Renowned Nigerian actress and filmmaker, Ruth Kadiri, hailed by many as the Queen of Nigerian YouTube movies, candidly addressed the challenges posed by competition from other accomplished filmmakers, predominantly dominated by her female counterparts
In an interview with BBC Pidgin, Ruth Kadiri began by unveiling the reasons behind her decision to upload her movies on YouTube.
She highlighted the myriad regulations governing film production in Nigeria as a significant factor.
Ruth expressed her desire for a platform that would afford her the freedom to express herself and share her stories authentically.
Kadiri stressed that YouTube has become a pivotal space for filmmakers, providing them with the means to earn income while retaining creative independence.
Addressing the competition from other notable YouTube Nigerian filmmakers, including Omoni Oboli, Mercy Johnson, Destiny Etiko, and Bimbo Ademoye, who also boast substantial followings and garner millions of views on their movies, Ruth Kadiri revealed that she harbors no concerns about competing with them.
Instead, she expressed happiness that YouTube has consistently provided them with a reliable source of livelihood in recent years.
Ruth Kadiri expressed apprehensions that fellow filmmakers on the platform might abuse their privileges by violating YouTube’s terms of service, potentially causing harm to others through their actions
Her words;
“Competition? Me personally, I don’t worry about competition. And I feel like we as filmmakers or creatives, we are at the forefront of our hustle, our mothers are at the back praying for us. If you check it, if you remove Youtube from our industry for now, people for wound. Hunger for wire people.
“Hunger for squeeze people for neck like this! So God saw it and said He wants to answer our mother’s prayers, how does he want to do it? And me I feel like if I do something, it’s as if something is inside.
“So I feel like God used me because He knows that my heart is clean. And I feel like it’s an opportunity for a lot of filmmakers to make money. Na Youtube dey feed people oh. Na Youtube dey feed people.
“People wey like film, like film. Some people can stay morning to night watching film. Me, it’s only one on Thursday in a whole week that I produce. So person wey like Nollywood film don already like am, let other people also produce.
“The only fight I’m fighting is: this small food wey we dey chop, make them no pour sand inside oh. If e spoil, e don spoil oh. Na the only thing wey I dey complain, If not, more people should come sef.”
WATCH HER SPEAK BELOW
