• About
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Terms
  • Contact
Breaking News Nigeria, Latest Nigerian News
Advertisement
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Business
    • Politics
    • Science
    • World
    SEC

    How Ponzi schemes are threatening investors in Nigeria – SEC

    COVID-19

    COVID-19: 479 new cases, 8 deaths recorded

    NSE

    Investors lose N122.34bn as profit taking continues

    COVID-19

    COVID-19 update: Nigeria records 634 more cases in 22 states, FCT

    Wema bank

    Wema Bank’s 2020 profit declines by -2.7% to N5.06bn

    Minister

    How we will tame Nigeria’s rogue inflation – Finance minister

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Tech
    • All
    • Apps
    • Mobile
    • Startup
    ebi atawodi

    Nigeria’s Ebi Atawodi joins Netflix as Director of Payments

    Mastercard

    Mastercard to allow customers to use cryptocurrency on its network, as America’s oldest bank set to accept cryptocurrency

    taxmingo

    Taxmingo launches to make tax filing easy for Nigerian small businesses

    paystack

    Stripe buys Paystack for over $200M in Nigeria’s biggest startup acquisition deal

    jack dorsey

    Twitter boss, Jack Dorsey throws weight behind Nigeria’s #EndSARS protest

    nigeria's active mobile subscribers

    Nigeria’s active mobile subscribers hit 199.3 million

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Sports
    Adesua

    See 5 Nigerian celebrities that just welcomed a baby

    Adesua

    AMAZING! Star couple Banky W & Adesua Etomi welcome first child 4 years after wedding

    #14thHeadies

    See the full list of winners at the #14thHeadies award

    #14thHeadies

    #14thHeadies: See what your favourite celebrity wore to the headies award

    netflix movies

    #Movies: Namaste Wahala, Adu; top 5 Netflix movies to relax with this weekend

    Davido

    Nigerian hitmaker Davido makes history, becomes first Afrobeat singer with 2 gold certifications by RIAA

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Food
    • Health
    who cheats more

    #VALENTINE SPECIAL: Men or women? Who cheats more? Result of this new study will shock you

    valentine's day

    5 ways to make Valentine’s Day memorable while observing social distancing

    Sunday Igboho

    10 facts about Sunday Igboho that will shock you. No 5 will blow your mind

    Acting IGP Zanna Muhammed

    Zanna Muhammed: 5 things you should know about the Acting IGP

    food visionaries

    Top 10 visionaries earn the Rockefeller Foundation recognition for transforming future of food systems across 8 countries

    dangote's girlfriend

    BREAKING: Another lady claims to be Dangote’s real girlfriend, hours after American lady alleges Africa’s richest man shattered her heart by 1000 pieces [PHOTOS]

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Game of Thrones
    • MotoGP 2017
    • eSports
    • Fashion Week
  • SMARTKOBO
    pay schedule

    #SmartKobo: Weekly, monthly & more: How your pay schedule affects you

    cash-out refinance

    #SmartKobo: How to know if it’s time for cash-out-refinance

    jobs

    #SmartKobo: 4 unlikely jobs that can fetch you millions

    bank fees

    #SmartKobo: 5 bank fees we all hate and how to avoid them

    auto insurance

    #SmartKobo: 4 things you need to know before taking comprehensive auto insurance

    budgeting

    #SmartKobo: A complete beginner guide to budgeting

  • #EndBadGovernance Photo Challenge
No Result
View All Result
Breaking News Nigeria, Latest Nigerian News
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Business
    • Politics
    • Science
    • World
    SEC

    How Ponzi schemes are threatening investors in Nigeria – SEC

    COVID-19

    COVID-19: 479 new cases, 8 deaths recorded

    NSE

    Investors lose N122.34bn as profit taking continues

    COVID-19

    COVID-19 update: Nigeria records 634 more cases in 22 states, FCT

    Wema bank

    Wema Bank’s 2020 profit declines by -2.7% to N5.06bn

    Minister

    How we will tame Nigeria’s rogue inflation – Finance minister

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Tech
    • All
    • Apps
    • Mobile
    • Startup
    ebi atawodi

    Nigeria’s Ebi Atawodi joins Netflix as Director of Payments

    Mastercard

    Mastercard to allow customers to use cryptocurrency on its network, as America’s oldest bank set to accept cryptocurrency

    taxmingo

    Taxmingo launches to make tax filing easy for Nigerian small businesses

    paystack

    Stripe buys Paystack for over $200M in Nigeria’s biggest startup acquisition deal

    jack dorsey

    Twitter boss, Jack Dorsey throws weight behind Nigeria’s #EndSARS protest

    nigeria's active mobile subscribers

    Nigeria’s active mobile subscribers hit 199.3 million

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Sports
    Adesua

    See 5 Nigerian celebrities that just welcomed a baby

    Adesua

    AMAZING! Star couple Banky W & Adesua Etomi welcome first child 4 years after wedding

    #14thHeadies

    See the full list of winners at the #14thHeadies award

    #14thHeadies

    #14thHeadies: See what your favourite celebrity wore to the headies award

    netflix movies

    #Movies: Namaste Wahala, Adu; top 5 Netflix movies to relax with this weekend

    Davido

    Nigerian hitmaker Davido makes history, becomes first Afrobeat singer with 2 gold certifications by RIAA

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Food
    • Health
    who cheats more

    #VALENTINE SPECIAL: Men or women? Who cheats more? Result of this new study will shock you

    valentine's day

    5 ways to make Valentine’s Day memorable while observing social distancing

    Sunday Igboho

    10 facts about Sunday Igboho that will shock you. No 5 will blow your mind

    Acting IGP Zanna Muhammed

    Zanna Muhammed: 5 things you should know about the Acting IGP

    food visionaries

    Top 10 visionaries earn the Rockefeller Foundation recognition for transforming future of food systems across 8 countries

    dangote's girlfriend

    BREAKING: Another lady claims to be Dangote’s real girlfriend, hours after American lady alleges Africa’s richest man shattered her heart by 1000 pieces [PHOTOS]

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Game of Thrones
    • MotoGP 2017
    • eSports
    • Fashion Week
  • SMARTKOBO
    pay schedule

    #SmartKobo: Weekly, monthly & more: How your pay schedule affects you

    cash-out refinance

    #SmartKobo: How to know if it’s time for cash-out-refinance

    jobs

    #SmartKobo: 4 unlikely jobs that can fetch you millions

    bank fees

    #SmartKobo: 5 bank fees we all hate and how to avoid them

    auto insurance

    #SmartKobo: 4 things you need to know before taking comprehensive auto insurance

    budgeting

    #SmartKobo: A complete beginner guide to budgeting

  • #EndBadGovernance Photo Challenge
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Breaking News Nigeria, Latest Nigerian News
Home Entertainment

Oscars Lionheart disqualification: Is English Nigeria’s Official Language?

Keni Akintoye by Keni Akintoye
February 3, 2021
in Entertainment, Movie, Uncategorized
0
A A
0
oscars
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Since English is the official language of Nigeria. Does this bar the country from ever competing for the Oscars in its official language?

For a moment it felt like the big one was about to happen to Nigeria’s multimillion-dollar film industry when news broke that blockbuster movie, Lionheart was making it to the Oscars in America.

Typical of Nigerians when global recognition happens, we stormed social media with words of pride and encouragement for the director and superstar actress, Genevieve Nnaji.

We are all disappointed now after “Lionheart” was disqualified because it violates an Academy rule that entries in the Best International Feature Film category must have “a predominantly non-English dialogue track.”

In simple English, a Nigerian movie has been rejected because we spoke too much English in it. Ridiculous as it seems, this verdict highlights the reality of our society that we have refused to embrace.

Indeed, as Ms Nnaji said in her reaction, “We did not choose who colonised us” as a people. We are a diverse nation united by the language handed to us by British colonial masters and with which we run all our business.

Make a local language movie and you will be placed in the box of regional Nollywood markets now identified by the coining of words like Yollywood and Kannywood that usually do not offer much market success.

Asides licensing to the likes of Africa Magic and some VOD platforms, selling a few DVDs in Oshodi, Upper Iweka or Kano, there is currently not much left to do with movies made in local languages. So, you cannot blame the producers of such movies for deliberately going for low budget productions that will not send them back to farming in their villages.

That is why only English movie producers can dare to pump in the required budget for a cinematic project. At least they have a better chance of recouping their investment.

But now, it appears we are simply being told that the global recognition that we crave so much will come faster with local language movies.

A Nigerian politician in his reaction to the Lionheart disqualification wrote: “The reasons given for the #Oscars disqualification of Lionheart only exposes the degree of their ignorance of the World outside of theirs, and their discriminatory and contemptuous views about African history and our ways.”

Also Read: About turning 60: A reflection on the Nigerian brand, struggles, future

Award-winning director, Ava DuVernay also felt our Oscars pain and wrote, “To @TheAcademy, you disqualified Nigeria’s first-ever submission for Best International Feature because it’s in English. But English is the official language of Nigeria. Are you barring this country from ever competing for an Oscar in its official language?”

But isn’t it time to ask ourselves if English is really Nigeria’s real official language?

In the early years of Nigerian pop music revolution, there were arguments against the efficacy of pidgin English and many argued that songs done in Pidgin English would struggle internationally, forgetting the successes late Fela Anikulapo Kuti achieved with the language.

It is 2019 and I believe that with the way Nigerian musicians now break records for fun internationally, we must agree that Pidgin English might just be that language to drive our film industry to global recognition.

It is common knowledge that an average person from most parts of the country even with absolutely no formal education will communicate with you in Pidgin English comfortably.

When politicians want our votes; they go to villages to speak Pidgin English and it works!

I believe pidgin language can offer a win-win situation for our filmmakers. You maintain a good shot at achieving box office success and Oscars will not disqualify you for “speaking too much English”.

Lionheart is a 2018 Nigerian drama film produced by Chinny Onwugbenu and directed by Genevieve Nnaji. It stars Pete Edochie, Genevieve Nnaji, and Nkem Owoh.

  • KENIakintoye is a seasoned marketing communications consultant and the founder of KT Communication, a digital media, PR and communications company based in Lagos.
Tags: Africa magicAva DuVernayGenevieve NnajilionheartNkem OwohnollywoodOscarPete Edochie

Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.

Unsubscribe
Previous Post

Digital payment startup, Paga plans a Series C round

Next Post

COOPLAG flags off ambitious housing estate in Banana Island

Next Post
cooplag-housing-estate

COOPLAG flags off ambitious housing estate in Banana Island

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Connected

  • 1.4k Followers
  • 5 Followers
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
#endbadgovernance

Nigeria Today announces #EndBadGovernance Photo Challenge

March 1, 2021
NSE

Investors lose N122.34bn as profit taking continues

March 3, 2021
Isa Pantami

FG approves establishment of SIM swap centres across Nigeria

March 3, 2021
#COVID-19

#COVID-19: Nigeria to start vaccination on Friday, see when Buhari, Osinbajo will receive the vaccine

March 3, 2021
Northern food traders

Northern food traders suspend food blockade to Southern Nigeria

March 3, 2021
SEC

How Ponzi schemes are threatening investors in Nigeria – SEC

March 3, 2021
Senate

Senate to investigate abandoned Badagry-Sokoto expressway project

March 3, 2021
Northern food traders

Northern food traders suspend food blockade to Southern Nigeria

March 3, 2021
#COVID-19

#COVID-19: Nigeria to start vaccination on Friday, see when Buhari, Osinbajo will receive the vaccine

March 3, 2021
Isa Pantami

FG approves establishment of SIM swap centres across Nigeria

March 3, 2021
SEC

How Ponzi schemes are threatening investors in Nigeria – SEC

March 3, 2021
COVID-19

COVID-19: 479 new cases, 8 deaths recorded

March 3, 2021

Recent News

Senate

Senate to investigate abandoned Badagry-Sokoto expressway project

March 3, 2021
Northern food traders

Northern food traders suspend food blockade to Southern Nigeria

March 3, 2021
#COVID-19

#COVID-19: Nigeria to start vaccination on Friday, see when Buhari, Osinbajo will receive the vaccine

March 3, 2021
Isa Pantami

FG approves establishment of SIM swap centres across Nigeria

March 3, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccine Poll

Will you take the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine?
Vote
Breaking News Nigeria, Latest Nigerian News

Follow Us

Subscribe to our newsletter

Please wait...
Want to be notified when our article is published? Enter your email address below to be the first to know.

Browse by Category

  • Apps
  • Athletics
  • Basketball
  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Business Editor's Pick
  • Business Featured Section
  • EndBadGovernance Photo Challenge
  • Entertainment
  • Featured
  • Food
  • Football
  • Gaming
  • General
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Mobile
  • Movie
  • Music
  • News
  • Politics
  • Politics Featured Section
  • Review
  • Science
  • SmartKobo
  • Sports
  • Startup
  • Tech
  • Technology
  • Technology Featured Section
  • Uncategorized
  • World

Recent News

Senate

Senate to investigate abandoned Badagry-Sokoto expressway project

March 3, 2021
Northern food traders

Northern food traders suspend food blockade to Southern Nigeria

March 3, 2021
#COVID-19

#COVID-19: Nigeria to start vaccination on Friday, see when Buhari, Osinbajo will receive the vaccine

March 3, 2021
  • About
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Terms
  • Contact

© Copyright Nigeria Today 2020

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Tech
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • SMARTKOBO
  • #EndBadGovernance Photo Challenge

© Copyright Nigeria Today 2020

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Please wait...

Subscribe to our Nigeria Today News

Want to be notified when our article is published? Enter your email address below to be the first to know.
SUBSCRIBE