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Ghanaian actor Majid Michel has questioned the fairness of comparing Ghana’s film industry with Nigeria’s Nollywood, arguing that the difference in the two countries’ population sizes gives Nigeria a significant advantage in producing entertainment professionals.
The veteran actor made the remarks during a recent interview with Y1079 FM Accra, where he said discussions about the performance of both industries should take into account the number of people available to work in them.
According to Michel, Nigeria’s considerably larger population provides a broader pool of actors, directors, producers, screenwriters and other professionals, making it unreasonable to expect Ghana to produce similar numbers.
He described comparisons between the two industries as “stupid”, explaining that a country with a larger population would naturally have a higher likelihood of producing more professionals across different fields.
“The comparison between us and Nigeria is such a stupid comparison to me. If you have 50 children and I have 5 children, the possibility that you will have more criminals, doctors, good children and filmmakers than me is very high,” he said.
Michel maintained that the difference in population should be a major consideration whenever the number of filmmakers and other industry professionals in both countries is discussed.
He estimated Ghana’s population at fewer than 40 million, compared with Nigeria’s population of more than 200 million, arguing that the disparity explains why Nollywood has a larger pool of practitioners.
“We are less than 40 million in Ghana. Nigeria is over 200 million, almost 300 million. So how on earth would you compare?” he asked.
The actor further argued that Nigeria’s larger population makes it more likely to have more professionals in various sectors, including medicine and filmmaking.
“Why do they have more doctors than us? Mathematically, you should know why. So if Nigeria has more filmmakers than us, it only makes sense because they are way more than us,” he added.
His comments highlight a longstanding discussion about the differences between Ghana’s film industry and Nollywood, one of Africa’s most prominent film industries.
Nigeria’s larger population offers filmmakers access to a substantial domestic audience and a wide pool of potential talent. However, the size of an industry is not determined by population alone, as factors such as investment, infrastructure, distribution networks, training and access to international markets can also influence its development.
Michel’s argument, however, was that comparing the number of people working in both countries’ film industries without considering their different population sizes fails to account for an important factor.
Michel questions comparisons with developed nations
Beyond filmmaking, the actor also cautioned against comparing Ghana with countries that have longer histories of established political leadership and institutional development.
He argued that differences in the length of time countries have spent building governance structures and public institutions should be considered when assessing their progress.
Michel described Ghana’s leadership development as still being at an early stage compared with that of countries that have spent centuries establishing their systems.
“It is also unfair for us to compare ourselves with any other established nation in the world. When it comes to leadership, we are adolescent,” he said.
According to him, some countries have had hundreds of years to develop their institutions, giving them an advantage that should not be overlooked when evaluating Ghana’s progress.
“There are countries that have been in leadership for over 300 years. They have built systems. We are way behind. So it is an unfair comparison,” he said.
His remarks suggest that national development should be assessed with consideration for each country’s circumstances, history and available resources rather than through direct comparisons alone.
The comments have also brought attention to the broader question of how African film industries should measure success, particularly when countries differ significantly in population, resources and market size.
While Michel believes population disparity makes comparisons between Ghana and Nigeria unfair, the discussion also underscores the importance of examining the individual strengths, challenges and opportunities within each country’s entertainment sector.
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