Veteran Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia, has clarified his comments on the origins of Nigeria’s home-video industry, insisting that Yoruba filmmakers pioneered home video, not Nollywood.
Osuofia made the clarification during an appearance on Curiosity Made Me Ask, hosted by comedian and content creator Adebayo Abidemi, popularly known as Bae U.
The interview, which was published on the host’s YouTube channel on Saturday, saw the actor respond to a question about his alleged claim that Yoruba people started Nollywood rather than the Igbo.
The comments arrived months after late veteran Nollywood actor Francis Duru sparked debate in August 2026, arguing that the Igbo built Nollywood but the Yoruba community has become more dominant because of its ability to organise and promote its own.
At the time, Osuofia was reported to have dismissed the claim, saying that the Yoruba people were already deeply involved in filmmaking, theatre and “stage performances long before the Igbo-led home-video boom of the 1990s.
Rejecting the suggestion that Yoruba people started Nollywood, Osuofia explained that the name Nollywood did not exist when he and other filmmakers began making films, adding that it was adopted later after discussions among industry stakeholders