There is Need for House Cleaning in Nollywood, Says Shaibu Husseini 

Vanessa Obioha

Following the recent arrest of a motivational speaker and US-trained Nollywood filmmaker, Emeka Mbadiwe, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for drug trafficking, the Executive Director of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Shaibu Husseini in a chat with THISDAY called for the need to structure Nollywood.

Mbadiwe was arrested by NDLEA officials in his Lekki hotel room on December 27, 2024, after his partner, Uzoekwe James, was caught collecting 33 parcels of Loud, a potent cannabis strain, from a warehouse in Ajao Estate. The 17.30 kg shipment, concealed in wooden boxes, arrived at Murtala Muhammed Airport on a Delta flight from the U.S. on December 24, 2024. He now joined the list of Nollywood practitioners who have been apprehended for drug trafficking.

Husseini finds this trend disturbing. While he acknowledged that it is not a new development to have filmmakers arrested and convicted for such crimes, he, however, called for a house cleaning.

“It just makes it necessary for us to look inwards and do house cleaning. Look at the headlines, a popular Nollywood filmmaker. I do not even know him. But because our film industry is a free entry and exit, anyone can call themselves a filmmaker. There is an urgent need for house cleaning and also to talk to ourselves. We are image builders. We build, influence and shape mindsets. Maybe once they know there is a consequence for their actions, they would not engage in such acts.”

Husseini attributed the quest for fame as partly responsible for such crimes.

“There are people who legitimately make money and are famous. They need not go through this path. They are doing well.”

With the right structure, the ED believes that Nollywood would avoid some of the disasters it has faced in recent times, such as the unfortunate passing of the actor Pope Odonwodo, better known as Junior Pope, last year.

“There is a possibility to have a structure that will determine who is a practitioner and where exactly you belong to. In Hollywood, you must belong to a guild or association. They are not your moral guides but they have documentation about you. We need that kind of structure in Nollywood,” he concluded.