Women In Nollywood Deserve More Opportunities – AGN

Iyabo Ojo and Funke Akindele

The National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Abubakar Yakubu, has called for empowerment opportunities and initiatives that support women in Nollywood. He recently had his say at an event organised by the guild to commemorate the 2026 International Women’s Day (IWD) in Abuja.

According to him, the AGN will keep prioritizing women in Nollywood because their contributions to the Nigerian motion picture industry have been profound and trailblazing.

Abubakar then called for initiatives that support women in the industry to enable them to strive and contribute more to the nation’s creative sector.

His words, “Women remain pillars within our guild and ambassadors of excellence who continue to bring glory to our profession; their achievements remind us that when women are empowered, industries flourish and societies progress.

However, as we celebrate, we must also remember our collective responsibility to support and uplift them, especially those among us who may be facing challenges.

I therefore humbly appeal to our distinguished guests, partners, and well-wishers to support the initiatives of the AGN aimed at empowering our indigent members and strengthening the welfare of our creative community.

As we commemorate this important day, let us reaffirm our commitment to equality, dignity, and opportunity for women everywhere. Let us continue to create spaces where their voices are heard, their talents celebrated, and their dreams supported.”

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.