Veteran actor Francis Duru has sparked debate after saying Igbos played a major role in building modern Nollywood, but Yoruba filmmakers have become more dominant.

Speaking in an interview on Gbam, Duru said Igbo entrepreneurs helped build the home-video industry but argued that the Yoruba community has been more successful at supporting and promoting its own people.

“We [Igbos] created Nollywood, but if you go to Netflix today, you hardly see one movie that speaks of Igbo heritage,” he said.

Duru urged Igbos to learn from the Yoruba community’s ability to protect and project its culture, stressing that his comments were not an attack on Yoruba filmmakers.