The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, has insisted that the movie producers, Gangs of Lagos, and Amazon Prime Video, the video streaming platform should remove the image and depiction of the Eyo masquerade in the film.
According to the monarch, the pediction of the Eyo masquerade in the movie is defamatory and blasphemous.
The Oba noted that the portrayal of the masquerade in the movie is substantial gravitational damage to the Eyo brand, Naija News reports. 
The latest development is coming three days to the end of the 14-day ultimatum given by the monarch to the producers of the movie and an appropriately worded apology to the Oba and indigenous people of Lagos.
Recall that Oba Akiolu had earlier accused the producers of using the appearance of the Eyo for commercial gain and exploitation without permission or due reference to the Oba’s office.
In a letter that Oba Akiolu copied the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Vice President of Amazon Web Services in Luxembourg, Barbara Scarafia; the President of Isale-Eko Descendants Union, and a Lagos lawyer, Olasupo Shasore, SAN, and others, the monarch said a proposal should be submitted within 14 days for restitution.
The letter read in part, “Immediately remove and cease using the image get up and manifestation of the Adimu Orisa — The Eyo — in your film, Gangs of Lagos. Submit within 14 days a proposal for consideration— for the restitution of the sanctity of the Eyo; provide within 14 days a compensatory proposal for the infringement of our intellectual property rights in our cultural heritage, which you have commercially exploited without a license; submit within 14 days a draft of an appropriately worded apology to the Oba and indigenous people of Lagos.”
The 14-day ultimatum would expire on July 12.
However, in the new statement from the Oba of Lagos sighted by The Punch, the monarch submitted that “I am the custodian and final authority of the Adimu Orisa and its manifestation— the Eyo. These traditional rites are the tangible and intangible property of the indigenes of Lagos.
“This cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts 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 defiled in any way whatsoever.”
The movie Gang of Lagos was written by Kay Jegede and Jade Osiberu and produced and directed by Jade Osiberu and Kemi Lala Akindoju. It was released on Prime Video on April 7, 2023.
The movie has, however, faced a lot of criticism about its depiction of the Eyo masquerades.
But contrary to the criticisms, a co-writer of the movie, Kay Jegede, was reported to have pointed out that the film did not set out to denigrate the Eyo culture.
Jegede, in an interview with Vanguard Newspaper, was quoted to have said, “The story does not set out to denigrate the Eyo culture. A film is about characters, and if a criminal disguises himself as a revered cultural symbol, surely it does not equate to the filmmakers disrespecting the symbol.
“It speaks to the personality of the character portrayed and nothing else. I hope that we’re able to look at this story as what it is— a depiction of the beauty of the human spirit in its quest to triumph, despite the limitations of its environment.”
The post Gang Of Lagos: ‘It’s Defamatory And Sacrilegious’ – Oba Akiolu Speaks Days To End Of 14 Days Ultimatum To Render Apology appeared first on Naija News.
