Five Nollywood heavyweights join the Oscars board

 The Academy is well-known around the world for its annual Academy Awards, also referred to as "The Oscars" in official circles.

On the basis of their achievements to cinema, veteran actor Richard Mofe-Damijo, director CJ Obasi, producer Jade Osiberu, and authors Kunle Afolayan and Shola Dada have all been chosen.

They now have voting privileges for The Oscars nominees and wins as members.

"The Academy is pleased to welcome these experts and artists as members. According to Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang, "They represent remarkable global talent across cinematic disciplines and have had a significant influence on the arts and sciences of motion pictures as well as on movie viewers globally.

Prior to now, the Academy has drawn criticism for its lack of diversity. According to a 2012 Los Angeles Times research, 94% of Oscar voters were white.

 Critics point out that since #OscarsSoWhite became popular eight years ago, there have been some changes.