Nollywood actor and scriptwriter Ezeh Val has stated that he stopped writing scripts about money ritualism.
He explained that some of his movies portrayed Igbo men as ritualists, thereby contributing to the stereotypes.
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The Nollywood screenwriter, popular for films that portray ritualism, such as ‘The Seven Heads’ in 2019, ’The Billionaires (Money Stops Nonsense)’ in 2018, ‘The Ring’ in 2018, and ‘Married in Casket’ in 2024, made this known in an X post on Saturday.
The actor, who is also a vibrant advocate for the Igbo and Peter Obi’s presidential pursuits, noted that he had repeatedly turned down huge money offered by movie producers who wanted him to continue writing ritualism-themed movies.
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“I stopped writing movie scripts that portray Igbo men as ritualists when I noticed that some of my movies contribute heavily to the damage done to our race as Igbos. So many producers tried to plead with me to write a ritual movie for them after that, but I insist that I will never do it again, even with the huge amount of money offered,” he said.
Fictional stories
Val expressed pleasure and enthusiasm that accompanied writing fictional scripts, but raised concerns that most of his previous scripts make people perceive Igbo people who make honest earnings as ritualistic. The actor further noted that he has decided to correct the wrong impression and make things right.
“It was fun initially telling fiction and imaginary stories, but I noticed that I was making people who truly do not know our people perceive my Igbo brothers who hustle genuinely and make their money as ritualists. It’s time to start doing things right. Igbo Amaka,” the actor stated while tagging major Igbo stakeholders’ accounts in the X post.
Furthermore, responding to a follower, Adathebeloved, who revealed that his movies once shaped her perception of the Igbo race as ritualists until she later discovered otherwise, Val clarified that such films were never meant to be taken literally.
He added that the misleading impressions they created were the very reason he chose to stop acting in them.
“They are all fictional, sister. I sat down in my one-room apartment and came up with ‘The Billionaire’ story; it is the same with ‘Seven Heads’.
“Jonas Uzegbu came up with ‘The Ring’ concept, and I had to twist the storyline. It is not all that serious, but people are taking it seriously in real life, which is why I stopped,” he stated.
Away from ritual-themed movies, he also wrote other Nollywood movies like ‘Blood Genotype’ (2023), ‘The Engagement’ (2021), ‘ The Great Ijele’ (2025), and ‘Abada Na South’ (2021).
