‘Ghanaians are impatient to learn and lack investors’ – Kanayo explains why Nollywood is ahead

He also points to private investment and wealthy individuals financing Nigerian movie productions as another reason for Nollywood’s growth.

Kanayo is currently in Ghana for LilWin’s A Journey to Africa (Nzulezu), alongside other Nollywood stars.

Veteran Nigerian actor Kanayo O. Kanayo has offered his view on why Nigeria’s film industry has become more prosperous than Ghana’s, pointing to differences in training, commitment and investment in movie production.

Kanayo made the comments while in Ghana to work on Ghanaian actor and filmmaker Kwadwo Nkansah LilWin’s upcoming movie, A Journey to Africa (Nzulezu).

The film has brought several established Nollywood actors to Ghana, including Patience Ozokwor, Mike Ezuruonye, Zubby Michael and Destiny Etiko. They arrived in Accra on September 30 to join the production.

Explaining his view, Kanayo said the difficult apprenticeship system many Nigerian actors went through helped build discipline and commitment within the industry.

“See, Nigerians underwent apprenticeships under harsh circumstances but stayed to learn. But some Ghanaians on the other hand, started this apprenticeship under the same kind of circumstance in Nigeria. But did not stay to finish the apprenticeship. Some Ghanaians learned the trade for 9 months and said we have learnt the trade now and left. That’s why Ghana’s industry is not as prosperous as Nigerians,” he said.

He also attributed part of Nigeria’s growth to the willingness of wealthy individuals to put money into movie productions.

“You need to understand there are more rich men in Nigeria than Ghana. More rich men who are more generous. More rich men who will lose $10,000 20,000 dollars, and will say, hey, I know how it is, go ahead with the money. Ghana doesn’t have those who can commit money to trade,” he established.

Kanayo explained that early Nigerian filmmakers often had to finance productions from their own pockets, even when they had very little money.

“Look, this is how we started, some men and some women made movies with their money for food.”

He recalled how filmmakers in Nigeria in the 1990s went to extraordinary lengths to find the resources needed to make movies.

“We used to stop cars when we were making movies in 1992, 1993. We will meet anybody and ask please, can we use your car? And then we will be asked for how many minutes, and then we’ll say for 20 minutes. The owner of the car will be there for 3 hours, 3 hours watching, and be angry. That’s how we started, using money meant for food and randomly stopping cars to use for movies as well as using people’s houses.”

Kanayo’s comments come during another major collaboration between the two countries’ film industries.

The relationship between Ghanaian cinema and Nollywood has existed for decades. Ghana’s local film sector has also faced challenges over the years, including financial difficulties and concerns about the decline of Kumawood.

Kanayo is in Ghana as part of LilWin’s new project, A Journey to Africa (Nzulezu), which is being produced under LilWin’s Wezzy Empire banner.

The movie is centred around Nzulezu, the historic settlement built on stilts over the Amansuri wetland in Ghana’s Western Region. The project is intended to bring Ghanaian and Nigerian talent together and expose Ghanaian culture and tourism to a broader audience.

LilWin has also recently explained why he chose to work with more Nigerian actors on the project, saying some Nigerian actors respond more quickly to scripts and professional engagements than some Ghanaian actors.

Kanayo’s remarks also offer another perspective to the ongoing debate about Ghana’s movie industry despite it being personal.

“You need to understand that there are more rich men in Nigeria than Ghana, and Ghanaians haven’t finished learning from us. That’s why your movie industry isn’t as progressive as ours.” — Nigerian actor Kanayo Kanayo says Ghana has not finished learning from Nigeria’s movie industry, despite having started producing its own films.