Veteran actor Emeka Ossai has slammed movie stars who mimic the whites by speaking through their noses.
Ossai, a member of the Creative Industry Group said this in a recent meeting with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to him the Nollywood industry was pulled out of the woods by the efforts of the veterans and ensured it remained afloat.
“The veterans started the path called Nollywood some years back and were able to colonize Africa and the diaspora to love our contents and to love Nigeria. To sustain Nollywood, the kind of story we tell should be original and indigenous. Some people have infiltrated the industry with colonial mentality of doing business; they want to adulterate our culture by bringing in some content outside our cultural identity.
“People acting and mimicking the whites when they are blacks by speaking through their nostrils and changing the trajectory from contemporary Africa stories should rethink,” he said.
Ossai noted that there had been some unwritten values in the Nollywood industry, which had helped it grown and must be protected.
“Some producers of movies have created “New Nollywood” by bringing in untrained artistes. In our own time, we were trained either formally or informally.
“We were trained in the Nollywood through apprenticeship or actual practice overtime before becoming a frontrunner in the business. Some artists can play the role of a “Waka Pass” for 10 years before getting a lead role. A fresher cannot muscle an old hand in role within a short time,” he said.
