Oba Of Lagos echoes ultimatum to Amazon over controversial film ‘Gang of Lagos’
Oba Riliwan Akiolu, the ceremonial king of Lagos in southwest Nigeria, has urged Amazon to the take down controversial film, Gang of Lagos.
The monarch expressed the view that the film had wrongful portrayed the popular ‘Eyo festival’ indigenous to the ‘Isale Eko’ (Lagos Island) people. The festival, otherwise known as the ‘Adimu Orisa’ play features a colourful display by masqueraders and it is organised to celebrate either an achievement by or the passing of a notable Lagos indigene.
In his statement to the video-on-demand streaming and film rental app, Oba Akiolu said that he, as “the custodian and final authority of the Adimu Orisa and its manifestation— the Eyo, orders Amazon to ‘remove’ or ‘cease’ to broadcast the film, and it has 14 days to comply to the directive.
The monarch explains that Eyo cultural festival is one of the “tangible and intangible property of the indigenes of Lagos.
“This cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artefacts and intangible attributes, that have been inherited from past generations for over 200 years, maintained in the present by the Oba of Lagos, and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.
“These traditions express our way of life and thought. They are proof of our intellectual and spiritual achievements. They must not be used without the indigenous owners’ express permission, or desecrated in any way whatsoever.”
Oba Akiolu equally asked Amazon to “submit within 14 days a proposal for consideration— for the restitution of the sanctity of the Eyo; provide within 14 days’ compensatory proposal for the infringement of our intellectual property rights in our cultural heritage which you have commercially exploited without license; submit within 14 days a draft of an appropriately worded apology to the Oba and indigenous people of Lagos.”
The monarch’s stance follows a similar actions by the immediate past commissioner for tourism, arts and culture in the state, Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf; the Isale Eko Descendants’ Union and others.
