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BIG STORY

Book Preview: Making Movies The Nollywood Way By Seun Oloketuyi

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  • Affidavit of Greatness: Nigerian filmmakers surrender “trade secrets”

Previewed By: Femi Akintunde-Johnson

Title of Book: Making Movies The Nollywood Way

Genre: Nonfiction/Mini Autobiographies

Type: Coffee-table book

Published: 07 September, 2023

Pages: 117 (Content only)

 

THIS book is not for cynics who disdain the promises of humble beginnings; nor is it for self-conceited revisionists who associate mediocrity with any home-groomed artistic expression.

A student of life, a fan of our movies, or an enthusiast of business potential desirous of understanding the chaotic complexities of producing and promoting films in Nigeria will be enormously excited about the book. And young professionals who are not immune to learning and unlearning the brasstacks and peculiarities of Nigerian filmic anthropology will certainly have a go-to companion in ‘Making Movies the Nollywood Way’.

The book is colourfully arranged, peppered with action pictures and portraits of each entry subject. Spatially designed in the manner of attractive coffee-table books, ‘Making Movies the Nollywood Way’ is a collection of the thoughts, styles, production etiquettes, and some sort of “trade secrets” of 21 delicately selected ‘caucus’ of Nigeria’s better known and highly regarded filmmakers.

Smartly compiled by media entrepreneur and budgeoning filmmaker, Olúwaṣeun Oloketuyi, the 117-page book devotes between four and ten pages to 11 veterans of this immensely challenging and technically exhausting profession, namely: Ọpa Williams, Wale Adenuga, Tade Ogidan, Zeb Ejiro, Emem Isong, Zik-Zulu Okafor, Fidelis Duker, Okey Ogunjiofor, Lancelot Imasuen, and a pair of younger veterans: Simi Opeoluwa and Obi Emelonye.

The other set of entries are some of the most exciting and riveting operatives who have matured behind the camera, and delivered outlandishly beyond their numerical experience within the last 10 to 20 years of the Nollywood phenomenon. These are the final ten ‘technocrats’: Tope Oshin, Biodun Stephen, Robert Peters, Biodun Jimoh, Ayo Makun, Ibrahim Yekini, Okey Onu, Yemi Morafa, Rogers Ofime, and Ali Nuhu (old hand in acting).

A little more on our classification of ‘veteranship’ and the latter generation. Some of the eleven individuals tagged as veterans made forays into the make-believe world even before the “epochal” 1992 that the industry has grown to settle on as the launch date of Nigeria’s Nollywood, while the rest flowered within the first decade of Nollywood.

Back to the book: all the contributors to this documentary of Nollywood’s how-to-do survival kit delivered their responses in their own words – some colourful, few business-like or plaintive, and a couple just a little hastily – as they were given similar eight questions to field. The eight parameters that highlight the uniformity of experiences in some cases, and diversities of operations in others, are as follows: Background. First film. The filming process. Filmmaking in Nigeria. Nollywood timing. Funding and budgeting. Location scouting and other challenges. Key ingredients for success and marketability of films in Nollywood. A day on set.

Let us quickly note this heartwarming point before we turn off the road: fidelity to interviewees’ statements have often been the albatross on the necks of books that seek to aggregate verbatim the thoughts of sundry people in a one-off historical document. In ‘Making Movies the Nollywood Way’, reading is not only bumpy-less, you’re easily transported to the world each filmmaker chooses to unveil – a testament to editorial astuteness.

The reader would be thoroughly entertained and informed with some of the filmmakers who bent backwards to reveal the nuances of how they overcame some atrocious challenges and man-made obstacles erected against the creative expression in a land desirous of great works of art but at loggerheads with its critical process. Some of the filmmakers are thorough as they take us through the tortuous paths of film making in Nigeria, like Fidelis Duker (page 75); and one other in more expressive story of self discovery amidst horrific impediments is rendered effusively by Okey Ogunjiofor (pps 93-94).

To underscore the quantum leap the industry has witnessed in the last 30 years is to read the statements of these filmmakers who now consider ₦10m spend as a low-budget project – a sum hitherto seen as a robust outlay for a local blockbuster. Nowadays, according to the filmmakers, fairly big-budget films are not merely imagined, but spoken of as an astonishing modern reality in our clime… and guess the starting cost – ₦100m!

Many speak fairly confidently of achieving returns on investment without a glint of anxiety on account of the quality of their works, the delicate understanding of the taste and tendencies of movie watchers, and the numerous platforms now available to exhibit their talents and business acumen. Of course, it is yet another reminder of how Nigerian politicians have squandered our potential, and trifled with our macro economy, throughout the past three decades.

One of the drawbacks of this interesting book is the limited number of female filmmakers – only three featured out of 21 – especially when you imagine what could have been even more engaging, considering the quality of submissions by Isong, Oshin and Stephen, which are quite educative, and inspirational in the context of their glass-ceiling breaking efforts in an industry subconsciously patrilineal.

Another distraction is the numerous quotes that emblazon the first page of each filmmaker’s submission. Curiously, the multiple quotes have multiple captions as íf the readers are likely to forget that the same person made all the quotes if we are not reminded ‘numerously’ – some as many as 15 or 19 times! A better way to go is what was mistakenly done (apparently) with Opeoluwa’s chapter (page 105)… Of course, it is thereafter soiled with multiple tags of “lessons” under multiple quotes!

To those who may wonder why only 21 people were selected in a field teeming with hundreds of talented and remarkable individuals – one can only vouch a proxy defence here – the answer is pretty simple: in matters creative, the shorter, the better. And in any case, this book can serve as the first of a series – as other volumes can have more entries and even more parameters of engagement. One thing is certain though, in spite of the universality of their challenges and the Nigerian experience: their individual expressions, attitudes, idiosyncrasies, beliefs and reactions make the compilation a treasure-trove of unimaginable contribution to understanding and immortalising the critical underpinnings of Nollywood.

Furthermore, those distractions pale into insignificance, or petty nitpicking, when we consider the overarching impact of this coffee-table page turner. As one who has passed this stage a number of times, and has a fair idea of how the Nollywood evolved, one can easily hazard that if you wish to leave a copy of ‘Making Movies the Nollywood Way’ as an attractive exhibition in your cute reception area, be prepared to buy in bulk. The book will not only grow on you, it will go off with your visitors… inadvertently!

 

(Akintunde-Johnson is the author of Reflections: Anthology of Thoughts on Nigerian Movie Industry; Fame: Untold Stories of its Rise & Fall, and other books)

 

BIG STORY

BREAKING: GTCO Becomes First Banking Stock To Exceed N100 On NGX

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Guaranty Trust Holding Company has achieved a strong mid-market showing during the July 16, 2025, trading session, surpassing the N100 milestone.

This makes GTCO the first banking stock listed under the NGX Banking Index to cross the N100 benchmark, while Stanbic IBTC Holdings remained just below at N99.

The upward movement aligns with the broader positive sentiment in the banking sector, where the NGX Banking Index has gained over 22% so far in July.

The development follows GTCO’s recent dual listing, which involved 2.29 billion ordinary shares being listed on the London Stock Exchange on July 9, 2025, and another 2.28 billion shares added to the Nigerian Exchange the next day.

The stock’s rise appears driven by investor response to its cross-border listing and its strong Q1 2024 financial performance. Month-to-date, GTCO has posted a gain exceeding 27%.

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BIG STORY

BREAKING: Atiku Abubakar Resigns From PDP

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The presidential flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has officially withdrawn his membership from the opposition party.

Atiku submitted his resignation ahead of the 2027 general elections, following confirmation of his involvement in forming a new coalition known as the Alliance Democratic Congress.

The resignation was contained in a letter dated Monday, July 14, 2025, and addressed to the chairman of the PDP in Jada 1 ward, Jada Local Government Area, Adamawa State.

A copy of the letter was shared on X by the Special Assistant on Media to the former Vice President on Wednesday.

The letter stated, “I am writing to formally resign my membership from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with immediate effect.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the opportunities I have been given by the party.

“Serving two full terms as Vice President of Nigeria and being a presidential candidate twice has been one of the most significant chapters of my life.

“As a founding father of this esteemed party, it is indeed heartbreaking for me to make this decision.

“However, I find it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the party has taken, which I believe diverges from the foundational principles we stood for. It is with a heavy heart that I resign, recognising the irreconcilable differences that have emerged.

“I wish the party and its leadership all the best in the future. Thank you once again for the opportunities and support.”

 

More to come…

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BIG STORY

EFCC To Appeal Ruling Acquitting Fayose Of Money Laundering Charges

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it will challenge the judgment that cleared Ayodele Fayose, former governor of Ekiti state, of money laundering and fraud accusations.

In his decision on a no-case submission, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke ruled that the prosecution did not provide enough evidence to require Fayose to present a defence.

After the judgment, EFCC counsel Rotimi Jacobs stated that the commission would obtain the certified judgment and begin the appeal process.

Fayose and his company, Spotless Investment Limited, had been re-arraigned on an 11-count charge of laundering ₦6.9 billion, allegedly during his time as governor.

The charges included allegations that Fayose received ₦1.2 billion for his 2014 campaign and accepted $5 million in cash from Obanikoro, bypassing standard banking procedures.

He was also accused of laundering several sums and using over ₦1.6 billion to purchase properties via proxies and firms such as De Privateer Ltd and Still Earth Ltd, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.

During the May 19 no-case submission, Kanu Agabi, Fayose’s lawyer, argued that the prosecution failed to prove its case and pointed out that Abiodun Agbele, allegedly central to the transactions, wasn’t charged, which weakened the EFCC’s position.

“With due respect, the predicate offences do not hold water. Criminal breach of trust and conspiracy are distinct offences, and no co-conspirator was charged,” Agabi stated.

He asked the court to find that Fayose had no case to answer.

Olalekan Ojo, lawyer for the second defendant, also submitted a separate no-case application dated March 21, 2025, with supporting documents filed on May 16.

Ojo contended that the main evidence provided by the prosecution, particularly Obanikoro’s testimony, was unreliable since he confirmed there was no direct communication between Fayose and Sambo Dasuki, the former national security adviser.

Jacobs, however, urged the judge to dismiss the no-case submissions, arguing that there were unexplained financial activities that needed clarification.

He questioned why Fayose didn’t use his personal account if the money was legitimate, referencing EFCC investigator Abubakar Madaki’s claim that Fayose acquired properties through associates who later denied ownership, even though Fayose admitted the properties were his.

“If the money was clean, why not buy the properties in his name?” Jacobs asked.

He also referred to Obanikoro’s account that Fayose requested the money in cash and introduced Agbele to receive it, saying Fayose must explain these actions.

Despite these arguments, the court ruled in favour of the defendants and granted the no-case submission.

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