COMPARING ME WITH GABRIEL AFOLAYAN IS MADNESS – ACTOR, YEMI SOLADE

With over thirty eight years in the acting profession, veteran actor Yemi Solade speaks with thenation about his acting career, and why he has not been doing much of Yoruba movies, among other issues. 

NIGERIAN films are yet to win an Oscar. What do you think is wrong?

I can’t tell why people are not finding entries because I am not a producer. I have only experimented with a project and it’s not out yet. The likes of Tunde Kelani and Kunle Afolayan are, by my own reckoning and rating, number one in Nigeria today. So, I would expect at least those two names to give it a shot to open the doors for other producers who know that their works have international appeal. If you look at it, most of our productions are very pedestrian in nature, with no depth.

Most of them don’t fall into the standard for the international classification. If you follow Wole Soyinka’s career, you will know why he won the Nobel and when people look at him they think he does not even speak Yoruba at all, but people like us who know him will tell you that it will amaze you that he speaks Yoruba better than he does English. But because he knew what he wanted, he knew that Yoruba was limited for him to get to the international scene. So he upped his game in the English-speaking world and the rest is history today.

So, what I’m saying in essence is that any producer who wants to get into the international scene must have the format; one must know that standard and what to do to capture international standard.

It’s been a while you acted in a movie…

Help me beg the producers to invite me. In the Alaafin Palace, there is a group of men called Oyomesi and we know their role even though they would not get to that level where they have to open the calabash before the Alaafin. It has never happened in our time but they are there. They serve as checks and balances. I don’t think I would want to pretend about things.

So that is one area I think my colleagues see me as being a little rigid. I don’t tow their lines and they kind of want to run away from me. But I think it’s a waste of time to do that. Some other persons do what I do but because they are not within the fold, they don’t have any problem with that. It’s not about not being good enough. I even appear better than I used to, so if you are looking at people who should look nice in pictures at my age, I still look very good at 56, even better than actors who are not 40 yet.

 Also, the quality of actors I see these days leave a lot to be desired. I am not the only one but I speak up and some don’t. They would rather do it behind the scene, you know in the Yoruba cosmology it is said that majeki won fi ori e fo agbon (don’t let your head be used to break a coconut). I’m not a hypocrite. I say what I feel. I’m a well-grounded thoroughbred professional in the field, so why shouldn’t I protect my job? I do more than just act. I’m a social engineer and what that means is that it is the duty of a dramatist like me to identify problems within the social cultural milieu, point them out and proffer solutions.

My solutions have never been well attended to or received by my colleagues and the power they think they wield is to ostracise me which, to me, is not even effective and in so doing I decided that I won’t even do movies anymore. I would now do television.

So what is keeping you busy?

I run my family (Laughs).

Does that bring you money?

Yes it does. I am not the type who has ever prayed to have the kind wealth the Aliko Dangotes or the Femi Otedolas have. I don’t need such wealth. All I have always told God is to provide me with my basic needs. I have a small family. I’m not the type that runs around politicians because I don’t need them. I have a profession and I am even more popular than all the politicians put together.

I have been there before they came, so why should I run around politicians? I’m a very proud thespian and I owe that duty to show a very high level of integrity and dignity of profession. That is the reason you don’t find me in most places you find my colleagues. I’m not trying to denigrate anyone but this is Yemi Solade and nobody else. I do other things. I anchor events. If I tell you that pays more than acting you won’t believe it.  I talk for money. I talk and I get paid. What that means is that I am a life coach, I get invited for some platforms and I talk and I am paid but I still act.

Do you have a problem being referred to as Yoruba actor?

I am an actor, don’t put my tribe there. I am a Nigerian actor. Will Smith is being referred to as an American actor, so why will you call me a Yoruba actor? Why will you call Pete Edoche an English actor? Is he not from the East? Why not call him an Igbo actor? I don’t know why you give us this appellation.

It is derogatory and you reduce us when you say Yoruba actors. Is Omotola Jalade not a Yoruba actor? Is Desmond Elliot not a Yoruba actor? So why do you have to pin me to a tribe. There is a difference between English literature and literature in English. Wole Soyinka is not an English writer; he is a writer in English language. Williams Shakespeare is English literature so we shoot movies in English language but not English movies.

With your level of education, why haven’t you taken a foray into the academics?

I was a lecturer till 1992 before I left. I lectured at the University of Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Kaduna Polytechnic. I left the north before M.K.O Abiola’s election because I knew it won’t be so easy for me sticking up there. When Ojukwu executed the war between 1967 and 1970, he ran away and came back alive and he was celebrated. So, that is a General.

You don’t widen your chest and say where is the bullet? So, I was a lecturer for six years. I taught Communications Skills, English Language, Business Communication and a little bit of Mass Communication. Being an academic was never my ambition. I had always wanted to be an entertainer. My foray into academics was basically what the society could afford me at that time. NYSC took me to Maiduguri. After that, I wanted to experience the north for a while but I couldn’t get the kind of job that I wanted, so I kept reading. I could only stick within the tertiary world and when I felt I’ve had enough of the north I came back to Lagos. I had a provisional employment in my former department in Ife. I didn’t honour it.

What do you think could be done to cleanse the Yoruba movie industry?

Simple, prohibit the groups. Once the groups are prohibited, let us ban the Oga and Omo ise scheme, which is “who trained you? Ehn Yemi Solade lo komi ni ise. What rubbish. Who trained Yemi Solade? Where is the certificate? Can you say because you work in Gani Fawehinmi’s chamber as an admin staff you are now a lawyer? No way!

You can’t say tagging along with Obafemi Martins makes you a footballer. But anybody that strolls in with an established face on location, then the next thing that person becomes an actor, and that is it. We should proscribe the group thing and let everybody be independent.

Despite all these, will you allow your kids to act in the Yoruba movie industry?

Yes, why not? If they want to showcase their talent, they are free to. The only thing is that I’m going to guide them professionally because I know what obtains in the system because I have been President of the Association in the Yoruba setting.

Your family picture recently trended online. How has family life been?

Family has always been enjoyable; I posted something not too palatable on my Facebook wall recently because for years I have been ignoring bloggers. A lot of speculations and un-fanciful stories have been written about me, but because these are not criminality; I just ignore them.

But I had to write something that my friends, fans and well wishers agree that it was about time. I posted pictures on Facebook and some funny Nigerians began writing stories from my pictures. I have to mention Linda Ikeji. It’s not fair. I don’t know whether she’s married or has children. I posted pictures on my Facebook wall for my contacts alone and Linda is not one of them. I know that national assembly is working on these things; some of them will rot in jail.

A guy was picked up not too long ago, I’m sure you know his name. I don’t want to mention his name. He spent time behind bars because he slandered me two years ago on a story he didn’t verify. A big man in the bank had to bring down the hammer on him but I don’t have time for that. Some entertainers like to play to the gallery, but I don’t need it. I let my work speak for me. The other time, I saw another blogger rating most handsome Yoruba actors putting me beside Gabriel Afolayan, my own son. I think there is so much madness online.