Since its emergence at the turn of the twenty-first century, the Nigerian movie industry “Nollywood” has had a profound influence on Africans. Like a virus, Nollywood, permeates the African continent as viewers cannot get enough of Nigerian Movies. Nollywood movies are shown in Public buses, restaurants and hotels leaving viewers glued to their screens. The appearance of African Magic on DSTV has also added to the popularity of one of the fastest growing industries in Nigeria.

Reports indicate that the industry releases more than 50 full length features a week, making it the world's second most prolific film industry. Movies produced in Nigeria are as popular abroad as they are at home. It’s been said that: Ivorian rebels in the bush stop fighting when a shipment of DVDs arrives from Lagos and Zambian mothers say their children talking with accents learnt it from Nigerian television. When the president of Sierra Leone asked Genevieve Nnaji, a Nigerian screen goddess, to join him on his campaign trail, he attracted a massive crowd at his rally.

However, despite its raging popularity, Many Africans have mixed feelings about Nollywood. Some governments are worried about the level of influence these movies have on their citizens and they talk of the “Nigerianisation” of Africa as against the “Colonization of Africa”, worrying that the whole continent has come to “snap its fingers the Nigerian way”.

Due to this, several governments have brought in protectionist measures against this fever. Despite recent collaborations between the Ghanaian movie industry “Gollywood” and Nollywood, Ghana started demanding $1,000 from visiting actors and $5,000 from producers and directors. The Democratic Republic of Congo has tried to ban Nigerian films altogether. Five decades after Africa gained independence, its elite fear being re-colonized, but this time from within the continent. The objective is to protect their citizens from elaborate exposure to Nigerian movies and players as well as discourage the booming Nollywood industry from spreading their wings outside the shores of Nigeria.

Nollywood's moguls make no attempt to deny their influence over the continent; they just regard it as a thoroughly good thing. “We give Africa development and knowledge,” says Ernest Obi, head of the Lagos actors' guild, “We teach people things, if they call us colonial masters, too bad.”
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