Steve Ayorinde describes Adedokun’s ‘Ladies Calling the Shots’ as a telling testimony

Steve Ayorinde, Lagos state commissioner for information and strategy, says ‘Ladies Calling the Shots’, a book written by Niran Adedokun, a writer and lawyer, is a testimony to the resilience of women who stand out among those behind movie production in Nigeria.

The book will be launched at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Kofo Abayomi, Victoria Island, Lagos,  on November 13.

It is premised on the relatively obscure nature of the directors’ role in the filmmaking process and the need to celebrate the women who are making Nigeria proud on this front.

According to Ayorinde, who wrote part of the blurb of the book, ‘Ladies Calling the Shots’ has drawn perhaps the most critical attention to the role of women in Nollywood admirably.

“From Lola Fani Kayode’s pioneering works to Amaka Igwe’s bold narratives on television and the big screen, and from Milfred Okwo to Tope Oshin among several others, Niran has crafted a watershed appraisal of leading amazons of a burgeoning industry that is firmly rooted in the creative landscape of Lagos,” Ayorinde wrote.

“The book is a telling testimony about women who stood up to be counted behind the camera and succeeded  in using their lenses to define the trajectory of a home-grown industry that has become one of Nigeria’s most potent PR tools.”

Hadiza Bala Usman, managing director of The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), described the book as an amplifier of the role of women in the country’s movie industry.

“This book should encourage and guide women who have passion for film making and any area of industry for that matter,” she wrote.

“It should also encourage us as a people to understand the special endowment of the woman to make the best of anything placed in her hands.”