Yemi Solade, the veteran Nigerian actor, has stirred a wave of conversation and debate online after boldly declaring that he is senior to the legendary Pete Edochie in the Nigerian movie industry, despite Edochie being older in age.
The remark was made in a viral video circulating on social media, where Solade shared personal reflections on his journey in acting and addressed common misconceptions about the origins of Nollywood.
According to Solade, while many people often assume that the Eastern (Igbo) arm of the Nigerian film industry pioneered what is now popularly referred to as Nollywood, the Yoruba film industry had long been active, albeit with less media documentation.
He argued that the lack of early archival materials from the Yoruba sector should not translate into being sidelined or stripped of its historical contributions to the growth of Nigerian cinema.
“I’m a senior to Pete Edochie, though he is older than me. But I started acting before him,” Solade stated confidently. “I started acting in 1977 when I was 17 years old, as Nigeria’s youngest actor at the time. That makes it 48 years in the business now, and I’m still standing.
Solade’s comment challenges a commonly held belief that Pete Edochie, who rose to fame in the 1980s with his legendary performance as Okonkwo in the NTA adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, is one of the earliest figures in Nollywood. While Edochie’s influence is undeniable, Solade’s remarks open a broader conversation about how the history of Nigerian cinema is recorded and remembered.
The actor went further to recognise Ade Ajiboye, popularly known as Big Abass, as the first Nigerian to produce a home video, another important milestone that is often overlooked in discussions about the origins of Nollywood. According to Solade, it was Ajiboye’s work that helped pave the way for the home video revolution that later exploded in the 1990s.
“They claimed to have started Nollywood because they romance the media,” Solade said, alluding to the dominance of the Igbo-language and English-language sectors in media narratives. “Meanwhile, the Yoruba section had been acting for years without proper documentation.”
His remarks have sparked mixed reactions among fans and film industry stakeholders. While some viewers praised him for shedding light on the underappreciated contributions of Yoruba actors and filmmakers, others criticised his comments as unnecessary and divisive.
The Nigerian film industry, widely known as Nollywood, officially rose to international prominence in the early 1990s, with the release of the Igbo-language film Living in Bondage in 1992. However, dramatised stage performances and television series have existed in Nigeria since the 1950s and 1960s.
The Yoruba film tradition, in particular, has a rich history dating back to the era of traveling theater groups led by pioneers like Hubert Ogunde, Kola Ogunmola, and Duro Ladipo. These theater productions gradually transitioned into films, particularly in the Southwest, long before the term “Nollywood” was coined.
Yet, much of this history remains undocumented or under-reported, which is the point Solade appears to be making.
Solade is a veteran actor, academic, and filmmaker known for his versatility and eloquence. He has featured in numerous Yoruba-language and English-language films and TV dramas over the last four decades. Apart from his acting career, Solade has also taught Theatre Arts at tertiary institutions and has been a vocal advocate for professionalism in the Nigerian entertainment industry.
