How entertainment created more millionaires in Nigeria —RMD

Legendary actor and filmmaker Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD) has opened up about the realities of the Nigerian entertainment industry, the evolving mindset of young filmmakers, and the challenges of staying relevant. In this interview monitored by SEGUN ADEBAYO on Nollywood on Radio, he reflected on talent versus structure and the peculiarities of the Nigerian creative ecosystem that has produced both innovative content and surprising commercial success.

You’ve often spoken about your deep commitment to the craft. After stepping away from Nollywood for nearly a decade to serve in government, how did you manage to reintegrate so effortlessly upon your return?

I can’t take credit for that, it is grace. If I sit here and tell you that there is one strategy that I used to come back it won’t be true. I love the work that I do and it is the one thing I can control. I can’t control other things, how people receive it, how the audience reacts to it, all of that is just God’s grace. I can’t sit here and appropriate that to myself.

I just know that if I have a job to do, I will do the job like my life depends on it. If anybody asks me, ‘how do you do it?’ That is what I would say to the person that looks, ‘I don’t play with this job because this job is all I know how to do’. When I do it, it doesn’t feel like work to me, it feels like just second nature to me and because I love it, because I think that it is the work of my hand and God has promised to bless the work of all our hands and God blesses the work of my hand and what I do with it.

Now that you’ve fully transitioned into a producer and filmmaker beyond acting, what kinds of stories are you looking forward to telling from behind the camera?

I like issue-based films. For ‘Radio Voice’, you saw what I tackled—cyberbullying, second chances, and redemption. I believe in telling whatever stories are personal or that are important to tell. And that’s exactly what I’m going to keep doing, even with my YouTube films; I am going to be tackling issues. We use the vehicle of laughter and all of that and hope and everything. I sell much more than laughter.

Your son features prominently in Revelations. What did stepping on set with him feel like for you as both a father and a filmmaker?

It was weird, but it was also a proud father moment, usually in scenes where I was not involved. This was apart from scenes that we did together, and they were very emotional scenes. That is why people who saw the premiere were really happy with what he did with his performance. This is his first time ever in front of the camera as an actor. He played himself in one episode of my series. At that time, he had not said he wanted to act.

Did his decision to pursue acting catch you off guard, or were you expecting it at some point?

I was completely surprised because he never said anything to me until he graduated from college. I would have sent him to film school. In fact, I was complaining to my co-star from America who we produced this film together that, ‘I don’t know what I did. None of my children wants to be an actor’ and he was like, ‘I want to be an actor.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, right.’

And then he told me he was serious about it. In fact, he has moved to LA from Maryland.”

‘Revelations’ has been described as a medical drama with a strong cultural message. What inspired the story and the themes you explore in it?

It is a passion project for me, Nigeria meets the West, telling the immigrant story from a different point of view, owning the narrative and not letting anybody tell us that we are criminals. The West criminalises immigrants a lot, and I did not think that it was right.

The status of Nigerian immigrants has changed to professionals, and data has shown that we are probably the most educated set of immigrants in the U.S., so they cannot keep criminalising us and saying we are fraudsters; that is part of the reason I did this film.

Also, we wanted to do a medical drama the way that fans of medical dramas will enjoy. Every time I do a film, I try to push the narrative a little bit. I try to do something different.

Casting your son, Tega, has become a major talking point. What made him your choice for the role?

If you are looking for somebody that looks like me, who would you cast? It so happens also that this is what he wants to do and I have a film that he fits into perfectly.

There’s a trend where actors dance or create skits to market their films. What’s your take on this, and on the fact that anyone can enter Nollywood today?

Nigeria is a peculiar country; we are a peculiar people and it is what it is. When I did ‘Radio Voice’, I went into different publics. I did skits with Folagade Banks, Kamo, with Kiekie. I did it out of fun, because it was fun and it was also something different.

I don’t begrudge the peculiarity of our audience. That is why we are also very peculiar and unique. There is no African country that you will find millionaire artistes either comedians or musicians or actors than Nigeria. I stand to be corrected.

Do you know how many millionaires we’ve created in the entertainment industry, either as TV station owners or radio station owners or as actors or as comedians? I mean, look at Basketmouth, Alibaba, AY, Bovi, look at the musicians, look at the number of cars our boys are buying in this economy, right? Look at how many skit makers we have, and the kind of money that skit makers are making from YouTube.

It’s a peculiar country. If they ask you sometimes to do one or two things, it is in the same fun. But it is not true that if you do not dance your film won’t sell.”

Are we going to be seeing you deepen your presence on YouTube as well?

I have already started making films for YouTube. I am going to even start showing myself in some of them very soon when we launch and I start to drive it.

My YouTube channel is not going to be just for films. It’s going to be total lifestyle and films. But I would definitely do a lot of YouTube films.”

You’ve worked with a lot of younger creators and digital filmmakers. How do you compare their approach to that of the older generation?

The older generation has my respect; there are films, projects that we are still working on till today. But for me, I think that there is a new age. I like the vision of young filmmakers; they are not like us. They do not have our hang-ups and our fears; they are more experimental.

I work with people that are under 30, under 40 mostly because I like to be told things are being done differently now. I had kids early as well; I have found a way to relate to the younger people much more.

I relate to them like equals because first and foremost, you can’t stop learning. I have not stopped learning, and I can’t tell you enough how much I’ve learned from young people.”

Looking at today’s landscape, is talent alone enough, or does the industry now demand more?

I have worked with Kamo and I worked with Folagade Banks, we shot here, and in 10 minutes, he was done and he was rushing off, just by holding phones. Have you seen Brother Shaggy work? I have worked with Brother Shaggy; he can be shooting three different shows at the same time. When I did my skit with him for Radio Voice, he was doing a different thing on the streets in front of the radio station where we shot.

He would tell me ‘Wait’, he would run, he would do my own, he would run back to them when finished, he would be back to me again. That energy is different. They bring something new to what we know and I will keep working with young people.

Talent in today’s industry is not enough; you need people who can leverage your talent. There are too many talented people, and everybody came in with their head in the game.”