NAME: AKHIMIEN JOY IBHADE

MATRIC NO:170108153

PROJECT TOPIC: FEMINISM AND FEMINIST ISSUES IN

NIGERIA: A Case study of Chinwe Egwuagu “Mr and Mrs” and

Joy Aiyegbeni “In Line”

 CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Background to the Study

This study was motivated by the growing awareness of issues relating to gender

inequality in Nigerian society. According to the World Bank's collection of development

indicators, women and girls make up around 49% of Nigeria's population, making it a very

populous country. In Nigeria, women and girls have experienced unfair treatment at some

time in their lives simply because of their gender. In the social, economic, political, and

cultural spheres, they have frequently been the victims of discrimination and inequity. Many

feminist concerns have come up over time, including behaviors related to widowhood, female

genital mutilation, child marriage, human trafficking, and discrimination against women.

These problems have impacted women, some of whom have even suffered damage. In

Nigeria's patriarchal society, women are forced to watch as their male counterparts take

center stage. The women are educated from an early age how to be daughters, wives, and

mothers. They are also taught how to cook, how to maintain a home, and that it should be of

highest significance to please their husbands and maintain a good home. Women in Nigeria

are viewed as the less intelligent and physically weaker sex, and they are also seen as having

little to no political, social, or economic significance in the culture.This action limits their

productivity and affects their self-worth and self-esteem. As a result of the culture's

acceptance of male superiority, some males have taken use of their power to oppress,

denigrate, and mistreat the women in their immediate vicinity.

The goal of a feminist reading is to identify the common problems that women in society

confront, as seen in the movies Mr. and Mrs. and In Line. In many cases, the oppressed

characters that women play in movies reflect the genuine nature of their social status. The

contrasting depictions of women in Nigerian video films—in which women were represented
as weak and patriarchy was greatly praised—have contributed to the growth of feminist

issues. In movies like Rosemary's Fight, women were presented as entities with no free will

and wholly deferential to their husbands.

The portrayal of women in Nigerian films has started to change, though, in response to

societal changes. One major reason for this is the recent influx of female producers and

directors, who are using the medium of film to highlight issues Nigerian women face in the

social, economic, political, and domestic spheres. The two movies that were used in this

assignment talk with feminism and topics including violence, oppression, subordination, and

degradation. The movies highlighted the situation of Nigerian women and demonstrated how

they were able to advance from a position of disadvantage and oppression to one of self-

awareness and realization. It demonstrated how these women overcame by attempting to

gain independence and the right to independently define their own lives in contrast to the

"reduced" lives imposed by their male partners.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Notwithstanding the protests for women's liberation and equality in Nigerian society, there

has been very little to no significant progress for women. In terms of political, economic, and

social engagement, they face discrimination and marginalization. Nigeria's cultural and

religious customs are one of the causes of this issue. When it comes to socioeconomic growth

in Nigeria, the agitations have not produced very beneficial results, and women have not yet

attained the same platform as males. This quote from Adichie's We Should all be Feminist

may help to clarify the issue because it demonstrates the terrible social injustice against

women that exists today.

“We teach girls to shrink themselves

 To make themselves smaller

We say to girls

"You can have ambition

But not too much

You should aim to be successful

But not too successful

Otherwise you will threaten the man"

Because I am female

I am expected to aspire to marriage

I am expected to make my life choices

Always keeping in mind that

Marriage is the most important”

1.3 Aim and Objectives.

The aim this study is to demonstrate the problems that women experience in society, to raise

awareness of their predicament, and to demonstrate through Nigerian video clips that

freedom from inequity is possible.

Objectives

 To unveil the issues faced by women in the Nigerian society.

 To determine why these issues are still prevalent.

 To proffer solutions to this feminist issues.

1.4 Scope and Delimitation of the study

The scope of this study is focused on the issues that women in Nigeria encounter in society

that have an impact on and limit them. Analyses of the movies In Line and Mr. and Mrs. are

included in the study. It is not however limited to this alone as ideas from other books and

materials would be used too.

1.5 Research Questions

 What issues do women face in Nigeria

 What are the prevalent issues women face in Nigeria

 What are the solutions to the issues women face in Nigeria

1.6 Significance of the study

The significance of this study is that it will operate as a pedagogic tool for illuminating

and addressing the limitations placed on women in society, particularly in the domestic

sector. The issues raised above will be thoroughly examined, and then a deductive argument

or solution will be put out in an effort to potentially solve all of the issues raised. This study

is very important because it will discuss the problems and issues that women in Nigerian

society confront as well as potential solutions to these issues. Without women, the human

species could become extinct because they play such an important role in our culture. As a

result, since women carry the weight of generations, it is crucial that we reexamine the

accepted social norm of discrimination against them. Another reason why this study is

significant is that it can serve as a useful resource for anyone looking for knowledge about

feminism in Nigerian film industry, whether they are students or members of the general

public.

1.7 Theoretical Framework

A theoretical framework is available to direct, provide, and organize a research endeavor.

Theoretical framework refers to the theory supporting or guiding a specific research project.

The movies chosen in this study are Nigerian productions that reflect the cultural norms and

way of life of Nigerian society. African Womanism theory would therefore be utilized in this

study. A branch of feminism called womanism was created by Mary Kolawole and

Chikwenye Ogunyemi. They contend that cultural and societal factors have a role in the

problems women experience and that African women's problems differ greatly from those of

Western women, making it impossible to successfully apply western feminist theories to the

problems women face in Nigeria. The female characters are subjugated, denigrated, and put

to the background by their spouses in the movies. This results from the cultural norm that

prioritizes men above women. The patriarchal aspect of Nigerian society is very strong.

In "In Line," Debo physically assaulted his wife because he felt he had a right to. The

sociocultural view that the husband is the leader of the household and the woman is the

subordinate supports this mentality. Both Susan and Kate's spouses render them helpless in

both movies.

In Mr. and Mrs., Susan Abah used the Snail-Sense feminism theory of Akachi Adimora to

save her marriage. She used discussion and carefully sought the advice of a lawyer, who

suggested that she have additional conversations with her husband. In the end, it was

successful. Snail-sense theory and African womanism were used in the analysis of this study

because they were appropriate for the socio-cultural setting of these films.

1.6 Research methodology

The two main categories of the research methodological technique for data collecting for this

work are primary sources and secondary sources.

In Line and Mr. and Mrs., two Nigerian movies, are the primary sources, while papers,

journals, published books, etc. are the secondary sources.

1.7 Definition of Terms.

Feminism: Feminism is an interdisciplinary approach to issues of equality and equity based

on gender, gender expression, gender identity, sex, and sexuality as understood through social

theories and political activism.

Feminist: A person who believes in the political, social and economic equality of the sexes,

Ann Oakley a feminist defines it as:

Someone who holds that women suffer discrimination

because of their sex, that they have specific needs which

remain negated and unsatisfied and that the satisfaction

of these needs would require a radical change(some

would say a revolution even) in the social, economic

and political order .

Inequality: The unfair difference between groups of people on the society

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter will discuss the literature on the history of feminism, feminist challenges in

Nigeria, factors influencing feminism in Nigeria, such as religious considerations, cultural

factors, and the absence of enforced protective laws, as well as the growth of Nigerian video
films. In this thesis materials will be drawn from other scholars that relates to this current

literature. Feminism happens to be a sensitive topic till this day and there have been pioneers,

researchers, scholars who have within its scope defined and explained the basis and concept

of feminism and as such, this thesis will be following in such pattern to discuss feminism and

feminist issues in Nigeria. This chapter will generally cover materials collected from other

researchers regarding feminism as well as my own personal knowledge and researches.

2.1 Historical overview of feminism

Feminism first emerged during the enlightenment period in the 18th century. The first

indications of a women's uprising appeared in the 14th century when women led the protest

against British serfdom in opposition to the poll tax, which was a tax paid to support the 100-

year war and whose consistent increase was harder on women. Johanna Ferrour then led the

revolt, which culminated in her ordering the beheading of Canterbury archbishop Simon of

Sunbury.

Due to the many viewpoints of its proponents, feminism has a wide range of definitions. For

instance, Barbara Berg contends that feminism is the freedom for a woman to choose her own

path, free from sex-based roles and repressive social norms. Freedom to completely express

her ideas and put them into action. The acknowledgment of a woman's freedom to personal

conscience and judgment is a requirement of feminism. According to this theory, a woman's

intrinsic value derives from her shared humanity and is unrelated to the other connections in

her life (Kemp & Squires, 1997, p. 24). Every system that encourages inequality is what

feminism aims to dismantle. In light of this, Oakley, who is cited in Okoh's Towards a

Feminist Theatre in Nigeria, defines a feminist as:

Someone who holds that women suffer discrimination because

of their sex, that they have specific needs which remain negated
 and unsatisfied, and that the satisfaction of these needs would

require radical change (some would say a revolution even) in

the social, economic and political order (8).

A broad understanding of feminism includes acting and advocating on behalf of women

issues. According to Bell Hooks:

A struggle against sexist oppression, its aim is not to benefit

solely any specific group of women, any particular race or class

of women. It does not privilege women over men. It has the

power to transform in a meaningful way all our lives. Most

importantly, feminism is neither a life style nor a readymade

identity or role one can step into (5).

Feminism is a broad topic that has resulted in the publication of numerous publications.

Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft, however, was among the most

well-known publications. The first wave of feminism is thought to have been started by Mary

Wollstonecraft, known as the mother of British feminism, and the author of the well-known

book Vindication of the Rights of Women.

2.2 Waves of Feminism

Feminism is described as happening in waves just like actual waves because after one comes

another wave with same agenda however with slight differences in structure and organisation.

The wave analogy was a demonstration that until all women’s rights are achieved, the

movement is an ongoing process.( Amadi 2015)

First wave of feminism

  The first wave was concerned with the right to vote which was a major political issue

during the 19th century. The term "First wave of feminism" describes the time of feminism

activity in the United States and the United Kingdom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The first wave of feminism concentrated on topics including women's property rights, equal

rights under the law, opposition to chattel marriage, and the ownership of women by their

husbands, but the main focus was on political power, namely the right to vote. Although this

movement was set in the early 19th century, the term "first wave" was first used by Martha

Lear in a piece published in the New York Times Magazine in March 1968. The first wave

comprised of mainly middle class white women who were tired of the roles society

prescribed for them. The very first feminist organisation was the Langham palace circle in

1850.

The first women's rights conference, which was organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth

Cady Stanton and held in July 1848 in the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, is

largely credited with ushering in the first wave. The majority of the issues discussed during

the first wave of discussions were covered during this gathering. There are several

contentious issues, including granting married women the ability to own property, increasing

the number of women in the workforce, and the right to vote. In The Declaration of the

Sentiments, Elizabeth Stanton asserts that "the history of mankind is 0a history of repeated

assaults and usurpation on the side of man towards woman, having in its purpose the creation

of an absolute tyranny over her" (64). Women publicized their cause soon after the Seneca

Falls convention. They started holding gatherings and organizing campaigns for the right to

vote. The fight for voting rights was the most well-known feminist conflict, and to address it,

a number of unions and societies were established. One of these groups was the National

Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), which had Elizabeth Cady Stanton as its

first president.
 Emeline Pankhurst founded the Women Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1903

because she was dissatisfied with the NUWSS's slow progress and methodical approach. The

WSPU's more radical strategy helped to raise public awareness of the vote-rights movement

and garner media attention. The WSPU took a more aggressive stance, interfering with

speeches and events, holding demonstrations at the House of Commons, tying protesters to

railings, and—most violent of all—starting fires. They set fire to both private and public

property, which disturbed the peace. By running in front of the king's horse at the Epsom

Derby, Emily Davidson, one of the radical feminists affiliated with the WSPU, sacrificed her

life for the cause. Despite the fact that during the first wave of feminism, the fight for

suffrage had overshadowed other feminist problems, feminists like Voltaire de Cleyre and

Margaret Sanger were still actively promoting women's economic, sexual, and reproductive

rights. The representation of the people's act, which gave the right to vote to all married

women who owned homes and was extended to all women over the age of eighteen 10 years

later in 1928, put an end to the first wave of feminism in Britain in 1918. Although in the US,

the first wave of feminism came to an end with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the

US Constitution (1919), granting women the right to vote. First-wave feminists like Susan B.

Anthony, Elizabeth Stanton, Lucy Stone, Sojourner Truth, etc. were some of the most well-

known.

Some Achievements of the first wave feminism

 Married women's property act was first passed in New York in 1839.

 Oberlin College was founded in 1833.

 First birth control clinic was founded in Brooklyn in 1916

 The right to vote was granted.

Second wave feminism

 The period generally referred to as the second wave is the period after the Second World

War, beginning in the early 1960's through to the late 1980's. In response to the Second

World War's aftermath, when women were once more domesticated, the second wave of

feminism emerged. Women had several career prospects during the Second World War,

which took place between 1939 and 1945, as the majority of men were drafted into the

military. As a result, women dominated the labor force. Yet, following the war, other women

who continued to work experienced a huge wage gap with men. The second wave was framed

by the conclusion of the war, but it was also founded on a number of significant occurrences,

chief among them the writings of American writer Betty Friedan and French author Simone

de Beauvoir.

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, is a plea for equality in a society that no longer

relies on the muscle dominance of men. As the name implies, the notion that society has

ascribed to women; as the other. She continues by disputing the idea that women have a

particular temperament or nature, claiming that a woman's psychological self is socially

produced rather than innate. According to her, one is not born a woman,rather one becomes a

woman.   In this book, Beauvoir discusses society, men, and women. According to her,

women have been socialized to view themselves solely in terms of their relationships with

men, such as a wife, daughter, or mother, rather than as a unique individual.

The category of the other is as primordial as consciousness

itself. In the most primitive societies, in the most ancient

mythologies, one finds the expression of a duality that is of the

self and other (The second sex,Woman as other 1949)

She illustrates how societal, economic, and political restrictions built around unproven myths

like the myth of pregnancy, the myth of virginity, the myth of beauty, etc. have prevented
women from exercising their rights and have led to their treatment as inferiors throughout

history and culture. According to her, men have been able to maintain dominant positions in

all significant industries because women, rather than protesting against this status, have

accepted it and accepted being the other, the second-class citizen.

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, a best-selling book, was another important

contribution to the second wave of feminist thought. The book highlights how many white

housewives from the middle class felt unfulfilled in their lives. Following a survey she

conducted with her former Smith College classmates, Betty Friedan wrote this book. Women

were happier while balancing home and profession, according to one survey, than when they

only had one. Betty Friedan called this "the problem that has no name" in her conclusion

since many of these unhappier women were trapped in cultural pressures to domesticate

women.

In addition, the President's Commission on the Status of Women in Agenda by then

President John F. Kennedy, when the findings were released, it brought to light a lot of

discrimination and inequality women face, such as the Unfair Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil

Right Act Amendment of 1964 which prohibited employers from discriminating against sex

in the workplace. The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded in 1966 to

advocate for pro-equality laws, women's participation in academic fields, health care, and

family planning, with a primary focus on the passage of the Equal Right Amendment (ERA).

Younger feminists like Gloria Steinem were more radical in their approach, whereas Betty

Friedan and other older white women wanted a more conservative approach. The second

wave was defined by two main schools of thought, the Liberals and the Radicals. The liberals

concentrated on practical institution-wide improvements. In short, they cared about equality

and worked to incorporate women into the preexisting dominantly male organization so that
they could compete well with men. But, radicals believed that in order to free women from

their oppressive roles in society, the society that had created them needed to be thoroughly

overhauled and revolutionized. The considerable division in the second wave was caused by

these philosophical differences and the racial issue of Black and Mexican women not feeling

like they were part of the movement. Feminist Theory and Pop Culture's introduction by

Adrienne Trier-Bieniek states

However, criticism of the second wave has focused on its

contradictions, particularly relating to race and social class.

Women of color have reported feeling like they were placed on

the margins of the waves of feminism in general and the second

wave of feminism in particular,

The second wave ended with the failure of the NOW to implement the equal right

amendment act.

Major Achievements of the second wave

 Equal pay act of 1963

 Civil right act of 1964

 Title Ix passed on 1972

The third wave of Feminism

To address the shortcomings of the second wave, feminist's third wave emerged. The 1990s

saw the beginning of the third wave of feminist movements. Rebecca Walker invented the

term "third wave feminism" in a 1992 essay in which she argued for modifications to media
representations, stereotypes, and terminology to properly describe women's sexuality. I'm not

a post-feminist feminist. I am wave three, number five.

Allowing feminists to define the term for themselves is the third wave's main goal. Because

not all women share and experience the same things, a focus on feminism should not be

generalized because women are of different religions, races, ethnic backgrounds, and nations,

the third wave sparked a revolution against the preexisting idea of femininity. The third wave

feminists sought to do away with stereotypes, media portrayals, sexual liberation, race, social

class.

Achievements of the third wave

 1991: opportunity 200 was launched, it was a movement aimed at increasing the

quality and quantity of employment opportunities for women in the United Kingdom.

 1992: Termed the year of the women, four women contested and won seats in the U.S

senate.

 1993: Family and medical leave act was created

 1993: Janet Reno became the first female Attorney General of the United States of

America

 1994: Gender equity in education act was created

 1994: Marital rape was declared illegal

 1995: The fourth world conference on women held in China.

 1996: Eve Ensler released the feminist play the Vagina Monologues.

Fourth Wave Feminism

Since the fourth wave of feminism is more about the movement's continuous expansion than

a major transition, some individuals believe that we are still in the third wave. But many

people think a new phase has begun with the MeToo movement and a revival of assaults on

women's rights. The movement has moved fully into the technology era thanks to social

media involvement. It expands on the third wave's focus on inclusivity and poses challenging

queries about what true empowerment, equality, and freedom entail.

Intersectionality remains a concern for fourth-wave feminism. Opponents of "white

feminism," which downplays the particular problems of women of color, bring to light the

suppression of non-white feminists and their views. The topic of trans rights is also a

controversial one. Feminism has frequently been an unwelcoming and hostile space for trans

people and anyone who reject the gender binary. Several members of the fourth wave of

feminism are fighting this marginalization. The fourth wave is complex, just like every wave

that came before it (and every wave that comes after it). It involves a variety of movements

that interact with one another and compliment one another. This strain cannot be avoided.

Even if some forms of feminism might be detrimental, feminism is inclusive and more

successful when a range of views are represented.

2.3 Feminist theories

Feminism through the different periods has different thoughts and theories. Some of the

major feminist theories are

 Liberal feminism

 Radical feminism

 Socialist and Marxist feminism

  Postmodern feminism

 Amazon feminism, etc.

Liberal feminism: This type of feminism places a strong emphasis on women's capacity to

manifest and uphold equality via their own choices and actions. According to liberal

feminists, equality cannot be attained by changing the social structure. All people should be

allowed to freely explore their rights and equal chances, according to liberal feminists.

Liberal feminist disprove the false conventional assumption that women are physically and

cognitively inferior to men by nature, which leads to discrimination against them. The liberal

feminists strive for additional legislation that would provide women the same equality as

males in the public spheres like labor, governance, etc. because they feel that equality would

be attained if the law removed all restrictions against women. They see the government as the

defender of individual rights. Liberal feminists did not consider the biological distinctions

between men and women to be sufficient justifications for inequality; instead, they pushed to

advance voting, equal pay for equal work, reproductive and abortion rights, and laws against

sexual and domestic harassment.

Socialist and Marxist feminism: They focus on significant changes that will impact society

as a whole rather than simply specific individuals. Some feminists consider the concepts of

women's exploitation and oppression to be Marxist. They adhere to Karl Marx's theory and

assert that feminism will continue to be oppressed as long as class oppression persists. They

believe that women's limitations are a direct outcome of their inferior status at work and at

home. According to socialist feminists, class and gender are somewhat interdependent, and as

a result, one cannot exist without the other. They contend that in order to solve feminist

issues, class issues must be taken into account. The radical feminist claim that patriarchy is

the primary cause of women's oppression is rejected by socialist feminists. According to

socialist/Marxist feminists, the major reason women are oppressed is because they lack

economic independence because males are the capitalists who utilize their riches to exploit

and enslave women.

Cultural feminism: This type of feminism focuses exclusively on the unique traits and

accomplishments of the female sex in opposition to those of men. Linda Alcoff, a cultural

feminists opined that

Man has said that women can be defined, delineated, captured,

understood, explained and diagnosed to a level of

determination never accorded to man himself, who is conceived

as a rational animal with free will (406).

They argue that the traditional role of women should be more appreciated. They have the

philosophy that men and women are different in their manner of approaching the world and

that greater value should be placed on the way women approach the world. They also argue

that women are very different from men in their approach to the world. They oppose liberal

feminists and say women and men cannot be treated as equals always as their biological

components are different.

Radical Feminism: This philosophy is based on how society laces men as first and women

as others. Radical feminists argue that the world is viewed through the eyes of men. Radical

feminists just as the name implies believe that for the status of women to change, an overhaul

of society must occur. Radical feminists seek to break every constraint of women in the

society; they view society as being under the construct of male based authority and power

structure which are responsible for inequality and oppression. Radical feminists believe that

there are no alternatives to destroying societal inequality and oppression except society is

totally uprooted and reconstructed. Radical feminists question why women must adopt certain
roles based on their biology. They attempt to draw a line between biologically determined

behavior and culturally determined behavior.

2.4 Feminism in Nigeria

In Nigeria records of women's struggles have been in existence since the 19th century.

Nigerian women have played significant roles throughout the history of Nigeria from its pre-

colonial times down to its post-colonial periods. Nigerian women have strongly influenced

the political and social spheres during these periods. The disproportion in rights, properties

and opportunities brought about the rise in agitating for equality in Nigeria. The women,

plagued by cultural and religious constraints such as patriarchy and sexism began to demand

for improvement for the status of women which has been the basis of these agitations. To

properly discuss feminism in Nigeria, it is imperative to discuss women's struggles through

the three stages of precolonial, colonial and post-colonial rule.

Feminism is Nigeria has a broad history spanning different periods; the precolonial,

colonial and post-colonial. Feminists in Nigeria and Africa in general are usually associated

with the term "man hater". They strongly frown at women who call themselves feminists; this

has limited the growth of feminism in Nigeria as most women do not want to be termed "man

hater". However, feminist activities have continued to thrive. Most people would rather say

women liberation movement rather than feminist movement because of the bias associated

with the term feminism in Nigeria. Feminist activities in Nigeria have continued in form of

women liberation movements and non-governmental organization by a select few, mostly

devoid of the passion and rage that was witnessed in the first and second waves of feminist

movement. Most of these women empowering mediums aim to moderately reform society

without offsetting the cultural balance of patriarchy. Hence they advocate against some

feminist issues such as domestic violence, rape, human trafficking etc. and leave those like
male domination and discrimination. Nigeria has come a long way in development of rights

for women. Laws such as the child right act against child marriages have been created.

However these laws are hardly implemented, so the plight of women remains the same.

According to Osofisan:

In various places and on various platforms, our women have

repeatedly voiced their bitterness against men, for reasons

ranging from economic exploitation to cultural

misrepresentation to political abuse. Thus all men by virtue of

being male stand condemned (12).

In the above, Osofisan points out that these women have truly agitated against these issues

but still there are little or no changes.

2.5 Variants of Feminism in Nigeria

Many ideas that would better address the woman issue by having an awareness of their

cultural and sociological background were developed in response to the goal to construct a

feminist vision that embraces the backgrounds of African women. African women perceive

the world differently due to their diverse cultures, hence western feminism will not

adequately address their situation. Feminist theories that are appropriate for Nigerian culture

and society have been proposed by a number of well-known feminist scholars, including

Catherine Acholonu, Chioma Opara, Molara Ogundipe, Helen Chukwuma, Chikwenye

Ogunyemi, and Mary Kolawole. Motherism, Stiwanism, Snail Sense Feminism, Femalism,

African Womanism, and others are a few of these theories.

African womanism
Chikwenye Ogunyemi presented this notion in the 1980s. In order to better support the

feminist philosophy of the African woman, womanism aims to combine culture, race, and

other influencing variables. Womanism, in Ogunyemi's opinion, is a better phrase to

characterize women's participation in social change. She claims that when considering

feminism, "African womanism strives to include African, racial, cultural, economic, and

socio-political problems" (55).

Another author, Mary Kolawole, makes the case for a womanism that is strongly influenced

by African principles. She contends that topics like lesbianism, which is theorized in Western

feminism, are unrelated to our ideals. Womanism, according to Kolawole, is "the entirety of

feminine self-expression, self-retrieval, and self-assertion in positive cultural ways"

(1997,15). And like Joseph Adeleke (1996:34), one would be tempted to wonder if

lesbianism and the destruction of heterosexuality aren't a shift in the direction of what Black

women once claimed they opposed as being pro-white culture and somehow an anomaly

among Blacks. Considering this recent development, can one still view marriage and family

as being vitally important to Black women?

These difficulties cast doubt on the place of womanism in the context of the African female

experience in Africa, necessitating the search for either a fusion of the existing theories to

account for the apparent peculiarities or the development of a new set of theories to

specifically address the African woman in Africa.

Motherism

Catherine Acholonu made this claim in her book Motherism(1995) An Afro-centric

Alternative to Feminism. As an African alternative to feminism that emphasizes the

significance of motherhood in the experience of African women, she proposes the idea of

motherism:

An Afrocentric feminist theory, therefore, must be anchored on the matrix

of motherhood  which is central to African metaphysics and has been the basis of the survival

and unity of the black race through the ages. Whatever Africa’s role may be in the global

perspective, it could never be divorced from her quintessential position as the Mother

Continent of humanity, nor is it coincidental that motherhood has remained the central focus

of African art, African literature (especially women's writing), African culture, African

psychology, oral traditions, and empirical philosophy. Africa’s alternative to Western

feminism is Motherism and Motherism denotes motherhood.

A motherist is one committed to the survival of mother earth and who embraces the woman

struggles. motherist can be a man or a woman. She advocates for male-female

complementarity for motherism to work.

Stiwanism

This strand was developed by Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie.(1994,1) Stiwanism was coined

from social transformation. She argues that more attention should be paid to the sociological

structures that oppress women. And she says

“Wanted to stress the fact that what we want in Africa is social transformation. It is not about

warring with men, the reversal of role, or doing to men whatever women think that men have

been doing for centuries, but it is trying to build a harmonious society. The transformation of

African society is the responsibility of both men and women and it is also in their interest.

The new word describes what similarly minded women and myself would like to see in

Africa. The word “feminism” itself’ seems to be a kind of red rag to the bull of African men.
Some say the word by its very nature is hegemonic or implicitly so. Others find the focus on

women in themselves somehow threatening. Some who are genuinely concerned with

ameliorating women’s lives sometimes feel embarrassed to be described as ‘feminist’ unless

they are particularly strong in character”.

Snail-sense feminism

Snail-Sense One of the Afro-centric feminist theories, aims to end male dominance and

female subjugation throughout Africa, with a focus on Nigeria in particular. This theory was

proposed by Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo. She advocates for Nigerian women to have the

patience and dexterity of a snail when navigating "boulders, rocks, thorns, crags and harsh

terrains" (Adimora-Ezeigbo 27). That is they should copy the slow movement of a snail in

their dealings with men especially in a highly patriarchal society. She encourages women to

learn acute survival skills to enable them live well despite the patriarchal nature of the

Nigerian society. She advocates that women should make use of effective dialogue and

negotiation in their dealings with men.

2.6 Roles of women in Nigeria from Pre-colonial to post-colonial

The pre-colonial era was the period preceding the colonial era, the period before the

colonialists settled down in Nigeria. During the pre-colonial period, women participated in

the economic, social and political sectors. Women were farmers they assisted their husband

together with their children at the farm, they were traders and they mainly sold produce from

their farms. Some others were professionals in mat weaving, pottery making etc. Politically

women had rights with both in unison and individually. For older women and wives in the

different tribes in Nigeria, the participation of women defers. Women had political rights
during the pre-colonial period because the political organization was the family and in a sort

of arrangement, women had considerable authority over her children. Women in the pre-

colonial times played complimentary roles and not subjective roles. The only region were

women were seriously discriminated against was in Northern Nigeria and it was due to their

religion. However some women still made impact and one of such women that made impact

was Queen Amina of Zazzau, Zaria in 1576, she was the undisputed ruler of the Zazzau

Kingdom in Northern Nigeria and she extended her rule down to where we know today as

Bauchi.

In the Western part of Nigeria, there was Moremi of Ife. In the West, women played

significant roles such as high priestess and also they had formidable organization such as the

market women organisation with the Iyalode as their leader. In old Benin Kingdom, women

held political powers by virtue of being wives and mothers to royalty. The traditional stool of

the Queen mother was a very important and dignified one. Other prominent women were

Emotan of Benin, Queen Idia etc. In the Eastern part of Nigeria, women had economic

freedom as lots of them were farmers who also doubled as traders during the market days.

Women in this region such as the priestesses and Lolos (wives of the king) were granted

certain political powers.

In the Southern part of Nigeria, women were good in fishing and had prominent women like

Omu Okwei of Ossomari( Delta state) who was crowned in 1935. She was a Queen who

oversaw women's needs and settled disputes. According to different sources, she was a

prominent Palm oil trader with the royal oil company and she amassed vast fortunes and was

also elected market queen and chairwoman of the council of mothers .

Okoh opines that several arguments have been made in favour of and against the issue of

feminism existing before the colonialists came in with their Victorian culture.
 Some critics have argued that it was there white man that brought with

him to Africa their sexist Victorian culture. In the case of Nigeria, the

critics usually refer to legendary women who saved their communities

and those who have featured prominently in Nigerian history. These

women include the Moremi of Ife and the Inkpi of Igala. Iyalode

Efunseta Aniwura of Ibadan, Omu Okwei of Osomari, Queen Daura of

Daura, Queen Amina of Zazzau, Queen Kambassa of Bonny, Nana

Asma'u of Sokoto, Madam Tinubu of Lagos, and Madam Ransome Kuti.

Aduni Oluwole, the Queen Mothers of Benin City, the Aba Women's

Riot leaders, the Omu of Western Igboland, the Iyalode and Iyaloja of

various Yoruba villages, as well as the combined power of the Ibo's

Umuada were all present.

Women were known to have played complimentary roles and were not denied of economic

and social participation until the colonial Lords arrived and sidelined women from active

participation.

Colonial period

Women were excluded from participating in the activities of the country during this time.

The majority of early colonial regulations and statues were sexist and biased towards women

at a time when the British were experiencing the first wave of feminism. Due to their inability

to obtain significant loans, women were unable to participate in the trading world. The

colonialists' laws and regulations had restrictions on women. Nonetheless, at this time,

women discovered their strength in numbers and organizations like the market women

association that gave them a voice. Women have always worked the land and cultivated crops

before colonization arrived, but as a result of legislation implemented during this time, they
now claim the majority of the lands that these women previously farmed. Due to this, women

lost economic powers and had to depend more on their husbands and these brought male

dominance and supremacy to light and a loss of female identity, to an extent

The colonialists also established a significant trend with their very narrow perspective of

women and their role in daily life. It was expected of Victorian women to carry out their jobs

without much in the way of personality or presence. While playing a significant role in

creating the houses and nurturing the children of their men, the African women quickly felt

their status and power in society being taken from under them. The colonialists believed that

women weren't allowed to have personalities or act pretend, as Victorian women did. Women

were persistent in seeking inclusion and involvement, and this resulted in a number of

measures. There is no doubt that colonialism presented African women with a variety of

challenges and negative effects. However, as a display of their resilience, these women

responded, in many cases, by learning to protest and stand up for their rights. They adapted as

they needed to, and were determined to preserve their identities. An example of taking such

initiative to regain their ‘voice’ is the British West African Ladies Club, established in 1929

in Nigeria. This organisation was designed to encourage women to express themselves and to

give them a platform upon which to do so.

The Aba women's riot in 1929 and the Abeokuta market women's protest in 1948 are only

two examples of how they used protest and riots to reclaim their voices. As a result of the

British creating unfavorable economic conditions, which led to the women's riot in Aba, the

women vehemently denounced British taxation because the small profit they made was

insufficient to cover such exorbitant tax fees. The same problem of exorbitant taxes and the

failure of the traditional authorities to defend their interests were the driving forces for the

Aba women's riot, which occurred over ten years before the Abeokuta women's protest. The

king abdicated/vacated the throne as a result of this protest, which was organized by
Olufummilayo Ransome-Kuti. Soon after this the agitation for other favourable policies and

independence were consistent. The National Women's Union was created in 1947; it's known

to be the first national women's organisation. Their agitation yielded results as in the 1950's

women were appointed into the State parliament, women like Olufumilayo Ransome-Kuti

representing the west, Margaret Ekpo and Janet Mokelu representing the Eastern region.

These women joined forces with the men to bring about the emancipation of Nigeria from the

clutches of Great Britain. However the women failed to confront other feminist issues like

male dominance and patriarchy.

Post-colonial era

At the start of this period, women were given room to play active roles in the nation's

development especially in agriculture. In 1960, women were granted franchise with the

exception of the Northern women and so in 1960, a woman by name Mrs. Wuruola Adam

emerged as the first female member of the Federal parliament, her victory was followed

closely by that Chief (Mrs.) Margaret Ekpo as the representative of the Aba urban north

constituency in the eastern house of Assembly. However in Northern Nigeria due to cultural

and religious bias women were not given the vote until 1979. During these periods of early

independence, women and girls still lacked formal education as there was preference for the

male child than female was it came to education.

In the 1970's and 1980's women liberation groups began to rise and they began to push

against cultural constraints and horrible practices such as widowhood rites, female genital

mutilation etc. As of today, Nigerian women enjoy freedom to a certain extent. Education is

now more accessible and the tertiary institutions are more populated by females. Some

feminist argues that Nigeria has produced exceptional women who in one or the other have

impacted greatly on the society, however they argue that these women are too few when
compared with the huge population of women, In Nigeria, a few laudable achievements by

women such Margaret Ekpo and others have been recognised and are probably the few

exceptional women Tori Moi in Sexual/Textual politics refer to when she said.

Throughout history a few exceptional women have indeed

managed to resist the full pressure of patriarchal ideology

becoming conscious of their own oppression and voicing their

opposition to male power

In Nigeria, discrimination against women still exists howbeit more in some cultures than

others. In Igbo land women cannot inherit properties and have less say in their home or

outside the home where as in the Yoruba culture, women are allowed to inherit properties. In

the Hausa culture, the treatment of women is still as it was decades ago; wives are expected

to be docile and subservient. The United Nations has equally helped in promoting the rights

of women in Nigeria including through conferences such as the Beijing conference of 1995.

However a large portion of women in Nigeria still suffers hiccups on several issues such as

patriarchy, violence, Male dominance and gender roles.

Feminist Issues in Nigeria

 Patriarchy

 Female genital mutilation

 Economic marginalisation

 Sexism

 Political discrimination etc.

Widowhood practices: The practice of these traditions which is mostly prevalent in the

Eastern part of Nigeria has decimated in recent times. However before now the widowhood
rights consisted of very barbaric practices such as shaving of hair, eating from dirty disposed

utensils. Being kept in seclusion and the unhealthiest of all, the Ndakpo Uzu practice of

drinking water from the washed corpse or embracing the corpse three times to prove ones

innocence of having a hand in her husband’s death. Amongst the Yoruba some widowhood

practice includes wearing of black for a long period of time

According to Aransola and Ige (2010)

widowhood practices is observed among the Yoruba to

protect the woman from being harmed by the spirit of the

husband; for the woman to prove innocence of the death

of her husband and for the husband family to ascertain if

the woman had been pregnant as at the time the husband

died so that they can claim responsibility and care for the

woman among other reasons.

Widowhood practices in Yoruba also include sitting on the floor, going into seclusion and

according to Adekanye:

A widow is expected to express her sorrow of losing her

husband through wearing of black clothes. Crying and often

falling into the ready hands of others to prevent her from

injuring herself.

In the Eastern part of Nigeria, when a woman's husband dies, her hair is

shaved off and she is made to sit on the floor and forbidden to touch any

objects.
 Another major widowhood practice in Igbo land is the confiscation of properties by the

husband’s relatives. Nzewi was quoted in Akinbi Joseph’s Widowhood Practices in some

Nigerian Societies: A Restropective Examination:

among the Igbo people of Nigeria, the relatives demand for document relating to the

deceased properties including lands, investment and bank account and the widows

were required to take oaths as proof that the knowledge of relevant land and personal

property of the deceased were not concealed. Subsequently, the widows were required

to provide expensive items like a white goat and two jars of palm wine for

purification purpose to the female members of their husbands lineage who made and

implemented decision on every matter concerning widows. The widows were forbidden

to touch any object including themselves without defilement. Hence they were given

piece of sticks to scratch their bodies, while their food is also cooked in old pots

rather than those normally used for cooking for other members of the family. Also,

they were to sleep on old mats placed on wooden planks which would be burnt at

the end of the mourning period. If a woman dies during the one year mourning

period, she is perceived as being responsible for her husband’s death and therefore

commits an abomination (9).

However due to factors such as the intervention of the United Nations, Christianity, education

and modernization some of these practices have been laid to rest but some still exist.

Female genital mutilation

Female genital mutilation is defined by the World Health Organisation as all procedures

which involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia and or injury to the

female genital organs whether for cultural or any other non-therapeutic reasons. Nigeria has

the highest case of FGM in the world:

 FGM is widely practiced in Nigeria, and with its large

population, Nigeria has the highest absolute number of cases of

FGM in the world, accounting for about one-quarter of the

estimated 115–130 million circumcised women worldwide.[2]

In Nigeria, FGM has the highest prevalence in the south-south

(77%) (Among adult women), followed by the south east (68%)

and south west (65%), but practiced on a smaller scale in the

north, paradoxically tending to in a more extreme form

(W.H.O).

There are four different variations of FGM such as the clitoridectomy or Type I which is the

removal of part of the clitoris, Sunna or Type II, Infabulation or Type III and Type IV.

Female genital mutilation has led to the unfortunate death of innocent women through

excessive bleeding. FGM has been on a steady decline since the timely intervention of the

World Health Organisation, United Nations and Federation of international gynecologists and

obstetrics and some relevant bodies however FGM still exists in some areas and majority are

adult circumcision.

Patriarchy

The word patriarchy is derived from patriarch which has its origins in ancient Greek word

patriarkhia. Patriarchy is a system of social structures and practices where men are

considered lords and women as servants to the lords. Okpe submits that

patriarchy is a broad network or system of hierarchical

organization that cuts across political, economic, social,

religious, cultural, industrial and financial spheres, under which

 the overwhelming number of upper positions in society are

either occupied or controlled and dominated by men.

The Nigerian society is one that is highly patriarchal in nature and this has led to a lot of

discrimination against women as the men are regarded as the dominant and women the

submissive. Male children are regarded as more important than the females and from birth

they are inculcated with the knowledge that they are the head and women are supposed to be

beneath them. This sets the trend of dominance from birth; the end result is what we witness

constantly which is the subjugation of women. If patriarchal structures are broken, women

will considerably increase in contributing to society and being relevant in society.

In several Nigerian customs, women are not allowed to make decisions, not allowed to

participate in governance, not allowed to make decisions for her own life, trained to always

see the men in her live as her owners. This is why Hartman says

The crucial elements of patriarchy as we currently

experience them are heterosexual marriage, female child

rearing and house work, women’s economic dependence on

men reinforced by arrangements in the labour market), the

state, the numerous institutions based on social relations

among men-clubs, sports, unions, professions, universities,

churches, corporations armies (97).

Women are taught to aspire to marry and not aspire to have ambition; men are taught to have

ambitions because they are the heads. Although with more participation of women in formal

education, women now know they can achieve more than being housewives and a mother

confined to the kitchen. However, women are striving to step out of the confinement of

patriarchy and have ambitions.

Women are working up to important positions which used to be held mainly by men. There

are even some businesses which are in completely by women. Clearly women are making

outstanding contributions to the progress of modern society

2.7 Factors affecting feminism in Nigeria

Some of the major factors affecting feminism in Nigeria are

 Cultural factors

 Religious factors

 Political factors

 Legal factors etc.

Cultural factors

Nigeria is a multi-cultural society and so there are a lot of cultural traditions and beliefs in

Nigeria. One common feature in different Nigerian tribes is the subjugation and

discrimination of women but it varies in degree from tribe to tribe. Culture and traditions

have been steady factors for limiting and discriminating women. Female genital mutilation is

a cultural thing, although its origin is not clearly known. It is performed because of

superstitious beliefs that it stops women from being promiscuous. The barbaric widowhood

practice is embedded in culture and tradition. Patriarchy is also a cultural norm, women are

expected to marry within a certain age limit if not society frowns at them but men can stay

single till they wish without society judging them. The birth of female children is not as

celebrated as the birth of male children. Women are also restricted from inheriting properties

because of culture. When it comes to decision making, women are also left out. In Sociology

of women: the intersection of patriarchy, capitalism and colonization, Jane Ollenburger and
Helen Moore insist that: “The collective decision making process empowers women who

traditionally have been silenced”. If traditions allow women to participate in some activities,

women won't be marginalised and discriminated.

Religious factors

Nigeria's two main religions are Islam and Christianity. Religion has been actively employed

as a sort of anti-feminist instrument over the years. The Sharia laws are a technique of

penalizing offenders who violate religious laws in Northern Nigeria, where Islam is practiced,

but this is wrong because the majority of these laws conflict with those of the nation.

Religion and state are not intended to mix together; they should be kept apart. Because it

places restrictions on women and penalizes those who try to violate them, Sharia law is one

of the elements that has an impact on feminism. Some contend that the Bible is where

patriarchy first appeared. The following phrase is interpreted by Christians to signify that

God upholds men as lords and women as servants .Genesis 2:22 and the rib, which God had

taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. Ephesians 5:22-23

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord for the husband is the

head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body”.

They ignore the fact that in the creation account, God termed the woman a help mate,

which is a companion and not a servant, and read these verses to mean that women are

supposed to be servants to their husbands, the masters. According to Genesis 2, "Adam gave

names to every animals, birds of the air, and beasts of the field, but there was not found for

Adam a help suitable for him." There is no distinction between male and female, Jew or

Gentile, slave or free, according to Galatians 3:28, because you are all united in Christ Jesus.

On the other side, in Islam, the issue of the hijab amongst others has been used to

discriminate and restrict women. A passage from the Quran says:

 O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to

draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies that will be better, that they should be

known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever

Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful [al-Ahzaab 33:59]

According to an article in the Telegraph, UK, keeping women’s names out of classroom,

madrasa, or mosque records was just a broad interpretation of the concept of hijab. The term,

commonly used to refer to women’s head coverings, in fact referred more generally to the

modesty required by both men and women.

Nigeria's population is divided amongst these two religions and women suffer due to the

wrong interpretation of the Bible and the Quran. Although several laws have been put in

place to allow women to participate in all areas of the nation including in politics, these laws

have not been effective in stopping discrimination because they have not been stringently

enforced. Even with the Supreme Court verdict on female inheritance, women are still

suffering from properties being taken away because such laws have not been enforced. The

law against child marriage exists still child marriage is still practiced freely. The Child Rights

Act, which was passed in 2003, sets the age of marriage at 18 years-old. However, only 23 of

Nigeria’s 36 states have taken concrete steps to implement the minimum age of marriage.

Government had also failed in signing very important anti-discrimination bills such as that of

the CEDAW Okoh says.

The key international agreement on women's Human rights is

the “convention in the elimination of all forms of

discrimination against women” (CEDAW), which is also

described as the international bill of women’s right. Ratified by

185 UN member states, CEDAW encompasses a global

 consensus on the changes that need to take place in order to

realize women’s human rights. This year marks the 33 rd

anniversary of the conventions adoption through the UN

general assembly in 1979; the Nigerian government has not

signed this bill into law (54)

Due to lack of enforced protective laws in Nigeria, feminist issues like discrimination against

women remains valid.

2.8 History of the development of Nigerian video films

The history of the development of Nigerian video film is a vast topic filled with colonial

influences and the determination of independent producers who despite unfavourable

circumstances refused to give up until finally, breakthrough came with Kenneth Nnebue's

Living in Bondage of 1992. The history of film development can be classified into two

periods namely: The colonial era and the post-colonial era. The first video tape recorders

were developed by Charles Ginsburg. This was the beginning of video films which developed

from video coverage which was used mostly for social documentation as it was considered

superior to still photography.

The Colonial era

Film was introduced to Nigeria by the colonial government. The advent of film in Nigeria

came in two forms.

1. Independent commercial production

2. Colonial government sponsored production

The very first record of film in Nigeria can be traced back to the year 1903 when merchants

began to exhibit films regularly to a fee paying audience from 12-22 August 1903.
 The first medium was first introduced into Nigeria in 1903

courtesy of Hebert Macaulay and the Balboa collaboration.

This film was exhibited at the captain John Glover memorial

hall, Lagos. Thus, the "Glover memorial hall", became the

epicenter of film show (Daramola 202).

After the highly recorded success of Mr. Balboa's silent films exhibition in Nigeria, a

European merchant by name Stanley Jones began to regularly show his films which were

mostly documentaries to a paying audience which he charged 3 shillings each. Other

European film exhibitors soon trooped into Nigeria and the cinema culture grew. One very

important event that encouraged the film culture was when a documentary on the visit of the

Alake of Abeokuta to England was screened in August 3, 1904. This marked the first major

film hit.

In 1907, a group of missionary Catholic fathers showed a film on the life of Jesus to a

school audience which marked the start of religious propaganda through films. Soon

afterwards colonial filmmakers began film production targeted at local audiences and thus the

earliest feature film made in Nigeria Palaver produced by Geoffrey Barkas was screened.

The film also featured Nigerian actors in speaking roles. Commercial film business grew and

by 1921, there were four cinema halls showing films twice a week in Lagos, Nigeria. The

thrill for cinematic experience brought about wide spread patronage by the young and old.

The Christian religion also influenced cinema culture greatly as Christian missionaries used

the advent of cinema as a form of religious propaganda.

By the 1930's through to the 1940's there was recognizable vast investment in the cinema

as wealthy merchants began to establish big commercial cinemas, one of the most notable

cinema operators in Nigeria was the west African pictures company owned by Mr S. Khali
who was behind cinemas such as the regal cinema, the royal cinema, the Rex cinema situated

in Ebute meta in Lagos etc. Some other popular cinemas at that time were the capitol cinema,

Odeon cinema, central cinema. Etc. Although cinema flourished in Nigeria, at this period,

they lack Nigerian content in them as production and distribution were controlled by

foreigners. In 1937, the colonial government created a censorship board to oversee matters

concerning establishment and Operations of cinema houses in Nigeria.

Colonial government sponsored productions

The colonial government began film production in 1929, as an educational medium to

sensitize the general public during an outbreak of a plague within the Lagos protectorate.

This was an initiative of the chief health officer William Sellers.

William sellers employed film to illustrate to the people of the

Lagos protectorate the ways in which rats carry the disease and

also enlisted their cooperation in eliminating the plague bearing

rats. This public enlightenment program was timely in

curtailing the spread of false rumors and superstitions on the

causes of the epidemic in the protectorate. The success of this

experimentation led the colonial administration to adopt film as

a medium of instruction in what was then a largely pre-literate

society (Shaka, 230).

Due to the recorded success in 1931, the colonial government sent out mobile cinema vans to

take instructional films to all parts of Nigeria. This led to the creation of the mobile film

units. However, the involvement of the colonial government was highly propagandistic in

nature.
 Based on the success of the film exhibited by the Balboa film

exhibition company, the colonial masters decided to delve into

film exhibition. But theirs was for a purpose, propaganda!

Thus, they exhibited propaganda film which tells of the

superiority of the white man to the blacks with the Tarzan

series (Okome 29).

Their propagandistic agenda was full-fledged during the 2nd World War as the colonial

government used this medium to push their war ideologies such as "the Germans were

common enemy" thus the colonial film unit was set up to effectively push this agenda. At the

end of the war, the CFU was changed to the federal film unit (FFU) in 1946; it was created to

substitute the CFU in order to bring more indigenous Nigerian content to the cinema.

At the attainment of independence, the Federal Film Unit (FFU) was formed to substitute

the Colonial Film Unit (CFU). The purpose was to indigenize the content of film and produce

Nigerian culture oriented films. Mgbejume states that: “the Federal Film Unit did not make

any appreciable effort at creating an indigenous cinema; instead, it began the exhibition of the

same colonial documentary (44)”. Shaka posits that

To train indigenous manpower for this sector of the economy,

the colonial government in Nigeria sent Adamu Haiku, A. A.

Fajemisin, J. A Oriana and mallam Yakubu Aina for training at

the film training school in Accra, they worked under the

supervision of N. F. Sure who was then the Chief film officer

of the FFU. Some of the documentaries produced by the FFU

in its days include Empire day celebrations in Nigeria (1948),

small pox (1950), leprosy (1950) Port Harcourt municipal

 council election (195.) and Queen Elizabeth's visit to Nigeria

(Shaka, 232-233).

Post-colonial era

After Nigeria gained her independence in 1968, there was great influx of foreign films such

as Indian melodramas, western films etc. However in the early 1970's feature film

production started in Nigeria when former theatre practitioners delved into film making.

In 1970, an adaptation of Wole Soyinka's Kongi's Harvest was produced by Osei Davies. In

the mid 1970's filmmakers such as Ola Balogun, Hubert Ogunde, Eddie Ugbomah, Adamu

Haiku, Afolabi Adesanya and others began the campaign for indigenous film production. In

1975, two full length feature films were released; Dinner with the devil by Sanya Dosunmu

and Amadi by Ola Balogun. This marked the beginning of production of films with full

Nigerian content and language. The period of the early 1970's and early 1980's was the

golden era of film tradition in Nigeria (Ayakoroma 3).

One key factor that influenced the growth of indigenous film production in Nigeria was the

organization decree issued in 1972 by Yakubu Gown which led to the transfer of several film

houses from foreign owners to Nigerians. This encouraged more participation by Nigerians

and during the oil boom of 1973-1978, the country's booming economy led to the

establishment of several other cinemas including the 5000 capacity national arts Theatre,

Iganmu in 1976. Nigerian film productions experienced steady growth between the years

1975-1985 as over 50 films were released:

A central figure in this decade long upsurge in film production

was Ola Balogun, trained at the famous french film training

 school, institute de Hautes Etudes cinematographiques, Paris.

His personal films apart from documentaries include Alpha

(1974), Amadi (1975), Ajani Ogun (1976), Musik man (1977),

Black goddess (1978), cry for freedom (1981) and money

power (1982). (Shaka, 133).

Several other films were produced during this period such as Ija ominira (1982), vengeance

of the cult (1982) and the mask (1979).

However, the introduction of the structural adjustment program (SAP), incessant rise in crime

rate, lack of financial support and poor standards of film, advent of television series/soap

operas that had fast become a family favorite, all culminated to the decline of cinema films in

Nigeria and paved the way for video films/home videos in Nigeria.

2.9 DEVELOPMENT OF HOME VIDEOS IN THE 1980's.

In 1980, Jimi Odumosu released his movie Evil Encounter on television but due to the

large publicity preceding this release, the movie was an instant success and thus orchestrated

the series of events that followed. Days after Evil encounter was released on television,

pirated video copies were released. This then brought about the trend of selling recorded

copies of television programs. This new development, gave most people an idea of how

lucrative selling of video films could be and it led to the crude productions of video films in

major cities like Onitsha and Lagos. The experiment in Onitsha is credited to one Mr.

Solomon Eze, a popular Igbo film producer who adopted the screen name of Mike

Oriehwdinma. His films were not scripted but mostly improvisations and he released video

films like Ocho Ifekwu, Adaeze and others.

 The first full length film produced in video in Nigeria was Sonso Meji (1988) by Ade

Ajiboye; which was screened in few cinemas. Soon after this, Alade Mujideen Aromire

released his film titled Ekun (1989) on video which was screened at the National Theatre,

Iganmu. Aromire went on to release other films like Sisi London and Obirin Asiko. Soon

after, other producers began to emerge such as Gbenga Adewusi and the Ojo Ladipo Theatre

trio of Jide Kosoko, Kenneth Nnebue and Adebayo Salami who produced movies like Asirin

Nla (1989), Ine lote (1990) by Kenneth Nnebue.

The big break for video films in Nigeria came through the 1992 classic Living in Bondage by

Kenneth Nnebue/Nek video links which brought about the trend of supernatural horror films

in Nigeria.

The immense success recorded by the movie living in bondage brought about renewed

interest in the Nigerian film industry and the industry witnessed a deluge of new entrants.

Soon after, more video films like Glamour Girls 1 & 11 (1994), by Kenneth Nnebue, Jezebel

by Francis Ago, evil passion for Zeb Ejiro and others were released. Since then, the Nigerian

Film industry popularly known as Nollywood has flourished greatly. Wikipedia records that

as at 2004, at least four to five films were produced every day in Nigeria. The Nigerian film

industry is on world record as the second most producing film industry in the world, second

to India and just before the United States of America. Over 24 years since the first surge in

1992, video film in Nigeria still lives on.