The producer of latest movie and series, “Gangs of Lagos”, Jade Osiberu and the cast are currently sweating it out with the Lagos State government and some stakeholders in the entertainment industry over the alleged misrepresentation of the popular Eyo culture in the state.
Hype and expectations had greeted the movie which paraded established movie stars, music acts and reality TV stars including Tobi Bakare, Chika Ike, Bimbo Ademoye, among others.
The series has attracted flaks and criticisms as many alleged that the drama portrayed how different rival gangs battled for the soul of Isale Eko, a popular place in the heart of Lagos on the island.
Prominent voices including musician and rapper, Vector was the first to knock the movie, saying it portrayed the famous Eyo culture as a cult group, stressing that he grew up to know Eyo masquerade as a cultural group that many love to associate with.
In her reaction, the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, said the ministry, being the regulatory body and custodian of the culture of Lagos State, viewed the film/series as a mockery of the heritage of Lagos.
Earlier, Prince Uthman Shodipe-Dosunmu, the Apesinọla Ẹyọ Ọba Alakẹtẹ Pupa Ọkalaba Ẹkun, a cultural group, had condemned the film, calling for its immediate withdrawal.
Shodipe-Dosunmu described the film as “ethnic profiling, sacrilegious and outrageous trash.”
Meanwhile, the commissioner has expressed disappointment with the promoters of the film, Jade Osiberu and Kemi Akindoju, for portraying the Eyo Masquerade as a gun-wielding villain while adorning the full traditional regalia.
Instructively, the Eyo Festival is rarely observed and only comes out as a traditional rite of passage for traditional rulers, revered Chiefs and eminent Lagos indigenes while the Eyo Madquerade is used as a symbol of honour for such personalities and remarkable historical events.
The Olori Eyo in Lagos, Shodipe-Dosunmu, in a statement obtained by Per Seconds News, described the film as reckless, disgusting distortion of the sacred illustration of Lagos culture.
“There is a film presently being promoted by one Jade Osiberu and another character called Kemi Akindoju. The so called movie is an ugly, hate filled mockery of the Lagosian heritage.
“In their reckless, disgusting distortion of the sacred illustration of the Lagosian culture the film makers reduced the Eyo masquerade into a gun toting killing machine, clothing their misfit actors in the full regalia of the Eyo and with the Aga depicting some conclaves.
“This is a total abomination. It is not only a distortion of our culture, it is a dark insidious profiling of our people as criminals and murderers rampaging across Lagos.
Watch: Nollywood stars shine at the premiere of the Movie, Gangs of Lagos
“The Adamu Orisha is a treasured cleansing ritual, a sacred rite performed on the passage of an Oba or for their coronation,” he said.
Information gathered by Per Seconds News on Thursday evening, however, suggested that the movie might be removed from streaming platforms as there are moves to write the National Film and Video Censors Board and all appropriate authorities to ban the movie.
The promoters of the movie, Jade Osiberu and others who are involved in the marketing of the movie, are keeping sealed lips on the matter as no official statement or comment has been released.
It was gathered that the movie may be removed tomorrow while all promotional contents about it banned until further notice.
Amazon Prime is currently streaming the movie on its platform.
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