Joshua Bamiloye defends Mount Zion Films against culture criticism

Gospel singer Joshua Bamiloye has stepped up to defend the film ministry started by his father, Mike Bamiloye. He insists that Mount Zion Films does not attack Yoruba culture or spirituality.

Joshua shared his thoughts in a post on X on Wednesday after it was announced that Agbara Nla, one of Mount Zion’s biggest films, will hit cinemas again 34 years after it first came out.

His comments came after a user on X, named Ìfẹ́ṣọlá (@kootujirian), criticized Mount Zion for showing Yoruba spirituality as evil while pushing Christianity.

The user wrote, "Here we go again with the same stupid, tired propaganda. Mount Zion and others need to understand that the era of demonizing Yoruba culture and spirituality is over. People are educating themselves now, and these old narratives will no longer go unchallenged."

The user added, "Respect your faith, but stop turning Yoruba culture into the villain of every story. For over three decades, films like this have profited from portraying Yoruba spirituality as evil while presenting foreign religious worldviews as inherently good."

The post continued, "Mike Bamiloye built a successful career from this formula, moved his family abroad, and now returns to sell the same story again. The difference is that people are now asking questions, and many are no longer willing to accept these portrayals without scrutiny."

In response, Joshua said, "Here we go again, and yet you couldn’t get through one paragraph without misrepresenting what Mount Zion actually does."

He rejected the idea that the ministry attacks Yoruba culture. He said, "MZ doesn’t demonize Yoruba culture. It celebrates it; the colors, the language, the proverbs, the royalty."

Using the character Abejoye as an example, he added, "Abejoye became a born-again Christian while still speaking deep Yoruba, bowing before his king, and dropping proverbs that’ll make your grandfather nod. Nobody took his culture. The Gospel just took the throne in his heart."

Joshua also disagreed with the view that Mount Zion’s films make Yoruba spirituality look inferior to foreign religions. He said, "You framed this as ‘Yoruba spirituality vs foreign religion.’ We never did. We frame it as Light vs Darkness and Darkness has no nationality. We’ve called it out in boardrooms, cities, and yes, in the villages. Location doesn’t exempt it."

Regarding claims that the ministry has thrived by showing traditional religion in a bad light, Joshua argued that those films make up only a small part of Mount Zion’s work.

"‘Profiting from portrayals.’ MZ has 200+ films. Less than 30% are traditional settings. Your entire argument is built on a minority of the catalog, filtered through a lens of cultural grievance. That’s not analysis, that’s a feeling dressed up as a fact," he wrote.

He encouraged critics to watch the ministry’s films completely before making judgments.

"People are asking questions? Good. Watch the films. The full ones. From start to finish. AGBARA NLA drops OCT 1. The name of Jesus is still above every other name, in 1993 and in 2026."