(By Immanuel James Ibe-Anyanwu) - There
was that billboard of a certain West-African president who was dressed in an
Igbo traditional attire. A loud caption gave meaning:"Igwe!" It was
easy to locate the source of that cultural benefaction, credit rightfully
placed at the feet of Nollywood, Nigeria's largest exporter of culture and
values. Books and social media can tell the Nigerian story, but none can boast
the compelling, even hypnotic power of the movie.
Which
is why we should worry about the competence of movie makers—their cultural
intelligence and sense of sensational restraint. Their products speak to
millions, most of whom are illiterate and poor, but powerful. Powerful in their
sheer number, in their capacity to spread a social or religious poison. They
are the very agencies often punctual at lynching scenes, consumers of wild
superstitions on whom depends the fate of that fellow accused of manhood theft
in the local market.
For
the most part, the Old Nollywood is run by Igbo scriptwriters, directors, and
producers, who are businessmen more than they are artists. For too long we have
watched their cultural illiteracy ruin the integrity of much of what stands for
Igbo culture and values; we have watched them distort historical facts, fixate
on and promote ugly, exaggerated stereotypes, even invent cultural obscenities
that do not exist. We have seen Igwes who do nothing all day other than look
like frogs on shiny thrones, flanked by two able-bodied human fans, as they
condemn villagers to evil forests, when they do not order their deaths
outright. We can tolerate such cultural inventiveness for its decorative value,
aware that fiction need not be exact and realistic.
