The NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series: The First Book Series on Nollywood and the Nigerian Film Industry

 

The NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series refers to books and potential media by Michael Chima Ekenyerengozi, chronicling Nigerian cinema (Nollywood).

The Book Series:

Author: Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, a Nigerian writer and film festival director.

Content: A publication capturing the big picture of current Nollywood affairs, aiming to share Nollywood's story globally.

Formats: Available in print (paperback, hardcover) and digital formats. 

In essence, "The NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series" bridges literary analysis and popular Nollywood storytelling under one brand, reflecting the dynamism of the African film industry.

The Cultural and Political Impact of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series by Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima 

The NOLLYWOOD MIRROR ® Series by Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima contributes to Nollywood's overall cultural impact by documenting the industry's significant role in shaping African narratives and, to a lesser extent, touches upon potential political influence through its discussions of the industry's economic potential and societal reflections. 

Cultural Impact

Promoting Pan-African Culture: The series contributes to the broader Nollywood phenomenon, which has a massive reach across Africa, influencing norms and values, and promoting Nigerian, and by extension, African culture globally. Nollywood films offer a homegrown perspective on African realities, challenging Western media stereotypes and fostering a sense of shared identity.

Cultural Documentation: The series itself serves as a documentation of "current affairs and highlights in the Nigerian film industry". It provides a comprehensive look for a global audience, helping to preserve and disseminate information about the industry's growth, challenges, and evolution.

Encouraging Honest Conversations:

 By showcasing the complexities of Nigerian life, including issues like corruption, the series (like Nollywood films generally) opens avenues for honest discussions about societal challenges while also highlighting rich history and accomplishments. 

Political Impact

Economic Advocacy: Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima has used his platform within the series and other publications to highlight Nollywood's significant economic potential. For instance, he stated the industry could turn Nigerian tourism into a "billion dollar industry". This advocacy can influence policymakers to provide better infrastructure, regulatory support, and investment for the creative sector.

Soft Power: 

The massive popularity of Nollywood films across the continent, which the series documents, demonstrates Nigeria's significant "soft power." 

This cultural dominance can indirectly affect political relations and perceptions of Nigeria in other African nations.

Mirroring Societal Issues: Nollywood films, by serving as a "mirror that reflects the complexities of Nigerian life", often address political corruption and ethnic tensions. 

By documenting these trends, the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR ® Series implicitly highlights the role of film in political discourse, even if not directly political itself.

Available on

https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/nollywood-mirror-r/author/michael-chima-ekenyerengozi

ONE NATION, ONE LAW: NIGERIA MUST END SHARIA IN THE CONSTITUTION AND EMBRACE A MODERN SECURITY DOCTRINE

ONE NATION, ONE LAW: NIGERIA MUST END SHARIA IN THE CONSTITUTION AND EMBRACE A MODERN SECURITY DOCTRINE

By BENSON SNUDAY, Human Rights Activist & Nigerian Nationalist

---

Nigeria Needs Truth, Not Hypocrisy

Nigeria’s greatest threat is not only terrorism itself — but the contradictions, mixed messages, and religious politics that weaken our ability to confront it.
For years, Nigerians have watched influential voices speak in ways that blur moral clarity and confuse the national conversation on security.

Sheikh Ahmad Gumi Cannot Rewrite History with a Facebook Post
This week, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi released a Facebook message condemning “insecurity sponsors.”
Yet Nigerians cannot forget the long record of public comments in which he:

• Described armed bandits as “misunderstood”

• Criticized military operations more than the crimes of violent groups

• Advocated for amnesty at times when the nation was burying victims

• Shifted blame to vague “foreign powers” rather than confronting local realities

These positions were widely reported across mainstream Nigerian media.
So today, when he speaks as though he is leading the moral charge, Nigerians are right to demand consistency.

“A single Facebook prayer cannot erase years of damaging rhetoric.”

Accountability Applies to All — Including the Sultan of Sokoto
With great authority comes great responsibility.
Public expectations of clarity and moral leadership from the Sultan of Sokoto are legitimate.
When insecurity rages, religious and traditional leaders cannot remain ambiguous.

The nation is watching every voice that shapes the moral landscape.

⚖ End Dual Legal Systems — One Nigeria, One Law
Nigeria cannot thrive under a constitutional structure that preserves parallel legal systems.
Sharia courts in the constitution — no matter their intention — undermine national unity and equality under the law.

Religion belongs in the soul.
Law belongs to the nation.

We demand:

• END SHARIA IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION

• ONE NATION, ONE LAW

• A SECULAR LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ALL NIGERIANS

“A united country cannot have divided laws.”

The Israel Security Debate — A Missed Opportunity
Before the intervention of former U.S. President Donald Trump in Nigeria’s security dialogue,
the Nigerian government — through Deputy Foreign Minister Bianca Ojukwu — made a bold and forward-looking diplomatic move:

Opening strategic security cooperation with the State of Israel
A nation globally respected for its experience in intelligence, counter-terror operations,
hostage rescue, and advanced security technology.
This proposal represented a chance for Nigeria to modernize its security architecture.
But instead of national unity around the idea, the country witnessed public pushback from some clerics and Islamic groups like Shk Gumi, Muric, Islamic Supreme Council Among Others, who opposed the partnership.
This opposition delayed momentum, weakened political courage, and ultimately slowed reforms that could have saved lives.

Nigerians remember that moment.
They remember who stood with progress — and who resisted it.

“You cannot resist meaningful security reforms yesterday, and pretend to lead the fight against insecurity today.”

Mr. President — Nigeria Needs Transparency and Action
President Tinubu, the nation respects your commitment to unity and stability.
But Nigerians demand decisive steps:

1. Publish the full list of terror financiers and enablers.
Transparency is overdue. Accountability cannot be selective.
2. Revive and fast-track Nigeria’s security cooperation with Israel
in partnership with the United States and other capable allies.
This includes intelligence sharing, advanced training, defensive technology, and border security support.
3. Empower Nigeria’s security leadership
We welcome the return of General Christopher Musa to the top command structure.
Nigeria would benefit from full collaboration between Gen. Musa, Deputy Minister Bianca Ojukwu, and our international partners to build the strongest anti-terror network in West Africa.

“No President is endangered by telling the truth. The nation will defend any leader who chooses transparency over silence.”

⚠To All Who Undermine Nigeria’s Security — Directly or Indirectly
Those who use influence, ambiguity, or silence to weaken national unity
must understand that Nigeria is changing.

Titles will not shield bad decisions.
Institutions will not shield complacency.
History will not shield hypocrisy.

Justice is rising.
The people are awake.
The era of sacred cows is ending.

Nigeria Will Rise — But Only Through Truth and Unity
From Zamfara to Benue, Borno to Kaduna, the blood of innocent Nigerians cries not for charity —
but for justice, reform, and courage.
A nation divided by law cannot unite against terror.

One Nation. One Law.
End Sharia in the Constitution.
End hypocrisy.
End secrecy.
Embrace truth.
Embrace reform.

Nigeria deserves nothing less.
And Nigerians will demand nothing less.

Nsibidi is Older than the English Language

Nsibidi is Older than the English Language

Nsibidi existed from the 3rd century before the metamorphosis of the English language from the West Germanic languages in the 5th century.

Nsibidi used on an Efik tray made in the 19th century. A mermaid encircled with diagrams including Nsibidi ideogram.

Nsibidi has been described as a Semasiographic script comprised of ideograms and pictograms that were used in southeastern Nigeria among the Ejagham (Ekoid people), Efik, Igbo, and Ibibio societies.

The Ejagham originally came from Northeast Africa which supports my analogy of the origins of Igbo Ukwu art of the ancient Igbo Ukwu Kingdom with the ancient Indus Valley Civilization of the 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE.

Igbos believe that they are descendants of one of the Sons of God who descended from heaven and had a relationship with one of the daughters of Eve. 

(Genesis 6, Holy Bible)

Lucy (Australopithecus) the oldest

fossilized bone comprising 40 percent of the skeleton of a female of the hominin species Australopithecus afarensis was discovered in 1974 in Ethiopia, at Hadar, a site in the Awash Valley of the Afar Triangle, by Donald Johanson, a paleoanthropologist of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Insibidi is the secret language of the Ekpe Leopard Secret Society of the Efik, Ibibio and Igbo societies.

Nsibidi means The Beginning in my mother tongue of the Igbos  sharing borders and ethnic similarities with the Efik and Ibibio tribes.

Nsibidi is more than a written language.

It is also a sign language of the Ekpe Leopard Secret Society and unknown to the various Nigerian artists who have been doing nothing more than to copy and paste Insibidi for drawings, paintings, sculptures, prints and potteries and posing and posturing as experts, Nsibidi is also expressed choreographically in a movement of hands and footsteps of secret language communication by members of the Ekpe Leopard Secret Society and used by the dreaded Ekpe masquerades.

I once confronted an Ekpe masquerade decades ago in the early 1990s on the popular Fola Agoro Road leading to the University of Lagos on my way to visit a beautiful girlfriend, Naomi, the Joy of my heart.

As others were either avoiding or running away from the scary looking Ekpe masquerade holding a machete and bell and a chain was tied to the waist held by his guides, I stood face-to-face with him. He was growling and snorting angrily. I was not afraid, because I have also met original Ekpe masquerades during festivities in my mother's hometown of Umuda Nsigwu in the Umuahia North Local Government area of Abia State of southern eastern Nigeria.

Two weeks ago, whilst waiting for a tailor in front of his residence in the Ekpri Nsukarra village in Uyo, a friendly discussion with one of his young neighbours drifted off to Nsibidi and the Ekpe masquerades and he demonstrated one of the movements of their secret language. 

- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

#God

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WOLE SOYINKA - ENI OGUN, An Accomplished Biopic on the First African Nobel Laureate of Literature

WOLE SOYINKA - ENI OGUN, An Accomplished Biopic on the First African Nobel Laureate of Literature

Joshua Ojo with Prof. Wole Soyinka.

Joshua Ojo's vivid biopic, "WOLE SOYINKA - ENI OGUN"is an outstanding historical film on the phenomenal life of the most lionized African writer, Prof. Wole Soyinka, the first African winner of the highly coveted Nobel Prize for Literature. 

This is the only one of the few films on the life of Soyinka to capture the essence of the spirit of the art and persona of his iconic genius in motion picture. And the first to be produced in his beloved mother tongue of the Yoruba language. The biopic produced to celebrate his 90th birthday is a must see and the film has been authorized by the Nobel laureate.

Official trailer

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m_nA7r4CH50FjxHdNlvaixNv5F44GQI3/view?usp=drivesdk

It chronicled his trials as a fearless sociopolitical human rights activist and triumphs as an intellectual luminary of the literary world with critically acclaimed books of poetry, drama and prose for which he became famous and awarded the Nobel Prize in  Literature in 1986 for with his writings, Soyinka "in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence."

The cinematic beauty of the film with outstanding portrayal of Soyinka by the award winning Nigerian actor, Lateef Adedimeji and other accomplished actors, including Jide Kosoko, Femi Branch, Segun Arinze, Dele Odule, Funky Mallam, Haffiz Oyetoro, Bimbo Oshin, Joke Muyiwa and Olaiya Igwe showed the accomplishments of the director in the art direction with the production design, casting, characterisation, cinematography and soundtracks based on the historical facts of the celebrated author with important emphasis on Ibadan and other locations of his life and the political circumstances of his imprisonment in the Kirikiri Prison for 22 months during the Nigerian-Biafran war from 1967-1970.

"This is my most challenging film production so far. Because of the historical importance and significance of the legacy of Prof. Wole Soyinka, I have to make sure of the accuracy of the sets used for the period in the history of Nigeria. KIRI-KIRI PRISON was built from the scratch in the studios. Soyinka's house was equally built with over 98 percent of the set built by the crew, except for the scenes of the roads and the other scenes shot outside Nigeria," the director said.

"I did the casting myself, because I really wanted actors to look like the real characters in his life. For the production design, I took my time as well to draw and sketch out how I wanted them to look and the guys in that department brought life to it.

I've been to Soyinka's house, so it was easy for me to recreate it."

"I had an accident two days to shoot. I was given two options: either to cut off my right leg or I do an emergency surgery, which I did. And I went back to location a week after the surgery, with an ambulance on stand by everyday. I'll shoot for 2 to 3 days and rush back to the hospital for check-up. That was how we shot for two months to complete the principal photography."

The film certainly is an outstanding achievement in filmmaking in Nollywood and African Cinema. It will attract millions of Yorubas in Nigeria and the Diaspora; especially in Brazil where hundreds of thousands of people are devotees of the Yoruba OGUN traditional religion which Soyinka has celebrated in his life and works. Millions of others who have read his popular plays, novels and essays will be anxious and curious to watch the film subtitled in English and should be widely available in other popular languages for the global distribution.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

The Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,

The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

#soyinka

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Who Owns Antiquity? Unraveling the Origins of Nok Sculptures of the Ancient Nok Kingdom in Nigeria

Have you read "Who Owns Antiquity?"

Museums and the Battle Over Our Ancient Heritage" by James Cuno, Princeton University Press, 2008.

How can the academic luminary Prof. Kwame Anthony Appiah, author of "Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers"(Norton, 2006) ask "Whose Culture is it Anyway?" and query the origins of the sculptors of the famous Nok terracotta sculptures found in the middle belt region of Nigeria existed from around 500 B.C.E. to 200 C.E. 

He said the Nok sculptures were not made for the Nok  people.

STOLEN PROPERTY still life photograph from my Serendipity Series of still life photography inspired by one of the highly valued Nok terracotta artefacts kept in a museum in America.

I have to doubt his knowledge of the historical facts of Nigerian arts and culture. He should have done his research beyond the walls of Princeton University before the publication of his book.

Nok sculptures were made by the Nok people of the ancient Nok Kingdom on themselves for themselves over 2000 years. And the most recent excavations and the latest discoveries have proved that the sculptures were done by the people on different aspects of their lives like historians who wrote books on objects and subjects of different people and events in different places and times.

He should read about the latest discoveries on 

https://www.modernghana.com/news/499121/newly-discovered-nok-sculptures-exhibited-for-the-first-time.html

Kwame Akroma-Ampim Kusi Anthony Appiah FRSL (/ˈæpiɑː/ AP-ee-ah; born 8 May 1954) is a British-American philosopher and writer who has written about political philosophy, ethics, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual history. Appiah is Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University, where he joined the faculty in 2014.[2] He was previously the Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University.[3] Appiah was elected President of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in January 2022.

https://appiah.net/

By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series
The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry since 2013.
Affiliate Partner,
Cinewav of Singapore
https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchimaeyerengozi

Nigerian Filmmakers: Beyond Nollywood, Beyond Netflix

Nigerian Filmmakers: Beyond Nollywood, Beyond Netflix

TV is not Cinema and Cinema is not TV.

- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Nigerian filmmakers must capture the big picture of the future of Nollywood.

Majority of the filmmakers in Nigeria should know and understand the importance and significance of Art Direction and Production Design in filmmaking. 

Many of them don't even know the definition of Art Direction.

There is no filmmaking without Art Direction.

Netflix in Nigeria: It is No Longer Nollywood As Usual

The filmmakers in both Nollywood and Kennywood must now be more adventurous and ambitious in the content and context of filmmaking beyond mere narrative storytelling.

Any dummy can play guitar. 

But any dummy cannot be Carlos Santana or Sir Victor Uwaifo.

Nigerian filmmakers are still using having their movies on Netflix for bragging rights when none of them has made the official selections of the most competitive and prestigious international film festivals in the world after decades of making movies.

We are still waiting for them to be in the official selections for the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival and compete with the best filmmakers in the world and not competing against themselves in Nigeria.

They have been making movies even before C.J Obasi got his GCE and he has gone ahead of them to win coveted awards at the Sundance Film Festival, FESPACO and other esteemed international film festivals where they have failed to make the official selections or failed to win any prize.

The future of Nollywood is bigger than Netflix.

Beauty is more than having a pretty face.

99.99 percent of the biracial actresses in Nollywood can't act.

Three of them are annoyingly amateurish.

They have been featured in movies just for having a pretty face by intellectually challenged filmmakers in Nollywood who think having white looking Bimbos in their movies will attract more viewers and moviegoers.

Having a pretty face and being photogenic can attract filmmakers, but acting begins with learning how to act and not pretending to act when you don't know how to act.

We are two years to the epoch of 100 years of filmmaking in Nigeria. But I doubt if the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy had a clue until I have mentioned it.

How much have we achieved in a century of Nigerian Cinema?

What are milestones in the history of filmmaking in Nigeria since the production of the first feature film, "Palaver" in 1926 by the Academy Award winning English filmmaker, Geoffrey Barkas?

The making of "Palaver" was published in the second edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series in 2014.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

The Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,

The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

The Realization of the Power of Christian Cinema and Islamic Cinema in Nigeria for National Orientation and Nation Building

 

Nigerian premiere of "The 7 Churches of Revelation" on Ascension Day, May 9, 2024.

Buy VIP Tickets on 
 https://selar.co/1wn1v4

https://tix.africa/buy/nigerian-premiere-of-the-7-churches-of-revelation

The Realization of the Power of Christian Cinema and Islamic Cinema in Nigeria for National Orientation and Nation Building

Anyone who is intelligent knows the immense powers of mass communication in the circulation of information for public enlightenment and entertainment which we have seen the impacts on the society through sociocultural, socioeconomic and sociopolitical developments in every nation. 

The power of religion or human civilization has been known since the book of Genesis in the Holy Bible, the foundation of the two greatest religions, Christianity and Islam in the history of the world. 

The two religions have the largest populations in Nigeria with the biggest and largest markets and economies in the most populous nation in Africa.

The symbiosis of the two religions is the basis for the initiatives of the Christian Cinema in Nigeria (CCN) and Islamic Cinema in Nigeria (ICN) I have started for the acceleration of the exploration and realization of the power of Christian and Islamic films for the education, mobilization and sensitization of the people for national orientation in the nation building of a New Nigeria in the leadership of Africa among the comity of nations in the world.

- Ekeyerengozi Michael Chima,

Founder/Executive Director,

Christian Cinema in Nigeria and Islamic Cinema in Nigeria.

Saturday, May 4, 2024.

Background of Christian Cinema

Catholic priest Athanasius Kircher promoted the magic lantern by publishing the book Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae in 1680  Controversy soon followed as priests and masons used the lanterns "to persuade followers of their ability to control both the forces of darkness and enlightenment" and temperance groups used the lanterns to fight alcoholism. In the 1800s, missionaries such as David Livingstone used the lanterns to present the Gospel in Africa.

Through the years, many Christians began to utilize motion picture for their own purposes. In 1899, Herbert Booth, as part of the Salvation Army, claimed to be the first user of film for the cause of Christianity

Introduction of ISLAMIC CINEMA in Nigeria

ISLAMIC CINEMA in Nigeria

 

ISLAMIC CINEMA in Nigeria (ICN) is an initiative of the duly Incorporated International Digital Post Network Limited for the production, distribution and promotion of Islamic films for screenings at cinemas for the following purpose:

* The Promotion of the true Tenets of Islam as the religion of love, peace and unity for the benefit of humanity.

* Public enlightenment and entertainment for Muslims and non-Muslims with pure and true Islamic films.

* Correction of the misinformation on Islam as the religion of terrorism and Muslims as intolerant people who breed terrorists.

For Partnership and Sponsorship of the production, distribution, exhibition and promotion of Islamic films in Nigeria, contact:

International Digital Post Network Limited

Tel: +234 706 637 9246

The Cinematographer

In the beginning The Cinematographer came to us in the cloak of black and white and we gazed spellbound in awe of the cinematic universe.

The Cinematographer 

- by  Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, an NFT art to be up for exhibition and auction on Opensea and Artprice before Christmas.

This is the final part of The Cinematographer in total abstract of the same image.

The Cinematographer is going to attract many bidders when it is up for exhibition and auction. Because, it really an awesome of genius. A unique masterpiece of artwork in celebration of the cinematographer that has never been done before in such magnificence in the history of Fine Arts and NFTs. 

Please, if you have seen a better artwork celebrating the cinematographer before this one, let me know.

To me, it is priceless like my "Signature of God" on. the Algorand blockchain.

This is a special artwork in honour of cinematographers in film and TV productions. 

They are the painters on whose painters on whose palette the art of storytelling in motion picture is made. 

You cannot capture any image in motion picture without a cinematographer. 

Imagine a painting without colours.

Imagine a cart moving without a donkey or horse.

Imagine car without an engine.

Imagine a life without a soul.

Then imagine a film or TV production without the  cinematographer.

There is no creation without the creator. 

The Cinematographer is the painter of the painting on the canvas.

A director without a cinematographer is like driver driving a car without engine.

- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima.

© All rights reserved. No copying, duplication and reproduction of any part of this content in any format of media without the authorization and permission of Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima and International Digital Post Network Limited.

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