“Focus On Your Life” – Eniola Ajao Replies Film Critic Tolu Fagbure

Nollywood actress Eniola Ajao has reacted to film critic Tolu Fagbure questioning her place in the Nigerian film industry. She recently had her say via a cryptic social media page, and fans have been reacting.

According to her, people should just learn to focus on their own purpose in life instead of concentrating on discussing the success of others and finding flaws.

Eniola added that Nigerians should avoid spending valuable time discussing the achievements of others while neglecting their own dreams.

Her words, “When others are succeeding and achieving great things in life, may we never waste our time sitting at the table of gossip while neglecting our own purpose and the path we are meant to follow.

Instead, may we stay focused, work diligently and let our lives speak for us.”

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.