Tech entrepreneur, Dr. Ope Banwo has told online new platform www theoctopusnews.com that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was misled into endorsing Makemation as Africa’s first AI movie.
Only recently, Sanwo-Olu unveiled what was claimed to be Africa’s first AI-themed feature film, ‘Makemation’.
At the unveiling ceremony in Marina, Lagos, the governor announced that the film, produced by Human Development expert, Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, would debut in cinemas across Nigeria on Easter Weekend, 18 April.
Since the unveiling of Makemation, there have been divergent positions about the movie with the most notable being how a movie about AI gets to be tagged an AI film.
One of the most vocal industry stakeholders who has been questioning Sanwo-Olu’s proclamation is pioneer AI filmmaker, Dr. Ope Banwo,
Speaking exclusively to www.theoctopusnews.com from his in Omaha, Nebraska, Banwo, the founder of Aiflix360 refuted the position that Makemation is Africa’s first AI movie. According to him, a movie about AI and what it can be used for does not qualify to be tagged an AI movie.
Banwo said:
“Not only did the producers of “Makemation” which is NOT an AI full feature film lie to Governor Sanwo-Olu, their movie is not even released yet. How can they be first when at least four full-feature AI films had been released by my Aiflix360 and Video360 Collective studios before now?
“The fact is that Omegamax Conspiracy; Kingmaker of Muguland; Brothers at War; Shattered Hopes and Children of Anger have ALL been released already into public space. So Makemation is not even the second or third or even fourth.
“The honour of the first 100 percent full feature AI-generated movie belongs to “Omegamax Conspiracy, a movie I and my hardworking young people produced with 100 percent AI tools, and released this month, March 2025. Makemation is still talking about AI as of today. Nobody has seen it yet but they told Governor Sanwo-Olu they were the first though they were fully aware of these movies that came out before them because we told them so weeks ago,” Banwo said.
Furthermore, he highlighted a Yoruba saying: “If the owner of a farm is not quick and diligent in arresting an intruder, he runs the risk of the intruder arresting him and making him look like the thief.”
Banwo stated that it is to prevent the above saying from being his fate that he is forced to make a public declaration.
“I have been aware of the claims by the producers of Makemation and would have continued to publicly ignore their false advertising claims, but I kept getting annoying inbox messages from friends and non-friends suggesting that I am the one making a false claim to being the first creator of an AI movie in Nigeria or Africa.
“I had kept my peace about this ridiculous false claim by producers of Makemation because a friend that I loved dearly had first approached me a couple of weeks ago when I objected to their false advertising and told me to calm down because the producers of Makemation are related to her somehow, and that any direct public response may damage their credibility.
“She also made some weak arguments as to the possibility that they may have used some AI in their movie-making making too. Though my own AI movies have been live and in the public space for months, theirs (which is not even a feature AI movie, to begin with,) has not even been released yet, I decided to keep quiet so I am not accused of trying to pull down a younger person trying to hustle her movie too.
“But when someone like Governor Sanwo-Olu goes public to endorse falsehood based on the information given to him, without being aware of the facts, then there is a need to set the record straight. I don’t claim credit for what I didn’t do.
“In an era where hype often overshadows truth, there comes a time when facts must be defended—not for ego, but for posterity, credibility, and the integrity of history.
“The makers of started by parading a false claim, initially using wordplay and deceptive phrasing—and now, after being unchallenged publicly, they have even managed to get Governor Sanwo-Olu to announce their upcoming movie as Africa’s first fully AI-generated feature film, which is a lie.
“Unfortunately for them, facts don’t lie, and history doesn’t bend to Public Relations (PR) gimmicks.”
“So for posterity’s sake, I want to say that Makemation is NOT an AI-generated movie, it is NOT the first AI movie in Africa even if it’s an AI movie, which it’s not, the producer of Makemation is misleading the public—and even government officials—with a false claim because they are aware that myself and Aiflix360, my AI company made the first full feature AI movie and because they admitted privately that their movie is not AI but about AI.
“How can you make a movie with an AI storyline and then say or give the impression that you are the first to do an AI movie?
“I am not doing this to pull down anyone to sell my movie. Our movies are not even for sale. It’s free. And it’s freely available on YouTube.
“All my previous four AI movies are also free on YouTube. So this is NOT about me trying to use anyone for clout to sell my movies. I already have clout among those that matter in this AI game. As one of the real pioneers of AI filmmaking in Africa, I cannot stand by while others attempt to rewrite history with deception. Let’s lay down the undeniable facts.”
Banwo concluded by stating that Makemation’s false claim is not just an insult to him and his team of very hardworking AI movie architects who he trained and who have slaved over their AI movies since September 2024, but it’s an insult to history.
Watch out for the full visual interview on The Octopus News TV
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