Nollywood Cries Out: “Use Our Stars More Than Ghanaians”

The battle between Ghallywood and Nollywood will never end as the two parties seem to be holding each other’s neck all the time. The Actors Guild of Nigeria is now calling on Nollywood producers to reduce (since they can’t resist the ‘attack’) the number of Ghanaian actors/actresses they often feature in their movies.

In the past, some Nollywood movie stars have complained about how their Ghanaian counterparts are trooping to join them. Some never gave a damn about it with the motion that Ghanaian stars are cheap and charge less as compared to Nigerian stars. That is the only reason why they often get roles in Nollywood movies.

Checkout the latest development, reported by Vanguard Nigeria.

The Actors Guild of Nigeria has raised an alarm over the influx of foreign actors into the country’s film industry, especially the Ghanaian actors, calling on Nigerian film makers and marketers alike to be cautious of this ugly development.

In a statement by the AGN president, Mr Segun Arinze, the body urged the nation’s film producers to embrace 80 per cent local talents and 20 per cent foreign artistes in our films.

AGN president described the current situation as worrisome, adding that, “our talents are left wasting away without any job to do.” More disturbing, however, Arinze said, is a situation where the local actors are not engaged in jobs outside the country, making their own efforts not reciprocal.

He said AGN appreciates the contribution of their foreign counterparts towards the growth of Nollywood.  Industry watchers agree that Nollywood is currently under siege, and the fierce competition is coming from Ghana, the same country that is described as the second largest market for Nollywood’s products.

However, a statement credited to one of Nollywood movie producers, Fidelis Duker , said, “The introduction of Ghanaian actors into the Nollywood is a good development for the industry. Duker described the movie industry as an open market and anybody from anywhere can be a part of it.

“It is the market that determines how long they will stay in the industry. It’s business. Movie producers are making so much money from these guys. Ghanaian actors today are hot cakes and they sell movies. Why won’t they get roles?” Fidelis was quoted as saying.

It would be recalled that in the recent past, Nollywood actors and actresses were treated like demigods whenever they travelled to any of the African countries. But today all that have changed as their fortunes are said to have dwindled by the constant invasion of Ghanaian actors into the industry.

Once names like Genevieve Nnaji, Rita Dominic, Omotola Jalade_Ekeinde, Richard Mofe Damijo, Emeka Ike, Chidi Mekome, Jide Kosoko and many others used to bring bright smiles to the faces of Nollywood lovers. But these names today have tactically given way for the more fame_conscious and vibrant looking Ghanaian actors and actresses, including Van Vicker, Majid Micheal, Yvonne Nelson, Jackie Appiah, Nadia Buari and the list keeps rising by the day.