Nkem Owoh denies saying Yoruba founded Nollywood, credits them with pioneering films

Veteran Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia, has addressed comments attributed to him about who founded Nigeria's film industry.
What he said
Speaking on the YouTube interview show 'Curiosity Made Me Ask', hosted by content creator Isbae U, in an episode uploaded on Saturday, 7 November 2026, Owoh rejected reports that he had said the Yoruba people started Nollywood rather than the Igbo. He explained that the word 'Nollywood' did not even exist when he and his colleagues first began making films. However, he said Yoruba filmmakers had indeed pioneered the home-video tradition in Nigeria, giving particular credit to the late theatre and film pioneer Hubert Ogunde. When the host jokingly suggested Ogunde might have been Igbo, Owoh insisted that he was Yoruba.
The wider debate
The question of who built Nollywood has been debated for years. In August 2026, the late actor Francis Duru argued that Igbo businesspeople were the real architects of the home-video boom of the 1990s and early 2000s, while accepting that the Yoruba film community had become more dominant through stronger organisation. Owoh was reported at the time to have pointed out that Yoruba filmmakers were active in theatre and film long before the video boom. Duru died in October 2026.
Background
Owoh is one of Nollywood's best-loved comic actors, famous for the 'Osuofia in London' films and the song 'I Go Chop Your Dollar'. 'Curiosity Made Me Ask' is one of Nigeria's most popular celebrity interview shows.
- Owoh says he never claimed the Yoruba founded Nollywood.
- He credited Hubert Ogunde as a pioneer.
- He spoke on 'Curiosity Made Me Ask'.