Veteran Actor, Jide Kosoko Rubbishes Claim Youths Learn Ritual Killings, Kidnapping From Nollywood Movies
Veteran Nollywood actor, Jide Kosoko, has thrown cold water on allegations that kidnapings and other social vices are only picked up from watching Nollywood movies.
In line with the growing rise of kidnappings and ritual killings across the country, there have been suggestions that Nollywood films have encouraged Nigerian youngsters in some way to believe that it is a viable alternative source of income.
Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, recently revealed that filmmakers in the country have been urged to avoid creating money-making ritual content. He claimed that the Federal Government’s resolve to purify social media is contingent on testimonies from some suspects in money laundering rituals.
In response to these allegations, Kosoko claimed in an interview with Channels TV that :
“It’s a wrong accusation. A very wrong accusation. People should not forget that we have a responsibility to mirror the society and this not just by …we only try to mellow it with the entertainment.
It is our duty to let you know what happens at the other end for it to guide you, for you to be informed so that you can be able to know what and what to do.
We have heard of politicians embezelling money here and there. Are you saying that they learnt embezzlement in our movies too? All those people displaying money here and there, at occassions, at various functions. Are we the ones that taught them that?
In every production we would never glorify evil. Whichever movie that idiot that says he watched a movie that made him to be kidnapping, go and see that movie. What is the end of that person that kidnapped people? Why did he not learn from that and desist from going into the business of kidnapping rather than saying it is the movie. So it is not right. We have our own duty to mirror the society and give it as it is. One of the things we do, we get them from the public. We try as much as possible to play down on them before dishing it out.
I agree that the country is hot now and everybody should play down on whatever that can aggravate violence, not our industry alone.
Politicians should stop displaying money everywhere that entices these negative youth thinkers.”