Gangs of Lagos Showcased Our Culture, People As Barbaric –Lagos Government
The government insisted that the content portrays the culture of the state in a derogatory manner.
The Lagos State Government in Southwest Nigeria has condemned the production of the film ‘The Gang of Lagos’, describing it as very unprofessional and misleading.
The government insisted that the content portrays the culture of the state in a derogatory manner.
The State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, who stated this while reacting to the planned introduction of the film series, said the ministry, being the regulatory body and custodian of the culture of Lagos State, viewed it as a mockery of the Heritage of Lagos.
The commissioner accused the promoters of the movie – Jade Osiberu and Kemi Akindoju – of portraying the Eyo Masquerade as a gun-wielding villain while adorning the full traditional regalia.
According to the commissioner, the Eyo Festival is special and only comes up as a traditional rite of passage for Obas, revered Chiefs and eminent Lagos Indigenes while the Eyo Masquerade is used as a symbol of honour.
“We are of the opinion that the production of the film ‘The Gang of Lagos’ is very unprofessional and misleading while its content is derogatory of our culture, with the intention to desecrate the revered heritage of the people of Lagos.
“It is an unjust profiling of a people and culture as being barbaric and nefarious. It depicts a gang of murderers rampaging across the State.
“The Adamu Orisha, popularly known as the Eyo Festival, is rarely observed and only comes up as a traditional rite of passage for Obas, revered Chiefs and eminent Lagosians.”
Akinbile-Yussuf, added, stressed that “the Eyo Masquerade is equally used as a symbol of honour for remarkable historical events”.
“It signifies a sweeping renewal, a purification ritual to usher in a new beginning, a beckoning of new light, acknowledging the blessings of the ancestors of Lagosians.”
According to Vanguard, Prince Uthman Shodipe-Dosunmu, the Apesinọla Ẹyọ Ọba Alakẹtẹ Pupa Ọkalaba Ẹkun, a cultural group, earlier criticised the film.
He noted that it offends the culture and sensibility of Lagosians.
Shodipe-Dosunmu described the film as “ethnic profiling, sacrilegious and outrageous trash.”
He said, “In their reckless, disgusting distortion of the sacred illustration of the Lagosian culture the film-makers reduced the Eyo masquerade into a gun-toting killing machine, clothing their misfit actors in the full regalia of the Eyo and with the Aga depicting some Conclaves.
“This is a total abomination. It is not only a distortion of our culture, it is a dark insidious profiling of our people as criminals and murderers rampaging across Lagos.
“The Adamu Orisha is a treasured cleansing ritual, a sacred rite performed on the passage of an Oba or for their coronation. It is also used to honor distinguished Lagosians as their final rite of transition.”
“It is vile, evil, perverse; an utterly sadistic mangling of who we are as peace loving, accommodating and enlightened people.
“We demand an immediate withdrawal of this sacrilegious and outrageous trash.
“We demand that the National Film and Video Censors Board and all appropriate authorities to ban this blatant mockery disguising as cinematography and impose the most punitive sanctions on the sponsors of this venomous ethnic profiling,” he said.
