Actor Joseph Benjamin has taken to social media to lament about tribalism in Nollywood.
He said that certain Nigerian filmmakers use indigenous films to promote tribal superiority.
In a post on his X page, the 47-year-old addressed the surge in cultural-based film production in Nollywood. He stated that, while Nigerian films are “amazing,” there appears to be a “race to showcase whose culture is best.”
Benjamin also mentioned the South African film industry, stating that they “are more focused on pushing their country to the world rather than tribes.”
He also addressed indigenous film producers, asking if they develop their films with a “mindset of communalism or individualism”.
He said:
“My dear Nollywood, we are slowly pivoting towards a tribal trajectory. As I skim through, all the amazing language based titles, coming out of the industry. I cannot help, but see a subtle race, to showcase whose culture is best,” he wrote.
“As much as we desire to tell our stories ourselves. The competitive lines are becoming less blurry. When South Africans make films, they have one goal. Which is quite evident in their final work.
“The big picture is South Africa as a brand. How do we sell South Africa to the world? Not Afrikaans, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sesotho, Swazi, Setswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu.
“However, reverse is the case with us. We are all about, how do I sell the Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa culture. Well, as much as some might be of the opinion that, if they see these tribes, and the beauty of our diversity. They will be attracted to our culture at large.
“Let me ask this question to you dear filmmaker. Please look in the mirror, and honestly tell yourself the truth. When you make your language based films. Do you have a mindset of communalism? Or individualism?
“Until we start seeing this whole process as a ‘WE’ focused movement and not ‘I’, then and only then can we boldly say we are ready to scale up.”
My dear Nollywood,
We are slowly pivoting towards a tribal trajectory.
As I skim through, all the amazing language based titles, coming out of the industry.
I cannot help, but see a subtle race, to showcase whose culture is best.As much as we desire to tell our stories…
— Joseph Benjamin (@iamjbenjamin) March 24, 2024
Joseph Benjamin in other news disclosed why he decided to become a taxi driver in the United States of America.
Benjamin, 46, who moved to America in 2016, stated on Monday’s edition of Teju Babyface Deep Dive podcast, hosted by the comedian, that he drove taxis to pay his expenses.
He said:
“I got to America on a promise that I had some gigs waiting for me. So I thought I was going to have a soft landing there. I packed up everything from Nigeria, bought a one-way ticket, and came to America.
“I was put in a well-furnished house and all of that. Then two days later, the person who I was supposed to book a deal with said to me, ‘Those our financiers have pulled out. They have an issue.’
“So, I said, what do I do? He was like, ‘From next month on, you will have to start paying rent in this house.’ The amount of the one-month rent was equivalent to a one-year rent in Nigeria.
“I’m like, ‘I’m not earning any money so what do I do?’ I don’t know what to do. So, shot into that life, I had to figure out what to do. I had nowhere to go. Nothing to turn to.
“My phone was buzzing, like, ‘When are you coming back to Nigeria? We have this gig for you.’ $1,500 was all I came to America with. How do I buy a ticket to go back to Nigeria?”
Benjamin went on to claim that he finally started driving for Uber and Lyft, as well as working as an Amazon delivery worker, simply to pay his bills in America.
He explained:
“And then someone handed me a vehicle. I’m like, “What should I do with the car?” And they mentioned Uber. I was driving for Uber and Lyft to cover my expenses.
“I carried a lot of Nigerians, my name on the Uber App was Joseph. The moment they get in or three minutes into the journey, they know I’m the one.
“One woman even had to call her husband, and she ended up taking pictures with me. I even had some people say to me ‘Boss you will make it.”
Leave a Reply