Nollywood actor and academic Hafiz Oyetoro, popularly known as Saka, has revealed how his childhood dream of becoming a pilot eventually gave way to a successful career in acting.
Speaking in an interview with The Punch, the veteran actor recalled that his fascination with aeroplanes began during visits to his parents, who were farmers.
As a child, he would look up whenever he spotted an aircraft in the sky and ask his father about it.
He said:“Actually, I wanted to become a pilot. My parents were farmers, and whenever I visited them in the village.
He continued: “I would see aeroplanes moving across the sky, and I would ask my father, ‘Daddy mi, kini eleyi?’ meaning, ‘Daddy, what is this?’ He would say it was ‘balu’, the Yoruba pronunciation of aeroplane, and that only very important government people travelled in it.”
Oyetoro said the explanation fascinated him so much that he initially imagined himself not merely travelling in an aircraft, but becoming the person flying it.
He said:“I told him that one day, I would also travel in one. At some point, I decided that instead of being a passenger, I would rather be the pilot.”
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However, his ambition remained intact through secondary school, where he excelled in science subjects including Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
However, his growing involvement in the dramatic arts club and his exposure to actors on television gradually changed his plans.
After secondary school, he joined Akewebede Theatre, a professional theatre group in Iseyin, Oyo State.
Performing with the group helped him discover that acting was more than just an interest for him.
He said: “That was when I changed my mind, having realised that I was good at acting and theatre practice.”
The actor later studied Dramatic Arts at Obafemi Awolowo University, before combining acting with teaching and academic work.
His breakthrough with the character Saka in the television comedy series House Apart eventually made the name synonymous with him.