Why most veteran actors are off the screen – Nollywood actor, Emeka Ossai

<p>A Nollywood Veteran and Film Director, Mr Emeka Ossai has said most veterans in the industry were of the screen because movies produced by the so-called “New Nollywood actors” lacked originality.</p>, <p>Ossai speaking when members of the Creative Industry Group (CIG) visited the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Lagos Office, said a chunk of the movies produced, lacked focus.</p>, <p>Ossai said the Nollywood industry was pulled out of the woods by the efforts of the veterans and ensured it remained afloat.</p>, <p>“The veterans started the path called: Nollywood some years back and were able to colonize Africa and the diaspora to love our contents and to love Nigeria.</p>, <p>“To sustain Nollywood, the kind of story we tell should be original and indigenous.</p>, <p>“Some people have infiltrated the industry with the colonial mentality of doing business; they want to adulterate our culture by bringing in some content outside our cultural identity.</p>, <p>“People acting and mimicking the whites when they are blacks by speaking through their nostrils and changing the trajectory from contemporary Africa stories should rethink,” he said.</p>, <p>Ossai argued that there had been some unwritten values in the Nollywood industry, which had helped it grow and must be protected.</p>, <p>“Some producers of movies have created “New Nollywood” by bringing in untrained artists. In our own time, we were trained either formally or informally.</p>, <p>“We were trained in the Nollywood through apprenticeship or actual practice overtime before becoming a frontrunner in the business.</p>, <p>“Some artists can play the role of a “Waka Pass” for 10 years before getting a lead role. A fresher cannot muscle an old hand in a role within a short time,” he said.</p>, <p>Ossai reiterated that the Nollywood industry needed the inputs of the veterans who would provide leadership for the new entrants to flourish.</p>, <p>He said some of the new films produced by young artists that go to the cinema should have the inputs of the old hands for i