21st April, 2023
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Critic, Reno Omokri has come hard at producer of the movie, ‘Gang of Lagos,’ saying it only de-market Nigeria and Lagos before the outside world.
Omokri, in an Instagram post said the purpose of a movie industry in any country was not solely to make money for movie producers.
He said the big picture was to market one’s country, saying that de-marketing one’s country through movies is like punching holes in a ship on which one is a passenger.
In his words: “On the movie Gangs of Lagos, the purpose of a movie industry in any country is not solely to make money for movie producers. The big picture is to market your country.
“De-marketing your country through movies is like punching holes in a ship on which you are a passenger. Who loses?
“Why did you wish to go to America as a kid? Was it not because of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies? Do you think America is really as glamorous as portrayed in movies? No. Hollywood markets America. It does not matter if the depiction is true or not (it is not wholly true). What matters is the damage it does to Lagos.
“TB Joshua was the single biggest reason tourists came to Lagos. The second is Nollywood. Now that TB Joshua is dead, we need Nollywood to market Nigeria. And Gangs of Lagos does the exact opposite.”