Dr. Sola Fosudo is a veteran of some
sorts in the Nigerian film industry. In this scintillating interview, the
Director of LASU Centre for Press, Information and Public Relations bares
it all about his life, the film industry and many more.
It is really a privilege to be
talking to my greatest icon in the movie Industry, at least being the only
actor-scholar I know makes you my icon … (Cuts in)
No, I am not the only actor-scholar
in the Industry. There are many others. Kola Oyewo is one, at least, he has a
PhD and he’s teaching at Redeemers University (laughing). Another one is Prof.
Ayo Akinwale, he teaches at the University of Ilorin and he acts too. There is
also Tunji Sotimirin. I can keep on counting. So, don’t say I am the only one.
There are many of us.
How do you people cope with the
rigour of lecturing and acting?
There is no rigour, everything in
life is based on time. I may be in the office from Monday to Friday, then take
myself to locations on Saturday and Sunday and be back again in the office on
Monday. Since I am not the person directing or producing the film, I don’t have
to be on location 24 hours of the day. As an actor, you can wrap up your own
scenes within a day or two and be back to your normal routines. So, it is all
about working out a timetable with the people who are engaging you and I want
to believe it is the same system that works for other actor-scholars.
Who is Dr. Sola Fosudo?
I am an Ijebu man from Ejinrin in
Lagos State. My village is Igbo Oye in Epe Local Government area of Lagos
State. So, I am a Lagosian.
When exactly did you venture into
acting?
I can’t remember. I have been acting
since I was in primary school and secondary school.
No, I am talking about Nollywood?
(Exasperatedly) I am not a Nollywood
actor. We started acting long before the development called Nollywood came.
Before Nollywood, I have acted in several soaps. Was Village Headmaster part of
Nollywood? I did Sound of Destiny in 1980 and it was never part of Nollywood.
There were films I did like ‘The Third Eye for NTA,’ ‘Ripples’ and others long
before Nollywood came to being. So, that is why I said I am not a Nollywood
actor. Many people thought it was ‘Ripples’ that brought me to the limelight,
but I would say it is Michael Enahoro’s ‘Sound of Destiny’ that did it for me.
It was a network programme of NTA. Many journalists have interviewed me in the
early 80s and 90s. So, don’t be asking me about Nollywood. I am not a Nollywood
person.
So, how do you compare movie
industry of then to Nollywood of today?
Well, we have to look at it from different
aspects. In those days, most of the people, who were involved in the biz were
trained and so when you see any production, it would be qualitative; both in
term of acting and in term of production quality. And then you also see great
attempt at creating something that is artistic and you would see creativity.
But these days, most of the people in the industry are untrained. Secondly,
most of them are commercial people, they are not concerned with creativity.
They are just interested in financial gains.
However, having said that ,one can
also say that the activity of the marketers and the Igbo producers have
actually opened up the space for the industry. There is a lot of money
circulating now because they came in and pumped money.
So economically, the industry has
become an income-earning avenue for many people .So many people are making a
living out of the profession even though most of the people making a living are
the roadside people, people who are not trained. The summary is that what the
industry needs is regulation. It has become an industry that has made Nigeria
popular. Nigerian films are known everywhere in the world. So, in other words,
it has become a foreign exchange earner for the country, but it needs to be
regulated
How many movies and soaps have you
done so far?
The problem with you is that you
insist on seeing me as a Nollywood person. You’ll be surprised if I tell you
that the total films I’ve done, both Yoruba and English, are not more than
30-40 films.
Was it because of the problem of
poor quality you were talking about or what?
Stop referring to me as a Nollywood
person (he insisted fiercely). When we started, we just started because we were
interested in establishing a viable profession, a profession of serious minded
people founded on arts. I studied theatre arts. I didn’t study films. If you
ask me now how many plays I have acted, I can tell you over a hundred.
So, you did more plays than films?
Yes. But because you see somebody on
television, you think that the person is Nollywood this or that. I didn’t study
films I studied theater arts and we performed plays on stage.
Okay, who is the pioneer of the
indigenous film industry?
Hubert Ogunde.
But some people say it is a man
called Alade Aromire?
You asked me about the film industry
not home video. For cinema or films, it is Hubert Ogunde, while Aromire was
instrumental to the starting of home videos in Nigeria.
You must have had mentors during your
early days in the business.Who were your mentors or those who actually
motivated you?
I have many mentors. I have those
who taught me directly and the external ones. My teachers include Wole Soyinka,
Dapo Adelugba in Ibadan, Bode Osanyin and Kole Omotosho. Among the external
ones is the Indian actor called; Amitabh Bachan, he was a man after my heart. I
love the way he acts and I wanted to be like him. I believe there are some of
his mannerisms in the way I act. Chief Obafemi Awolowo is also my distant
mentor, though I didn’t actually meet him one on one. Having read about him and
having learnt about him, I think he was a great man. I also like to model my
life after that kind of person.
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