Mo Abudu brings Nigerian movies to the world

Arthur Greene

Mo Abudu has announced her arrival to the forefront of Netflix’s all-encompassing empire after her company became the first in Africa to sign a multi-title film and TV deal with the streaming site.

The media mogul is the woman behind some of Nigeria’s most successful films and TV shows in recent years, and she has set her sights on bringing Nigerian stories to the rest of the world.

“Gone are the days whereby you can force-feed me only American content,” she told the New York Times this week.

“They don’t own all the stories to be told in this world.”

Last week, Castle & Castle, a legal drama produced by Abudu’s company, EbonyLight, became the first title to hit American screens since the megadeal was signed last summer.

In 2017, Hollywood Reporter ranked her among the “25 Most Powerful Women in Global Television.” Her journey to the lofty summit of the world of media is a fascinating one.

She was born in London to Nigerian parents. After spending the first seven years of her life there, she was sent to live with her grandmother in the city of Ondo.

Upon returning to the UK four years later, she said, “I found that I became kind of like an unofficial ambassador.”

Watching UK TV as an adolescent, Abudu said she saw next to no Black faces. However, she said she was inspired by the 1980s TV series Fame, and the landmark 1977 mini-series Roots, about the history of American slavery.

At the age of 30, she moved back to Nigeria and began an accomplished career, becoming the head of human resources for Exxon Mobil.

However, she was determined to fulfill her lifelong dream of producing Nigerian stories for a Nigerian audience.

Without any prior experience in TV, she bought a box set of Oprah Winfrey’s chat show, enrolled at a TV-presenting course and drew up a business plan. 

Eventually, her career led her to presenting the first Pan-African talk show, Moments With Mo. 

Not only did she achieve her goal of creating Nigerian stories for a Nigerian audience, she created them for an African audience. Her next step? The global audience.

Image source: @OnwardNG

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