23rd September, 2023
By Victoria Oluwayemi
A Nigerian Filmmaker, Oladeinde Agbon known as Orisa, has slammed Nollywood actor, Femi Adebayo for allegedly feeding off from Yoruba culture in his films, while sticking to his Islamic religion.
The upcoming filmmaker, shared photos of Adebayo in Mecca during Ramadan, as he called his attention to what he termed his hypocrisy of using Yoruba tradition as a base for his movie, yet worshipping another god’
He advised the Box Office King to use Prophet Muhammad in his next movie, so they could see how much he would make. “Worshipping the Arab god after making mad money from telling a story from isese. Baba abeg next time na Prophet Muhammad story make you make into a movie for us, make we see how much an Arab story will fetch you”.
However, many netizens have defended Adebayo, arguing that there is no inherent contradiction between practicing a different religion and being involved in cultural story telling.
They emphasized that religion and culture are distinct aspects of a person’s identity, and one’s religious beliefs should not dictate the stories they tell or their cultural heritage.
Additionally, they pointed out that individuals should have the freedom to explore and express different aspects of their identity.
One Wealthy Forever wrote, “Got it, so don’t tell stories because you practice a certain religion? Stop trying to force yours on others. No one is stopping you from practicing your own religion”.
One Ayeesher Buba wrote, “Dis is exactly how shallow-minded ppl are honestly. Religion and culture are two different things. You are Yoruba but you’re a Christian by religion so how is that hypocrisy Ogbeni?”
One Asking Graphics wrote, “This one is obviously dùmb, so because I’m a Muslim now I shouldn’t design a Church flyer or what?”
One Sossi Official wrote, “What has his religious beliefs got to do with his creativity? Nothing you do for this life fit satisfy human being Dem go always find comma”.