Ruth Kadiri, the celebrated Nollywood actress, has opened up about her decision to upload her films on YouTube, citing the restrictive regulations surrounding film production in Nigeria.
In an interview with BBC Pidgin, Kadiri shared that she turned to YouTube as a platform to freely express herself and share her stories without the constraints typically imposed during traditional film production.
“I have been a producer for a long time but there are too many rules and regulations during production,” Kadiri explained. “So I called my team and told them that I want an opportunity to express myself. For instance, if I see something online I want to learn it and after learning, I want to upload it somewhere.”
The mother of two recounted how her journey with YouTube began while she was abroad for childbirth. Bored and in need of entertainment, she started watching musical videos on the platform and noticed the growing trend of filmmakers uploading their work there. Despite initial discouragement from others who doubted the financial viability of YouTube, Kadiri decided to give it a try.
“I told myself that I’ll come back to try it. Some people discouraged me and told me that there is no money in it. But because I needed a platform to express myself and tell my stories, I decided to try it,” she said.
Kadiri emphasized the importance of YouTube for filmmakers and content creators in Nigeria, highlighting how it has become a crucial source of income.
“Personally, I don’t worry about competition and I feel like as filmmakers, we are at the forefront and we hustle. If you remove YouTube from the industry, apart from filmmakers and content creators, people will go hungry. YouTube is an opportunity for a lot of filmmakers to make money and that’s what is happening now. Because YouTube is what is feeding people now.”
Ruth Kadiri’s YouTube channel has proven to be a success, boasting two million subscribers and 294,790,208 views.
