Popular Nollywood actor, Francis Odega has voiced his concern over the “declining quality” of Nigerian films, insisting that the industry’s golden era produced far stronger work than what audiences see today.
Speaking on a recent podcast, Odega argued that films from his generation were more solid, memorable, and carefully crafted.
The actor attributed the current slump in quality to a growing trend of stretching a single script into multiple instalments —a practice he believes dilutes the art of storytelling.
“Nollywood of then is better than Nollywood of now. Then you can do a movie; one script will give you one movie. But now, one script can give you seven movies, which is not right,” he said.
“It is watery. It is better for you to do one movie that is tight than make a watery production. Even me, I don’t watch movies.”
Odega, who boasts over three decades in the industry, also reflected on his role in shaping Nollywood long before it gained international recognition.
He recalled that the industry’s governing body was originally known as the Nigerian Actors Guild (NAG) before it evolved into the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN).
“I was among the people who made Nollywood. When we started, Nollywood was just a phenomenon,” he said.
“Our organisation used to be called the Nigerian Actors Guild before we later changed it to Actors’ Guild of Nigeria. It was after that that Nollywood came. So, I am one of the pioneers. I have been in the movie industry for over 30 years.”
