{"id":274168,"date":"2011-01-15T03:31:45","date_gmt":"2011-01-15T03:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/?p=47827"},"modified":"2011-01-15T03:31:45","modified_gmt":"2011-01-15T03:31:45","slug":"yemi-solade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/yemi-solade\/","title":{"rendered":"Yemi Solade"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
Yemi Solade<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nYemi Solade has pleased several souls in the Nigerian movie \t\t\t\t\tindustry and continues to do so.
\nHowever, many who watch him act do not know he started very \t\t\t\t\tearly to chase his destiny in the arena he always had known \t\t\t\t\tsince childhood.
\nMany do not also know that ever youthful looking Yemi who \t\t\t\t\tprefers to call himself a chartered actor is up to 46 years, \t\t\t\t\teven went to school( he has three master\u2019s degrees) with the \t\t\t\t\tway he eats up the yoruba language in his films not to talk \t\t\t\t\tof the fact that he was a disco dancer before going to study \t\t\t\t\tDramatic arts at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife. \t\t\t\t\tSeen as one of the most handsome sex symbols of the Yoruba \t\t\t\t\tgenre of Nigerian films and known to be the ever free \t\t\t\t\twheeling and dealing play boy in his films, Yemi has come a \t\t\t\t\tlong way and in this explosive chat explains why his fans \t\t\t\t\tare too numerous and why they think he is a playboy among \t\t\t\t\t other issues. Enjoy this super story.
\nTraining in the arts
\nI SEE the essence of education as a paramount perequisite to \t\t\t\t\t entering the motion picture industry. People should be sure \t\t\t\t\tto educate their minds before venturing. In fact, this is \t\t\t\t\tthe bane of the industry. It is not enough to say that one \t\t\t\t\tacts, produces or directs or that one is an engineer. It \t\t\t\t\tgoes beyond that really. I want to appeal to practitioners \t\t\t\t\tto open their minds and broaden their horizon. We do not \t\t\t\t\tjust use the little we earn to buy tokunboh vehicles and \t\t\t\t\tglorify in the feeling that we have arrived. This is \t\t\t\t\tdelusion we need education both in and out of the classroom. \t\t\t\t\tOne could be coming from any background but it is incumbent \t\t\t\t\ton any one to train in his chosen profession. One needs to \t\t\t\t\tbe in and outside the classroom.
\nIn Nigeria, the theatre practise is bedeviled with all other \t\t\t\t\t troubles like intrigues which are cankerworm to its \t\t\t\t\tprogress. Nigeria is a secular state but you could see at \t\t\t\t\tmicroscopic level, that people establish working relations \t\t\t\t\talong ethnic leanings. It is very sad to see that happen. \t\t\t\t\tOne was trained to recognise talents as the main issue and \t\t\t\t\tnot ethnicity. It is delivery we should hammer on.
\n Beginning<\/strong>
\nI trained professionally. I went through the dramatic arts \t\t\t\t\t department of OAU Ife. People say they are Chartered \t\t\t\t\tAccountants so I say I am a chartered actor. I have an \t\t\t\t\tacademic qualification to doing what I am doing today. There \t\t\t\t\twas something burning inside of me that made me think I was \t\t\t\t\tcut to be an actor. I started my social life very early. I \t\t\t\t\twas a disco dancer. I had seen the likes of Jimi Solanke who \t\t\t\t\twas my yardstick and one of the greatest actors to have come \t\t\t\t\tout of Africa. He still leaves in Ife. I felt I could do all \t\t\t\t\tthat. You won\u2019t believe that my first experience as an actor \t\t\t\t\twas a 45 mins monologue on stage in Ife? No one believes I \t\t\t\t\thad never acted before then. It was titled Crazy Youngie.
\nI played the passenger, driver, conductor in an imaginary \t\t\t\t\tbus. Any one who witnessed me in Ife then would recall.
\nIt was an intense performance in my first year. I just \t\t\t\t\tlooked at the stage and felt like doing that monologue. I \t\t\t\t\tgot the script from Niji Akanni who didn\u2019t believe I could \t\t\t\t\tdo it. He gave me the directions and blocking. After Ife, I \t\t\t\t\twent into other things. I went into academics. I served in \t\t\t\t\tNYSC at the University of Maiduguri and the Ramat \t\t\t\t\tPolytechnic where I taught General Studies, communications \t\t\t\t\tskills and literature. I moved over to Kaduna Polytechnic \t\t\t\t\tand taught literature, communication skills. I did a \t\t\t\t\tMaster\u2019s in Public Administration, another master\u2019s from the \t\t\t\t\tUniversity of Leicester in Sociology and then another in Ife \t\t\t \t\twhich is called Masters for non social scientists. I \t\t\t\t\trealised that no one could employ dramatic artists then. I \t\t\t\t\twas teaching and needed to beef up my credentials. It was \t\t\t\t\tall for survival my dear.
\nReturn from the North<\/strong>
\nI had experienced the riots twice in the north of Nigeria. \t\t\t\t\tMy house was burnt once and I returned to salvage the \t\t\t\t\tsituation when the coast was clear. When I discovered that \t\t\t\t\tthe MKO elections were approaching, I had to run home \t\t\t\t\tbecause of the imminent troubles that might accompany it. \t\t\t\t\tMoreso, Late Sage, Alhaji Isa Kaita advised me to head for \t\t\t\t\thome. I saw him as a demi god in the north and he loved me \t\t\t\t\tso much. I had taught one of his sons at Kadpoly and he told \t\t\t\t\thim he wanted to meet me and I met him in his house at \t\t\t\t\tAngwar Shanu. He was afraid for my life in the North. I have \t\t\t \t\tnever known a detribalized Nigeria like that. He wanted me \t\t\t\t\tto work for PAN in the PR department. But one of the bosses \t\t\t\t\tsaid I won\u2019t get it because I was for the south. I did \t\t\t\t\tseveral things in Kaduna and the British Council was a \t\t\t\t\tregular venue every October 1st.
\nWhen I returned and was facing the so called pariah status \t\t\t\t\tfrom my friends, it was Muritala Sule who came up with a \t\t\t\t\tscript called Ojunu (insight). But the movie didn\u2019t see the \t\t\t\t\tdaylight even though it went to the cinema. It didn\u2019t get to \t\t\t\t\tthe shelves. But since then, I have done several movies \t\t\t\t\tespecially those associated with love. May be that is why \t\t\t\t\tmost people see me as a play boy. But really I am not. It is \t\t\t\t\twrong to say that that is how I behave in real life.
\nUpbringing<\/strong>
\nMy mum is from Akwa Ibom. My wife is Cross River. I am a \t\t\t\t\tYoruba man because it is what the society tells you about \t\t\t\t\twhere you come from.. My father was not a full fledged \t\t\t\t\tyoruba man just like me but I was born and bred in Lagos. I \t\t\t\t\twent my elementary and post elementary in Surulere. I went \t\t\t\t\tto St. Thomas Aquinas Primary School and Birch Freeman \t\t\t\t\tSecondary school, all in Surulere along Akobi Crescent. When \t\t\t\t\tI saw my school a few years ago, I could not show it to my \t\t\t\t\tfriend whom I was riding with because it was a sorry sight. \t\t\t\t\tBash Ali went there too. Tunde Lemo, Deputy Director of the \t\t\t\t\tCentral Bank also passed through the school, Rev. Tunde Joda \t\t\t\t\tand a lot of other great guys.
\nI did my A \u2018levels in the U.K. at Tyhill College in Coventry \t\t\t\t\t and out of rascality, one couldn\u2019t just finish up. Then I \t\t\t\t\twas back and headed for OSCAS, Oyo State College of Arts and \t\t\t\t\tScience to prepare me for Ife. It was there I met the likes \t\t\t\t\tof Dele Momodu, Damola Aderemi, Niyi Ayoade all big boys \t\t\t\t\tnow. I was the dance king then.
\nWomen women and women
\nI have always said that this third marriage of mine would be the last. I pray this is the last and would survive. I have promised my wife that I won\u2019t go into another marriage. I went into an early marriage. It took me over twelve years to get into that after my first one with a girl in the North. The first marriage for me was to a Shuarab charming girl in Maiduguri whose parents wanted to Ismalize me and I refused it totally and it broke away. That second one broke away because of no fault of mine. We spent two years. But I am happy she is happy with whom ever she is with now in London. We didn\u2019t live tegether. She was in Ibadan and I lived in Lagos.
\nMy wife now is a charming half caste whom I met at the location of Super Story. My second marriage had just collapsed and I needed to fill the gap. I asked if she would marry me, a guy who had tasted two previous marriages. I really pleaded with her and she accepted. We are blessed with a daughter.
\nFilmography: Shadows, Thunderbolt, Lady In The Forest, Madam Dearest, Mr Gabriel and many Yoruba movies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yemi Solade has pleased several souls in the Nigerian movie industry and continues to do so. However, many who watch him act do not know he started very early to chase his destiny in the arena he always had known since childhood. Many do not also know that ever youthful looking Yemi who prefers to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-274168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nYemi Solade - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/yemi-solade\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Yemi Solade - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Yemi Solade has pleased several souls in the Nigerian movie industry and continues to do so. 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