A Tribe Called Judah, Culture and Yoruba’s Cinematic Storytelling Prowess
By Reno Omokri
The Southwest of Nigeria must be commended for their cinematic storytelling prowess. Almost 100% of the top ten highest-grossing Nigerian movies have been delivered by directors of Southwest origin.
Not only do they dominate in Nollywood, but they also are the cream of Nigeria’s music industry, having produced all of Nigeria’s Grammy Award winners, including: Sade Adu (1986), Babatunde Olatunji (1991), Sikiru Adepoju (1991) Seal (1996), Burna Boy (2021), Wizkid (2021), Temilade Openiyi AKA Tems (2023).
The above are either wholly or partially Yoruba.
This vindicates my 2023 post where I said that if the rest of Black Africa can be as true to their indigenous culture as the Yorubas of Nigeria are, their culture will help them dominate the global creative industry.
Let me also congratulate Funke Akindele for smashing the record of not just the highest-grossing Nigerian movie but also establishing a new record as the first movie of Nigerian origin to achieve the two billion Naira box office mark. Well done, and may you achieve even more positive historical firsts!
Read Also:
I also call on ivory towers around the world to study Yoruba Omoluabi Lukumi culture to understand why it has such a dominance in the arts and provide lessons on how the cultural practices which led to such creative successes can be replicated in other cultures.
According to StatiSense record as at January 3, 2024, below are the top 10 Nollywood directors by Domestic Gross Value:
1. Funke Akindele: ₦2.55bn
2. Niyi Akinmolayan: ₦1.11b
3.Kayode Kasumu: ₦763.34m
4.Kemi Adetiba: ₦697.06m
5. Robert Peters: ₦609.20m
6. Moses Inwang: ₦499.99m
7. Biodun Stephen: ₦436.17m
8. Tope Adebayo: ₦397.97m
9. Loukman Ali: ₦328.88m
10. Adebayo Tijjani: ₦278.50m
11. Omoni Oboli: ₦253.02m
12. Kunle Afolayan: ₦245.64m
13. Ramsey Nouah: ₦239.59m
14. Toka Mcbaror: ₦235.63m
15. Akay Mason: ₦222.61m
