Despite the involvement of individuals from diverse tribal backgrounds in the film industry, Nollywood actress Aisha Lawal emphasized in an exclusive interview with Tribune Newspaper on Saturday that the Yoruba community can be recognized as the original pioneers of the Nigerian film industry.
She pointed out that prior to the participation of other ethnic groups, the Yoruba people were the first to venture into acting. While acknowledging past mistakes, Aisha maintained that this historical precedence doesn’t mean they are currently lagging behind.
She highlighted that the Yoruba language has now become the preferred choice for Nollywood productions due to its higher financial returns for producers.
“We own the Nollywood industry. Go back to research. The industry belongs to the Yoruba people. If you go back to research, you will hear from people like Hubert Ogunde and Ade Love. I don’t want to go into details. But, if you go and research very well, you will discover that Yorubas own this industry, we started this industry. We messed up at some point, but we are not playing catch-up. We are there already. Now, everybody wants to shoot a Yoruba movie.” She stated.
