Veteran Ghanaian actor Majid Michel has defended Ghana’s movie industry against comparisons with Nollywood, insisting that Nigeria’s larger population gives it a natural advantage in producing more entertainment professionals.
Michel made the remarks during an interview with Y1079 FM Accra, where he questioned why the two countries’ film industries were often compared without considering their population differences.
According to the actor, Nigeria has a much larger pool of people from which to draw actors, filmmakers and other creative talents. He said this makes it unsurprising that Nollywood has more professionals than Ghana’s industry.
Michel described the comparison as “stupid,” arguing that the difference in population makes it unfair to expect Ghana to match Nigeria in the number of people working in the film sector.
He explained that Ghana has fewer than 40 million residents, while Nigeria has more than 200 million people and may be approaching 300 million according to some estimates.
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Using an example of two groups of different sizes, Michel said the larger group would naturally have a higher probability of producing more people in various professions.
He argued that the principle applies not only to filmmaking but also to fields such as medicine and other professional sectors.
The actor also addressed the wider issue of national development, warning that Ghana should not compare itself directly with countries that have had centuries to build their institutions.
He noted that some nations have developed governance systems over more than 300 years, while Ghana still has progress to make in establishing and strengthening its own structures.
Michel maintained that population size, history and institutional development are important factors when comparing countries.
His comments have reopened discussions about the differences between Ghanaian cinema and Nollywood, which has grown into one of Africa’s largest film industries.
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