Veteran Nollywood actor Yemi Solade has revealed how a conflict with his former church over his work schedule nearly cost him his career.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Honest Bunch podcast, the 64-year-old actor recalled a 2013 incident where a pastor insisted he stop accepting acting jobs on Sundays.
Solade described the demand as unreasonable and said it was the turning point that made him stop attending church.
“I was told to inform producers not to call me for work on Sundays,” he said. “And I cursed the pastor. That’s my livelihood.”
The actor criticized the church’s stance, arguing that the same offerings he gave during worship came from his work, including jobs on Sundays.
“There’s nowhere in the Bible where it says Sunday must be reserved for worship alone,” he said. “You want me to stay home while I miss out on roles? That’s how you ruin someone’s career.”
Solade shared that leaving church has brought him peace, contrary to the belief that spiritual well-being is tied to attendance.
“People say if you stop going to church, your life will fall apart. For me, the opposite happened—I found peace.”
He recounted instances where church culture disrupted work ethics. In one case, he said a technician he paid failed to deliver on time because he took the money to church.
“He later told me he was in church. I said, ‘Baba, that’s my money you gave them. That blessing is mine now.’”
Solade criticized such behavior as misplaced priorities, noting that many people abandon their businesses to sustain religious institutions.
Shifting focus to Nollywood’s history, Solade challenged the popular belief that the industry began with the 1992 Igbo-language film Living in Bondage.
“Before that film, home videos and TV dramas existed. Ade Ajiboye, aka Big Abbas, produced Shosho Meji in 1988,” he said.
He also cited the iconic TV adaptation of Things Fall Apart as a major moment in Nigerian screen storytelling, dating back to the mid-1980s.
Solade, a graduate of Theatre Arts from Obafemi Awolowo University, argued that formal theatre education began in the South-West, not the East.
“When I was in school, we had NUTAF—Nigerian University Theatre Arts Festival. No Eastern university participated back then. Theatre as an academic discipline simply wasn’t present there.”
He said the narrative around Nollywood’s origin often excludes significant contributions from other regions.
Advertisement
