Veteran Nigerian actor Yemi Solade has stirred debate on social media with a bold declaration
He claims to have started his acting career before legendary Nollywood figure, Pete Edochie.
In a now-viral video, Yemi Solade shared personal insights into his longstanding journey in the Nigerian film industry.
He asserted that while Pete Edochie may be older in age, he (Solade) is a senior colleague in the business of acting.
“I’m a senior to Pete Edochie. Yes, he’s older than me, but I began acting before him,” Solade stated confidently.
The Yoruba-born actor explained that he began his acting journey at the tender age of 17 in 1977.
This makes him one of the earliest entrants into what later became the formal Nigerian movie industry.
With over 48 years of experience under his belt, he maintains that his contribution to the growth of Nigerian cinema has been largely underappreciated due to poor documentation in its early years.
Yemi Solade criticised what he described as the dominance of certain sectors of the Nigerian movie industry in claiming credit for “starting Nollywood.”
He argued that the Yoruba film industry had been thriving well before the home video boom in the 1990s.
However, they failed to archive or document its progress, unlike their counterparts.
“They claim to have started Nollywood because they romance the media. The Yoruba section was just acting without proper documentation,” he said.
The actor also acknowledged Ade Ajiboye, popularly known as Big Abass, as the first Nigerian to produce a home video.
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He suggested that history has been unfairly rewritten to credit others.
