to regulate Nollywood

Emeka Rollas, president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), has called on the federal government to ramp up its scrutiny of filmmaking operations in the country’s movie industry.

Rollas spoke to NAN following allegations of cultural misrepresentation directed toward the film ‘Gang of Lagos‘.

‘Gangs of Lagos’ had come under heated criticism since its April 7 release on the movie streamer Prime Video.

The movie narrated the story of a group of friends who had to navigate destiny while growing up on the streets of Lagos.

Despite its positive reviews, it was criticised for its “derogatory” depiction of Lagos and the Eyo Masquerade.

The movie spurred talks about the censor board’s lack of regulatory grip on films released via OTT streaming sites.

Rollas said the federal government needs to do more in the promotion and regulation of filmmaking in Nigeria.

“If the situation remains like this, anything can happen. The Nigerian film industry is evolving and we are all basking in the euphoria of the success,” the AGN boss added.

“The structure in [the Nigerian film industry] is really broken and it’s s just all man for himself. What is happening in the movie industry is everywhere.

“There are so many other industries in Nigeria that do not regard culture because the owners of the culture themselves are not doing enough to protect it.

“The movie industry has stayed long enough that the government needs to sit down and ask the stakeholders what they want and how to make the industry better.”

Rollas, while speaking further, described the Nigerian movie industry as being “so porous” that people come from different parts of the world to shoot movies with no one scrutinizing their activities or requiring a form of permit.

“The Nigerian movie industry is the only one where a foreign artist can be acting without being questioned if he or she has a permit,” he said.

“It’s so bad that some filmmakers keep encouraging them. When you question this at the actors guild conference, the people who employed them will stand against you.

“We keep playing lip service to everything. Nollywood is the only industry with no entry or exit point. A film producer can wake up, write a movie, go to the village, pack everyone into a movie, and start calling them actors.

“You make a code of conduct but no one is following it. You know because YouTube and other online platforms are paying well, everybody is now rushing to make content that often falls below standard.”