Veteran Nigerian actor Yemi Solade has stirred conversation with a bold revelation: he began his acting career before the iconic Pete Edochie, despite the latter’s seniority in age.
Solade made this statement during a reflective segment on Father’s Path with Tope, where he shared insights into his expansive journey in the Yoruba film industry and the often-contested history of Nollywood’s beginnings.
“I’m senior to Pete Edochie. I started acting before him, though he’s older than I am. I was just 17 in 1977 when I represented Nigeria as the youngest actor,” Solade recounted. “It’s been 48 years in the industry, and I’m still standing.”
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Solade’s remarks go beyond personal milestones; they touch on longstanding debates about the true genesis of Nollywood.
According to him, the Yoruba segment of Nigeria’s film industry has long been overlooked in historical documentation, despite its foundational contributions.
He challenged the narrative that other linguistic or regional blocs “started” Nollywood, attributing such claims to the Yoruba industry’s early failure to properly document and promote its work.
“We’ve been doing this from the days of celluloid,” he said, referencing cinematic pioneers like Hubert Ogunde, Baba Sala, Ade Afolayan (father of Kunle Afolayan), and filmmaker Dr. Ola Balogun. “The first home video in Nigeria was by Ade Ajiboye, also known as Big Abass. We were already acting and telling stories before others picked up camcorders.”
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Solade explained that the advent of home video in Nigeria was not an invention but an evolution, an experimental phase spearheaded by creatives like Muyideen Alade Aromire, who began recording stage dramas onto cassettes for sale in local shops.
According to him, the media-savvy approach adopted by other factions of the industry led to a revisionist history that sidelines the Yoruba pioneers. “They embraced the media, and because we didn’t, they claimed they started everything. But those of us who were there know the truth,” he asserted.
He further cited fellow Yoruba film legends like Adebayo Salami and Jide Kosoko, both still active in the industry, as witnesses to this lesser-known but critical era.
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With nearly five decades of experience, Solade’s comments reignite conversations around Nollywood’s complex, multi-regional origin story, reminding audiences that the industry’s foundation was laid by diverse hands, long before the term “Nollywood” was ever coined.
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