INSIDE NOLLYWOOD RESPONDS TO McBROWN’S “NOLLYWOOD DOESN’T SUPPORT GHANA CREATIVES”

My emotions tinkered between shock, anger, displeasure and outrage at the preposterous and baseless remarks supposedly ejected by Ghanaian movie star Nana Ama McBrown, in an article published by a Prompt News Online on the 14^th of August.

I am particularly shocked because there are statements that ought not to emanate from media personalities, especially when they have the propensity to them as irrational, ignorant, petty and supercilious people.

She was reported to have made this statement after having gone against her own personal rule of not watching TV, then saw an episode of the infamous Big Brother Nigeria reality show that is currently one of Nigeria’s biggest exports.

According to her, a DJ was playing a song, then quickly changed it after a minute simply because he was Ghanaian. She then inferred that this meant that Nigerians are not supportive of Ghanaian artistes, and swore that she would never collaborate with Nollywood on any project.

Well, it is her loss.

Nonetheless, the transmogrification of facts is unacceptable by Nigerians and reasonable people across the globe, because as the revered goddess Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche asserts, a single story is capable of destroying the image and reputation of a people.

McBrown’s odorous statement is malevolent, dreadful and wicked because they paint Nigerians as hard-hearted pointlessly cruel xenophobic and racial bigots. In reality Ghollywood, that is the Ghanaian movie industry, has for over 2 decades now, found another home in Nigeria.

McBrown is 47, and  is over  17 years older than I am, so I find it a nerve racking and hopelessly useless task that I have to remind her that her compatriots like Van Vicker, Majid Michel, Jackie Appiah and John Dumelo, all of whom she is older than by the way were so popular in Nigeria they actually spent more time in Lagos and at some point than in their homeland at some point.

Others like Nadia Buari who had been fondly teased by Nigerians for having a name that rhymes with Buhari, Nigeria’s immediate past president was a muse for many great Nigerian songwriters. D’Banj notable sang “and Nadia Buari, cos she no dey drink garri” in his hit song Oliver Twist.

Another popular actress, Yvonne Nelson was a muse for Iyanya while they dated. She is mentioned in his classic “ur waist”. The same Yvonne Nelson was the victim of Sarkodie’s diss song Try Me, released in 2023. It is worthy to note that Sarkodie’s one minute play is the research sample for her postulations.

It is lugubrious that Nana Ama McBride is pushing her personal bias, or her inability to break into Nollywood in her glory days as facts that Nollywood do not support others.

Stephanie Tum, a Cameroonian actress has been working in Nollywood for years now, I genuinely hope a day would not come when another actress from Cameroon who may have failed to break will declare that Nigerians are not supportive.

I have worked in clubs before, and gone to many more. There is no week I do not spend hanging out with DJ’s, and I am certain they ralely play a song for more than a minute. You can fact check me on that. Furthermore, you can ask any academic, a single sample is not enough ground for a declarative statement.

I will stop here with this timeless proverb, “Better to be quiet and be thought of as a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubts”.

Nigeria, Good People, Great Nation