"Nollywood Needs Bastard Money"  – Niyi Akinmolayan

Niyi Akinmolayan

Renowned filmmaker Niyi Akinmolayan has claimed that the Nigerian movie industry Nollywood, is seriously underfunded, arguing that Nigerians who watch high-budget international productions like 'The Gentlemen' should stop pretending the industry does not have a money problem.

In a post shared on his Instagram page on Tuesday, Akinmolayan mocked the gap between the wealth Nigerian films often portray and the resources behind them. He noted that a real billionaire mafia boss would be seen driving a Toyota Prado, not the exaggerated luxury often shown on screen.

He stressed that when a production builds its world correctly, everything else falls into place, adding that Nollywood needs "bastard money" to compete at that level.

He wrote:
"Nigerians will watch shows like the Gentlemen and still open their mouth and say Nollywood doesn't have a money problem. Una go dey do billionaire dey show osapa london house... lol"

"Billionaire mafia boss go dey drive Toyota Prado. When u build the world right... everything just sits in. Nollywood needs bastard money. If u like argue with yourself, wahala tiyin niyen."

The Gentlemen is a critically acclaimed action-comedy franchise created by Englishman Guy Ritchie, consisting of a successful 2019 feature film and a popular Netflix spin-off television series.