Veteran actor Yemi Solade has said he joined the movie industry before his well-known colleague, Pete Edochie.
In a video that has now gone viral online, Solade spoke about his long journey in the acting world. He used the opportunity to correct some claims about how Nollywood started.
Solade said many people think another part of the Nigerian movie industry started Nollywood, but that’s not true. He explained that the Yoruba movie sector didn’t begin proper record-keeping early, which may have led to others getting credit for starting Nollywood.
He gave more details by saying, “Pete Edochie is older than me by age, but I’ve been in acting longer than him. I began acting in 1977 when I was just 17. That means I’ve been in this career for 48 years.”
Solade also mentioned that Ade Ajiboye, also known as ‘Big Abass’, was the first Nigerian to produce a home video. He added that some people only got recognition because they had more access to the media, while Yoruba actors focused more on acting than documentation.
