Veteran Nollywood actor Kanayo O. Kanayo has made a bold proposal to the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), calling for a policy that could change how actors are paid in the Nigerian film industry, and the conversation it has started is far from quiet.
The actor, one of Nollywood’s most respected screen legends, wants the AGN to introduce a lifetime royalty payment system for every actor who features in a film that is uploaded to any streaming platform. He is also pushing for the creation of a dedicated agency that will make sure the policy is not just written on paper but is properly enforced across the country.
The driving force behind his royalties proposal is a problem that has long existed in the industry, which is the financial hardship that many Nigerian actors face once the roles stop coming. Kanayo’s point is simple. If your face and your performance are still generating money on a platform long after filming ended, you should still be earning from it.
For many people in the industry, that argument makes a lot of sense.
Jade Osiberu Responds With Sharp Sarcasm
Not everyone is in agreement though. Filmmaker Jade Osiberu, one of Nigeria’s most successful film producers and the creative mind behind hits like Sugar Rush and Gangs of Lagos, has responded, and her words carry real weight.
Osiberu opened with sarcasm, suggesting that if actors want to earn royalties when a film does well, then perhaps actors and crew should also contribute to cover losses when a film fails, with actors paying based on how many scenes they featured in and crew members paying based on their seniority.
She was quick to make clear she was joking, but her underlying point was serious.
She acknowledged that she has personally been one of the first producers to offer actors backend deals and even invite them to invest in her productions. However, she believes the royalties debate as it currently stands is missing a very important side of the picture.
Film Streaming and Music Streaming Are Not the Same
One of the strongest points Osiberu raised is that film streaming and music streaming work very differently, and treating them the same leads to the wrong conclusions.
Music platforms pay creators based on how well their content performs. Film streaming companies, on the other hand, usually pay producers a fixed upfront fee and take on all the financial risk themselves, whether the film performs well or not.
She pointed to the example of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s production company, which negotiated a performance bonus deal with Netflix for a project, a deal that was only possible because the budget was structured in a way that reduced Netflix’s risk. She also noted that YouTube already has a model where creators earn based on how well their content performs, meaning the platform takes on no financial risk at all.
Her conclusion was direct. She said that anyone who only wants to earn without thinking about the full picture and how the industry works needs to take time to properly understand their own business.
Why This Conversation Is Important
Kanayo O. Kanayo’s proposal has opened up a conversation that Nollywood has needed to have for a long time. The industry has produced hundreds of films and thousands of actors over the years, yet stories of once popular stars falling into financial difficulty are still far too common.
The real debate now is not whether actors deserve to be fairly paid for the lasting value they bring to a film. Most people would agree they do. The bigger question, as Osiberu points out, is how such a policy would actually work, who would bear the cost, and whether it properly accounts for the financial risks that producers take on to bring a film to life.
With global streaming platforms increasingly investing in African content, getting these conversations right, and making sure all voices in the industry are heard, has never been more important. The AGN has not yet released an official response to Kanayo’s Royalties proposal. Whether this debate leads to real policy change or fades away on social media is still to be seen, but for now, Nollywood is talking.
In a recent interview on Curiosity Made Me Ask, anchored by Isbae U, Patience Ozokwor also expressed concern that Nollywood actors are not paid royalties, citing it as the main reason many actors are broke in old age.
