A former Nigerian Ambassador and Trustee of the Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP), Amb. (Dr) Yemi Farounbi, has criticised Nigerian filmmakers for allegedly promoting criminality, ritual killings, disrespect for elders, and get-rich-quick tendencies at the expense of the country’s cultural values.
Farounbi said the Nigerian film industry was increasingly producing content that glorified Yahoo-Yahoo, ritual killings and effortless wealth without labour, warning that such portrayals were undermining the values of hard work, integrity and good name traditionally cherished by Nigerians.
He made the remarks while delivering the keynote address at the annual conference of the ANTP, themed, “Our Story, Our Values, Our Future – The Imperative of Films Based on and Promoting Authentic Nigerian Values.”
The former ambassador, who described filmmakers as some of the most powerful nation-builders in the country because of their influence over public narratives, said films were not merely entertainment but also instruments of education, orientation, evangelism and propaganda.
According to him, the influence of films on children and society places a significant responsibility on practitioners to ensure that their productions promote values capable of strengthening national identity.
“Film is not just show-business. Film is EDUCATION. Film is EVANGELISM. Film is ORIENTATION. Film is PROPAGANDA,” he said.
Farounbi identified five core values that he said should define Nigerian films: community over individualism; respect for elders, institutions and authority; dignity of labour, integrity and good name; true spirituality and morality; and resilience, family and joy.
He lamented that some contemporary Nigerian productions portrayed betrayal, disrespect for traditional rulers and parents, and the pursuit of wealth through criminal activities as acceptable routes to success.
On respect for elders and traditional institutions, he criticised the portrayal of traditional rulers as buffoons and parents as foolish or wicked characters merely to generate laughter.
He also expressed concern over what he described as distorted representations of spirituality and religion, noting that some films presented traditional religion as entirely evil while others portrayed faith as an instrument for fraud.
The ANTP trustee warned that films that failed to reflect the country’s cultural values might be Nigerian in location but not in values.
Farounbi attributed what he described as the decline in authentic cultural representation in Nigerian films to three major factors: the dictatorship of the market, the death of research and copy-and-paste creativity.
He said filmmakers had surrendered their creative conscience to market demands, social media algorithms and foreign streaming platforms, producing content largely to attract views and approval rather than build society.
“We chase YouTube views, Instagram likes, and foreign streaming approval. We produce what sells, not what builds. The market must not be our master,” he said.
He also faulted the declining culture of research among filmmakers, questioning how many writers still visited traditional communities and consulted custodians of culture, including Ifa priests, palace historians and market leaders, to understand indigenous histories, proverbs and traditions.
Farounbi further criticised the tendency among Nigerian filmmakers to imitate American, Indian and Korean productions, arguing that Nollywood’s original strength was its cultural identity and creativity.
To address the situation, he proposed five measures for the association and the wider film industry.
He called on the ANTP conference to establish a committee to develop a Nigerian Values Charter for filmmaking, which he said would serve as a moral guide for practitioners rather than an instrument of censorship.
He also advocated a dedicated funding scheme for films promoting Nigerian culture, history, languages and values, urging the association to lobby the Federal Government, Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture and private-sector investors to support such productions.
Other proposals included introducing cultural immersion training for theatre practitioners, establishing partnerships with cultural institutions and traditional rulers to ensure authentic storytelling, and developing distribution networks that reward films promoting positive Nigerian values.
He specifically called for collaboration with the National Institute for Cultural Orientation, National Council for Arts and Culture, university departments of Nigerian languages and councils of traditional rulers.
On distribution, Farounbi urged television stations, cinemas and the proposed ANTP cooperative streaming platform to give greater visibility to value-driven productions, arguing that producers would be encouraged to make such films if they received adequate distribution and commercial support.
Concluding his address, the former ambassador warned that the future image of Nigeria and Africa would increasingly be shaped by the stories filmmakers tell rather than what children read in textbooks.
He challenged practitioners to decide whether their productions would portray Nigerians as criminals, ritualists and disrespectful people or as hardworking, resilient, community-oriented, respectful and God-fearing citizens who value integrity.
“Let us not just make films that TREND. Let us make films that ENDURE. Let us not just make films that SELL. Let us make films that BUILD,” he said.
He urged Nigerian filmmakers to use their creative works to strengthen national identity and restore confidence in the country’s cultural heritage.
