Actor Gideon Okeke has shared a passionate video calling out what he described as the imbalance in how Nigerian creatives support each other, especially between the music and film industries.
In the video, Gideon questioned why Nigerian musicians are heavily celebrated, idolised, and promoted globally, while Nollywood actors, actresses, and filmmakers rarely get the same public backing from their counterparts in music.
He pointed out that while Nigerian artists proudly embrace labels like “big three” and “big five,” very few of them openly recommend or hype Nigerian films, actors, or producers, even as platforms like Netflix expose Nollywood to global audiences.
“We almost don dey worship these our top musicians, but shey dem no dey watch Nigerian films? Can’t they come out one day and praise the top Nollywood actors and actresses? Because all these top musicians have sneaked into Nollywood to become executive producers of movies. Yet, they can’t openly endorse or hype any Creative in the movie industry, even though we always dance to their music,” he said.
Gideon also referenced how global figures like former U.S. President Barack Obama publicly promote music they enjoy and wondered what impact it would have if Nigerian music stars did the same for Nollywood.