The Oba of Lagos, Oba Riliwanu Akinolu I, has called for the removal of scenes involving the Eyo Masquerade from Amazon’s original production, ‘Gangs of Lagos’.
Oba Akinolu, while lending his voice to the criticism of the Jade Osiberu-directed movie, expressed concern over the portrayal of the Adimu Orisa and the manifestation of the Eyo Masquerade in the film.
He however listed four conditions that the producers should meet in 14 days.
Akiolu demanded that Amazon Web Service, Greoh Studios, and the film producers “immediately remove, cease and desist from using” the image getup and the full manifestation of the local Eyo masquerade in ‘Gangs of Lagos’.
He said the “illegal representation” of the Eyo Masquerade in the crime thriller has inflicted huge reputational damage to its brand.
According to him, potential tourists and visitors to Lagos are likely to begin to query the authenticity of the Eyo festival as a true cultural heritage event deserving of respect and reverence.
Akiolu added that the portrayal was done without permission or due reference to the office of the Oba of Lagos.
“I am the custodian and final authority of the Adimu Orisa and its manifestation of the Eyo,” the monarch wrote.
Continuing, Oba Akinolu stated: “These traditional rites are the tangible and intangible property of the indigenes of Lagos and these are their bundle of rights of our intellectual property in our cultural heritage.
“This cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artefacts and intangible attributes that has been inherited from past generations over two hundred years ago, maintained in the present by the Oba of Lagos, and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.
“They must not be used without the indigenous owners’ express permission or desecrated in any way whatsoever.”
Oba Rilwan Akiolu alleged that ‘Gangs of Lagos’ grossly violated the rights of the indigenous people of Lagos contrary to the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007.
“This [covers] the right to maintain, protect, and develop the past, present and future manifestations of our cultures, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature”.
He further asked the film producers to submit within 14 days a proposal for the restitution of Eyo’s sanctity and a compensatory proposal for the infringement.
Released on April 7 via Amazon’s Prime Video Nigeria, the movie tells the story of a group of friends who have to navigate their own destiny, growing up on the bustling streets and neighbourhood of Isale Eko, a community in Lagos State.
But ‘Gangs of Lagos’ has continued to receive backlash for allegedly depicting the Isale Eko community as a haven for criminals and the Eyo Masquerade as a murdering weapon.
Despite the movie’s producers clarifying that the events are merely fictional, some Lagos indigenes under the auspices of the Isale Eko Descendants Union (IDU) instituted a suit seeking ₦10 billion in damages against Amazon and other ‘Gangs of Lagos’ producers for what they described as “wrongful and illegal depiction of Isale Eko as a den of criminals and the Eyo Masquerade as a gang of murderers”.
