Dr Sola Fosudo is no
stranger to the Tinseltown in the country and a veteran of some sorts spanning
decades who has seen it all in the Nigerian film industry .In this scintilating
interview with Ibikunle Laniyan the blogger-editor-in-chief,the
Director of LASU CENTRE FOR PRESS ,INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATION bares it all about his life ,the film industry-its evolution and the
challenges of teaching proffession in Nigeria in general .
-I think i have
started Sir ,the interview .Sir ...it s wonderful and amazing that i was given
the opportunity to talk to my greatest
icon in Nollywood .The fact remains that you are the only actor-scholar that i know in the industry .I dont know of
any .How has it been combining the two works together-lecturing and acting How has it been ,the journey so far ?
--No .1,there are so
many other acting or actor-scholars,there are so many other.......
--Yea,....like who
and who Sir ?
--Kola Oyewo is
one.At least , that is another one.And also ,he has a PHD and is teaching at
Redeemer University]laughing hysterically].Prof.Ayo Akinwale is another
]clearing his throat twice ].He teaches at the University of Ilorin and he acts.So,Tunji Sotimire is another one
.So i say.....you want me to be counting .
-Let me ..It is a
great challenge actually how do you cope with the rigour ?
-Which rigour?
-Those people you
have mentioned now ..going to locations and all that hell of teaching....
-there is no rigour
,everything in life is based on time .Each time am in the office here if i have
to go on location on Friday ,Sat..i wont be in the office .I would go and do
those ones .On monday, am back in my office .Since am not the one directing the
film ,i dont have to be there 24hrs ,the people who are directing or producing or who are
members of the crew ,they are the people that would stay on lovation .
An actor can just go ,they would
record your own scene within a day
within two days then you leave]slows down].So is all baout working out a
timetable with the people who are engaging you ,so that you know the time that
you can come and then you do what you have to do with them and then you leave
.I want to believe it is the same system that all other actor scholars are
using .
-Who is Dr Sola
Fosudo ? Can we know a bit about your
.........?
]cuts in]
-What do you want to
know ,there are so many things 2x.I can tell you .It depends on what you want
to know
--Like where do you
hail from your state of origin were you born in Lagos ?
--Am an Ijebu
Man born in Ijebu in Ejinrin,Lagos
State.My village is Igbo Oye in Epe Local government of Lagos State.So am a
Lagosian.
-How many years now
have you been teaching in LASU?
--I have been here
now 19 years or 18 plus .Let' s say 18 years
-Can you compare the
condition of teaching in the University setting then to today ? The climate in
the University as at the time you
started to today ]He cleared his throat twice]?
--When i started?
-Yea....yea?
--When i started in LASU?
--Yea...?
--Well, i dont think
there is ,maybe if you want me to compare ,when i was in school well
things have changed .When i was in
School , the environment was more academic ,more scholarly but today there are
so many distractions for students .I think there are cults too at the time i
was in school but now is like a common you know phenomenon and also ,the
economic situation of the country ,you know is a big challenge to many parents
you know so the political situation in the country is also very unstable .And
all this definitely ,i believe will negatively affect the pattern of education
for those who are in school right now .You know but if you want me to compare
when i join LASU to now ,i think that there is ,some kind of improvement
,because ,when i came to LASU ,the
whole of LASU ,was just from that
junction there to this place ]pointificating ].But now there is alot of
development in LASU .I joined LASU through the English department and after a
few years ,i recommended ,the establishment of theatre arts department and it
was approved and it has taken up .When i join LASU from the time i join LASU to
this time ,there have been phenomenal
growth and dvelopment in term of academic life so , that s the comparison that
i can give .So many things have happened since i joined LASU, a lot of water
you know has [run under the bridge ]chorused with the reporter coincidentally
--But when exactly
did you venture into acting Which year
particularly ?
--I can t remember .I
have been acting since i was in primary school ,secondary school
--No ,am talking now
of Nollywood?
--You see]looking
discouraged] am not a Nollywood actor.We started acting ,we started doing
.........Before Nollywood caqme , we were already acting .So ,how you say ,when
did i join Nollywood Before Nollywood came ,we were already acting .Nollywood
is a recent development here .Before Nollywood i have acted in several Soap operas.Village headmaster -is it
part of Nollywood ]reporter replied no].Sound Of Destinywhich i did in 1980,was it part of Nollywood The Third Eye
which we did in NTA ,was it part of Nollywood
Ripples which was a national programme
,was that part of Nollywood ]interviewer laughing ].So that is why i
said am not a Nollywood actor .I t was some of the things that we were doing
that actually prepared the ground for Nollywood ]the interviewer laughing and
pouring ecomiums].
-We want to know
which film really brought you to limelight ?For example Segun Arinze would
aggree that Chico Ejiro' s Silent Night brought him to .........
He cuts in........
-You are still asking
me ,you are going back again]reporter rattles ,then he concluded ],Ripples
brought me to limelight .It is a soap opera .Infact if i want to tell you it
was Ripples ,i would tell you that even before even before Ripples ,Sound Of
Destiny .Micheal Enahoro s Sound Of
Destiny brought me to lime light and because it s a network programme ,NTA
Network ......Because you knew me maybe four or five years ago does not mean
that there have been several journalists
who have interviewed me in the early 80s ,90s.So , dont be asking me
about Nollywood .Am not a Nollywood Person .
--Actually , sir how
do you compare the industry generally then when you started to today?
Well,we have to look
at it from different aspects.In those days ,most of the people ,who are
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
qualitative .And then you also see ,you
know attempt at creating something that is artistic ,you would see creativity
you would you know artistic efffort but these days ,no.1 ,most of the people
,who are in the industry today many of them are untrained .Secondly, most of
them are commercial people ,they are not concerned with creativity , you know
and artistic -you know quality.They are just
interested in financial gain .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 alot of money circulating now Because they came in and pumping money and
they were doing all kinds of things .........So economically , the industry has
become income earning avenue for many people .So many people are making a
living out of that proffession even though most of the people making a living
are you know are roadside people ,they are roadside people roadside ,...people
who are not trained who just ...Awon Ayaba We wont say because they are
roadside people that is nonsense because at least they are busy ,they are
making money acting ,they are not
carrying gun ,they are not armed robbers .You Know .The summary is that what the industry just need is
regulation .That is what they just need .It has become an industry that has
made Nigeria popular .Nigerian films are
known everywhere in the world .So , in ohter words ,you know is foreign exchange earner for the country
but it needs to be regulated .A lot of development has happened .A lot of
people are engaged empoloyed through the industry .And so that is from positive
things it s positve alright .
-How many movies and
soaps have you done so far?
--The problem is that
you are just ,you are insisting at seing me as Nollywood person .So many films -You ll be surprised i
ve not done many films .You ll be surprised
i tell you that the total films i
ve done both Yoruba and English ,they are not more than like 30-40
something films .
--Was it because of
that problem of poor quality you are talking about or what?
--]He insisted
fiercely ]Am not a Nollywood person .When we started,we just started because we
are interested in establishing a viable proffesion -a proffession that people
would also look at us and say okay you know people who are serious minded are
into this proffession of theatre .I studied theatre arts .I didnt study films
.If you ask me now that how many plays
have i acted in .I can tell you over a hundred
]Interviewer
marvelled cuts in]Q-....''plays! ''..was schocked to the bone marrow
--Yes.But these
people just because you see somebody on television ,you think that the person
is Nollywood ,Nollywood,Nollywood person .I didnt study films i studied
theatrte arts and we performed plays on stage ]then he paused and soared
again].Nollywood,Nollywood Nollywood ,what is Nollywood
''I think some of my
question were based on Nollywood ''....He cuts in again......''because you are
thinking you will come and be asking about Nollywood'' .
I really want to know
who really founded the indigenous film industry in the country .Who is the
pioneeer really especially for viewers out there or for their education ?
-Hubert Ogunde
--Some people you use
to say that but what about the man they called ...Alade Aromire ..?
--You said who
started who started indigenous film industry .Are you talking about Cinemas or
film
-No ,am not talking
about Cinemas ?
-Aromire started
......was instrumental to the starting of video film in Nigeria .Alade Aromire
was very instrumental ,starting of video film in Nig. but the indigenous cinemas .........
--Hubert Ogunde was
the one.
--So ,what informed
the transfer into the video stuff from celluloid ...?
--It was when those
films that they use to produce and show in the cinema became very expensive
,became too expensive to shoot on Celluloid
and you know developed when it became very expensive that was why they
moved into producing with video and when
they produce with video ,even when they started producing with video they first
started taken them to the cinemas
but the quality of those films
were not really the best until some people would just record and package into
video cassette and just go and sell directly to the people .So all these things
moved in stages ,these are stages ,but the person who started the indigenous cinemas in Nigeria is Hubert
Ogunde .
The early people who
laid the foundation for Nollywood were
interested in creativity and
artistic quality and they were really not running after financial gains but that the people who are in it now , most
of the people who are in it now most of them are nottrained they dont care
about quality ,they care about quantity and they are not also very interested
in creativity you know artistic ingenuity ,they are not really concerned
about art in ,what they they are doing
,they are just commercial..Let s just do it and le get our money and go away
.So,under that kind of condition certainly quality would drop ,where people..there is something we
call motivation for coming into the theatre
biz.What is your motivation Are you socially motivated Is it because you want to be popular or you
want to be famous A re you motivated by
finance Is it because you think that
they are making a lot of money there
,you want to also come and make money or are you motivated by the humanistic
nature of the arts Are youb artist Do
you want to contribute to the creative
development of that biz of that industry . Or you just want to come
and make whatever money you can make and go away .So ,if you come with that
kind of of you know motivation just to
make money then it doesnt , wont matter to you theb quality
of what is being done .So, the question trherefore you know
..........contd........because when they were doing their live theatre shows
they used to travel from town to town
and they would carry their families ,their set all the member of the
crew,they carry about two or three
vehicles .They would be traveling to Akure, to Ondo ,after a while it became
foolish to be embarking on such venture
-Why in what sense?
--In monetary sense
,monetary sense you spent money to transport yourself ,,you have to feed ,you
know it became a big problem because that means you almost spent much more than
you are going to make but in film you record your film only once .If you want
to travel to show your films in Akure
you dont need to take any three
vehicles , you dont need to go with entire crew ,you have already recorded the
film and you record the film only once .So, when you are going to Akure to go
and and show your film only about two or three people can go with the projector
.It became economic al you know to venture into films .That was why Ogunded
and Co.and all the troops ,people that
followed his footsteps ,that s why they all moved into film.THat was the reason
they all moved into films.
--Actually , how do
you compare Soap Operas and the business
of home video ;Which one is profitable ?
--Well , you would
need to go and ask those who are doing soaps 2x.Ive not done soap before as a
producer ,i ve only acted in it ..And i can tell you ,i would say a soap opera
is more profitable even as an actor because am collecting money every week as
actor in soap opera,but if i can act in a film
they would give you money only once .But if you are using soap opera you
already earning money everyweek even
though the money may not be big money .....
Interviwer cuts in
Q-- ....Consistent..!
--It may not be big
money but is consistent .SO which one is more profitable therefore Is it the one that you collect money once and
go away or the one that you will be collecting money regularly For you which
one is more profitable
Interviwer replied ;i
think i support you .
-You must have had
mentors ,during your early days in the business .Who are your mentors or those
who actually motivated you?
--I have many mentors
.I have those...who are ...some of them who taught me and i also have external mentors Those i did
not even see
--Interviwer
adds......Distant methors?
--Yes distant
menthors .Those i didnt meet.Those are
the people i read about have seen
their works and i was influenced by what they were doing or what they did .So
.Wole Soyinka taught me .Dapo Adelugba in Ibadan Bode Osanyin,Kole Omotosho,...
Interviwer adds..
--Jimi Solanke...?
--What ..Jimi Solanke
is not my mentor..]then he banter off
into humorous scene while equally watching TV and occassionally cracking jokes
and laughing with fellow visitor.]One of my mentors is Amitab Bashir -an indian
actor because i used to watch a lot of
films in those days-indian films.I said
,he was a Man after my heart .I love the way he acts and i wanted to be like
him.You know when i was doing my own acting i would have gained one or two
things from him .You know ,so he is one of my distant mentors.So, Awolowo,
Obafemi Awolowo is also my distant mentors , though i ddidnt actually meet him
-one on one .Having read about him and having learnt about him i think he
is a great one .I also like to model my
life after that kind of person .
-Can you remember the
most powerful book you ever read ?
-Theere are so many
of them .There s one book -The Spirit Of Apollo by NewMan ,there is this book
by Stephen Covey -The Seven Habbits Of Highly Influential People.These are very
powerful books i ve read, but the most important book that i ve read is the
Bible .Infact if somebody dont read the bible ,you dont read anything .
-Let s hang around
about your works in LASU .What are the challenges facing the Nigerian lecturers
in general ?
--Challenges facing
Nigerian Lecturers ...They are poorly paid .They are poorly paid compared to
their counterparts in other parts of the world .If am a Proffessor in LASU
,,there is another Proff. in Ethiopia or
Sydney ,or whereverer in U.K. I just give example .They are given
300,000 naira and the Prof. in Sydney is
collecting 11,000 dollars .And if i compare that that is am earning one fifth of
the salary of my colleagues and these people ,we meet in conferences ,i
go to Sydney .They also come to Nigeria ,we meet in conferences .We publish
our papers in their own journals and they published in our journals here.We
teach students,the same students and way we teach ,they are teaching their own
students .I say some of the challenges of Nigerian lecturers is thaT THEY ARE POORLY PAID .
Even inspite of all
the fights and struggles,they are increasing the thing small small ,they are
still being poorly paid .Then is the government ..are they serious about
education .This office ]he looked sternly as the Director of information ,Press
and Public Relation in LASU ] is an office where i have been appointed as
the Director of the Centre -that is a non-academic work that just doing that s
why this office is fine like this.My personal ]at the theatre arts,where we
later moved to at the end of the first phase of the interview,justify his
claims ]was not as fine as this.Even
that personal office ,most of theb things i got thre ,i bought them with my
money ]no A.C,no flatscreen TV,no tesselated squares as noted in the centre
office].So is government serious about
Education Government need to fund education .They need to provide
infrastructure ,not only for lecturers but for students .Lecture halls
,libraries with books and so and so forth.I must say that Governor Fashola is
trying now in LASU .I must say because he has started building so many things
.Now in LASU,they are building Senate
building , they are building science faculties,they are building social science
faculty ,they are building so many things in LASU now .Imagine ,if all
Governors ,am just talking about LASU ,what about other federal
universities Imagine if all Governors
who have been in LAGOS and probably see what Fashola did.If all of them are
building 10 ,10 structures like Fashola is building now .They are just working
under very harsh condition All
universities would have beeen filled with structures and then as a lecturer
maybe my office would be fine as fine as this .So Govenrment across the country
in Nigeria ,they need to make up their mind to fun education properly .So is
part of the challenges of Nigerian lecturers.They are just working under very
harsh condition .Controversy ,you have to fight ,you have to strike before they
would even answer you ]laughing].
--But for quite some
fees in the varsities have been going up
. Govt.suddenly increased tuition fees
in LASU from a mere 25,000 naira to as high as 200,000 naira .They dont even
give a damn to gradual increase .They just increase to as high as that much
.How many poor children can afford that ?
-Are you asking me?
How do i know how many poor children can afford that? Am not the person that
effect the increase.Am sure the persons have made their research and
investigation before they decided the increase ,That s no.1 ,no2,University education
is not really for the poor
-Not for the poor..?
-University Education
is not really for the poor
--But the problem now
is that...]cuts in again]
--Is not also to be
for the rich .University education is not for the rich and not supposed to be
for the poor ..Anybody who want to go to the University they should go and look
for the money but everybody is supposed to go the primary school secondary
school both rich and poor so that there wont be illiteracy in the land but if
you now want to be anengineer,a Doctor you need to go the university..Go and
look for the money because that is the way i see it .That' s the way i see
myself .
-You said you have been involved in
about 100 dramas and you have done quite
a good number of soaps .How many of those films and movies have you handled
yourself?
--Well ,i have
produced some films like 5 films
IBIKUNLE LANIYAN
EDITOR/BLOGGER
08148272375
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