By In response, the state government’s Commissioner for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Ms. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, stated that the Ministry, as the governing body and keeper of Lagos State’s culture, saw the movie or series as a parody of the city’s history.
Earlier, Prince Uthman Shodipe-Dosunmu of the cultural organization Apesinla yba Alakt Pupa kalaba kun had denounced the movie and demanded its immediate withdrawal.
The commissioner, who was dressed in full traditional regalia, stated her displeasure with the film’s promoters, Jade Osiberu and Kemi Akindoju, for portraying the Eyo Masquerade as a villain who carries a pistol.
In response, the state government’s Commissioner for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Ms. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, stated that the Ministry, as the governing body and keeper of Lagos State’s culture, saw the movie or series as a parody of the city’s history.
Earlier, Prince Uthman Shodipe-Dosunmu of the cultural organization Apesinla yba Alakt Pupa kalaba kun had denounced the movie and demanded its immediate withdrawal.
The commissioner, who was dressed in full traditional regalia, stated her displeasure with the film’s promoters, Jade Osiberu and Kemi Akindoju, for portraying the Eyo Masquerade as a villain who carries a pistol.
Instructively, the Eyo Festival is hardly ever observed and only occurs as a customary rite of passage for Obas, renowned Chiefs, and illustrious Lagos natives, but the Eyo Masquerade is utilized as a sign of honor for such individuals and noteworthy historical events.
“We are of the opinion that the production of the film ‘The Gang of Lagos’ is very unprofessional and misleading while its content is insulting to our culture, with the purpose to destroy the respected history of the people of Lagos,” says Akinbile-Yussuf.
“It is unfair to portray a group of people and their culture as evil and barbarous. It shows a band of murderers terrorizing the State.
“The Adamu Orisha, widely known as the Eyo Festival, is rarely observed and only comes up as a customary rite of passage for Obas, venerated Chiefs, and notable Lagosians,” the state government claimed.
The Eyo Masquerade is also employed as a sign of honor for noteworthy historical events, Akinbile-Yussuf emphasized.
It represents a thorough regeneration, a ceremony of purification to bring about a fresh start, a beckoning of new light, and an acknowledgment of the bounties of Lagosians’ ancestors.
Eyo custodian, Shodipe, and Dosunmu claim that Lagosians are not gang members.
Shodipe-Dosunmu previously criticized the movie in a statement, calling it a reckless, repulsive distortion of the hallowed representation of Lagos culture.
He said, “There is a movie being pushed right now by Jade Osiberu and another character named Kemi Akindoju. The so-called movie is an ugly, hate-filled mockery of the Lagosian heritage.
“The film creators turned the Eyo masquerade into a gun-toting killing machine by dressing their misfit actors in the full regalia of the Eyo and using the Aga to depict certain Conclaves in their reckless, revolting distortion of the hallowed symbol of Lagosian tradition.
“Such a complete atrocity. Not only is it a misrepresentation of our culture, but it also casts us as murderers and criminals terrorizing Lagos.
The Adamu Orisha is a revered purification ceremony that is carried out to honor an oba’s passing or crowning.
Being their last rite of passage, it is also used to celebrate notable Lagosians.
After Olori Olugbani’s brothers Ejilu and Malakin originally started the Eyo rite in celebration of Oba Ado Keme, the Adamu Orisha has become a sacred ancestral heritage celebrated with awe and deserving adoration.
“It represents a thorough regeneration, a rite of purification to bring about a fresh start, a summoning of new light, and an acknowledgment of the blessings of our ancestors.
“To savage and despoil the Lagosian culture is to utilize the hallowed Adamu Orisha Masquerade as an instrument of fear and lawless criminality.
It is abhorrent, nasty, and perverted; a complete sadistic distortion of what we stand for as a people who value peace, tolerance, and enlightenment.
“We demand that this blasphemous and disgusting rubbish be removed immediately.
“We demand that this flagrant parody posing as cinematography be banned by the National Film and Video Censors Board and all appropriate authorities and that the perpetrators of this hateful ethnic profiling face the worst penalties possible.
We also ask the Lagos State Government, the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akinolu, and all other guardians of our tradition, such as the Alaworo of Adamu Orisha and Akinsiku Chief Ademola Dosunmu, to rise up in defense of our tradition against the ravages of these agents of detestable pollution of everything we cherish in this sacred soil of Oba Ado Keme.
“The International Court of Justice has declared that ethnic profiling is a crime against humanity.
This clause may likewise be used to punish these sacrilegious hate mongers.
