By Kelvin Okoroji
I think Omotola’s management and PR team have been doing a lacklustre job in promoting her film and bringing her back to the spotlight.
When it comes to Nollywood, Omotola’s name sits at the top. She is one of the few stars whose careers shaped the industry’s golden era. From Mortal Inheritance to Ije, Omotola became a household name across Africa and even earned recognition from TIME Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.
So naturally, when she announced she was making her directorial debut with a new film (Mother’s Love), premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), you would expect a complete internet buzz – people should be talking about it.
I mean, we are talking about one of our biggest exports, for God’s sake.
But surprisingly, the buzz was/is barely there. I bet some of you don’t know she has a movie coming up.
Unlike when Genevieve Nnaji made her directorial debut with Lionheart, which turned the internet upside down, or even her recent executive producer role in I Do Not Come to You by Chance, her appearance alone had people screaming! Till now, we are still asking when the movie will be officially out.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I know they do not have the same star power, but Omotola is also influential. They both peaked together and shared the spotlight for years.
But Omotola’s TIFF premiere came and went with little fanfare. Blogs were quiet and local media barely covered it. And what about social media, the heartbeat of cultural conversations today? It remained silent.
For an icon of her stature, that silence was deafening and very disappointing.
What is her PR team doing? Have they not learnt anything from Funke Akindele and Omoni Oboli’s team?
Finding your niche and leveraging it is very important. Genevieve thrives on scarcity; that is probably her PR strategy. It drives curiosity and interest. She pops ups once in a while and the internet goes crazy.
Funke has a brilliant strategy that only works for her. Toyin Abraham took a different approach with Iyalode, using both AI-generated cats and actual cats and not only was it hilarious. It was highly effective.
They all have different strategies for creating awareness of their brands. Omotola and her team need to figure out what her strengths are and use them to her advantage.
Who are the faces behind this film? Are they even promoting it?
Where are the Twitter campaigns? Where are the Instagram takeovers, TikTok clips, TIFF highlights, etc.?
Why are they not leveraging the hundreds of influencers we have?
Why wasn’t Omotola herself positioned as the face of the festival for Nigerians, Africans and the diaspora?
The truth is, Nollywood now thrives on visibility as much as talent. In 2025, star power isn’t just about who you are; it’s about how well your presence is curated, packaged, and sold to both the old guard and the social-media-savvy younger generation.
Omotola is a Nollywood pioneer, but pioneers can’t live on past glory alone. The industry has evolved, the audience has evolved, and the strategies for stardom have evolved. If her management continues to underplay her projects, she risks losing cultural relevance in an industry she helped build.
Okoroji, a journalist, publicist and marketing strategist, wrote from Lagos.
Views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of QEDNG.
