Entertainment
FG congratulates Mo Abudu on landmark Netflix deal
The Federal Government of Nigeria has congratulated media entrepreneur and filmmaker Mo Abudu over her partnership with leading global streaming service Netflix, TopNaija reports.
The partnership entails creating two original series as well as multiple Netflix-branded films.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, by his SA on media, Segun Adeyemi, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the partnership, for on-screen adaptation of Wole Soyinka’s ‘Death and The King’s Horseman’ and Lola Shoneyin’s ‘The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives’, adds another feather to Mo Abudu’s already well-adorned creative cap.
For criticising Lai Mohammed, court remands Osun-based poet Nigeria’s Anthony Alabi stars on Netflix show, ‘Family Reunion’ The Minister also described the deal as a big boost for the country’s Creative Industry, at a time the industry is reeling from the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
”Coming after Netflix’s first Nigeria original film, Lionheart, this is a great recognition of the immense creative talents that abound in Nigeria and the provision of a global platform for Nigeria storytelling,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed expressed the hope that this partnership will signal the beginning of a bigger, mutually-beneficial working relationship between the streaming service and Nigeria’s Creatives.
American media streaming service and producer, Netflix, announced a partnership with Nigerian filmmaker, Mo Abudu to create new content from the country.
The partnership with Netflix will see on-screen adaptations of literary works by two award-winning Nigerian authors, Lola Shoneyin and Wole Soyinka.
Shoneyin’s debut novel, “The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives,” will be developed into a series, and Soyinka’s play, “Death and the King’s Horseman,” will be adapted into a film.
“We’re thrilled about this first-of-its-kind partnership in Africa that will bring some of Nigeria — and Africa’s — most iconic storytelling to screen. We look forward to supporting Mo as she brings all these diverse Nigerian stories to the world,” Netflix’s lead for original series in Africa, Dorothy Ghettuba, said in a statement on Friday. Abudu said the partnership is a testament to Netflix’s investment in African storytelling.
