Popular Nollywood actor, Yemi Solade, has claimed seniority over veteran actor, Pete Edochie, in the movie industry.
Naijaonpoint reports that Solade made this known while sharing the history of his journey in the Yoruba genre of the Nollywood industry during an interview on the show ‘Father’s Path with Tope’.
The movie star admitted that Edochie is older than him, but maintained that he started acting before the legendary actor.
The thespian explained how other sections within Nollywood had been documenting their works on cassettes and advertising them for others to purchase with the help of the media.
While refuting claims that a section of the industry other than the Yorubas started Nollywood, Solade stated that the Yoruba industry’s failure to document its early beginnings is the reason others take credit for starting Nollywood.
He said, “I’m senior to Pete Edochie, I started acting before him, though he’s older than me. I was 17 in 1977 when I represented Nigeria as the Youngest Actor, and I’ve done 48 years in the industry and am still standing.
“The first Nigerian, Ade Ajiboye ‘Big Abass’, the first home video in this country. We’ve been doing it, there was film, the celluloid and everything. We had the likes of Ogundes, we had Baba Salas, we had Ade Afolayans, Kunle’s father; we had Dr Ola Balogun, who is still around, and so many other big names, most of them are gone now.
“Even when home video was starting, it was just an experiment that was carried out by the likes of Muyideen Alade Aromire. We were all doing this drama, and then they just brought this camcorder, let’s record what we are doing which was documented in a cassette and was arranged in bookshelves. So, you as a shop owner, would introduce the cassette for people to buy; it all started like that.
“My people in the Yoruba setting didn’t document anything; that was why the other people in the industry just stepped in to say they started it. ‘Hey shut up’; when people like us are here, we will let you know you didn’t start anything.
“They could say that because they romance the media, but the Yoruba industry was just acting. Most of them weren’t schooled; they didn’t know anything about the media, and they enjoyed themselves. Adebayo Salami is alive; he will tell you a deeper story that I’m telling you, he’s older than me. Jide Kosoko is alive, we all work together.”