Thursday, October 29, 2026 - Veteran Ghanaian actor Majid Michel has criticised comparisons between Ghana’s film industry and Nigeria’s Nollywood, arguing that the difference in population makes such assessments unfair.
Speaking during a recent interview with Y1079 FM in Accra,
Michel said Nigeria’s larger population gives it a broader pool of potential
actors, filmmakers and other professionals. He described comparisons that
overlook that difference as “stupid”, saying the number of people working in an
industry should be considered alongside the size of the country.
“The comparison
between us and Nigeria is such a stupid comparison to me. If you have 50
children and I have 5 children, the possibility that you will have more
criminals, doctors, good children and filmmakers than me is very high,” he
said. Michel argued that Nigeria’s larger population makes it unsurprising reason
the country produces more filmmakers and other professionals than Ghana.
“We are less than 40
million in Ghana. Nigeria is over 200 million, almost 300 million. So how on
earth would you compare?” he asked. “Why do they have more doctors than us?
Mathematically, you should know why. So if Nigeria has more filmmakers than us,
it only makes sense because they are way more than us.”
The actor also extended his argument beyond filmmaking,
saying Ghana should not be assessed against more established countries without
considering differences in their institutional development. “It is also unfair
for us to compare ourselves with any other established nation in the world.
When it comes to leadership, we are adolescent,” he said.
Michel maintained that countries with longer histories of
established governance had more time to develop the systems supporting their
progress. “There are countries that have been in leadership for over 300 years.
They have built systems. We are way behind. So it is an unfair comparison,” he
added.
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