NOLLYWOOD LEGEND, YEMI SOLADE TO AFRICANS: ALL FOREIGN NAMES ARE SLAVE NAMES.

Nollywood legend Yemi Solade who is well known in the Nigerian film industry today, started performing at the age of 17, during Festac 77, the Festival of Arts and Culture, organized in 1977.

 He was one of the first actors to lay the industry’s foundation, especially on the Yoruba side and he is well known for his knowledge bank in film making and cinematography.

The veteran Yoruba actor who has featured in countless movies, created TAMPAN in 2009 with the mindset of primarily networking among actors who plied the trade in Yoruba & English languages. 

In 2014 he decided to contribute TAMPAN to practitioners who left ANTP and had grouped under the ruddership of Otunba Adebayo Salami [Oga Bello].

Yemi Solade whose net worth is estimated to be over  $500,000 has on several occasions made headlines on the cover pages of top newspapers in Nigeria for his exceptional skills.

Owing to his remarkable contribution in the society the award winning superstar graced the hot seat as CMC's Gladiator of the week, he was ecstatic, elated and felt very honored to be the Gladiator of the week. 

The programme which was anchored by Babatunde Odubanwo, Emmanulla Esilokunomoba and other members of CMC resource team. Was extremely interactive as interesting questions were asked, and the indefatigable genius gave smashing response to the questions.

Babatunde started by asking the star actor a question, the question goes thus; beyond all the glamours,what are those aspect about you that people do not know?

Knowing that he was faced with a very formidable group [CMC]. Solade responded in a diplomatic way.

"I would say that i'm a very domesticated person, i like being indoor when i'm not working or teaching, I love my home, i love cooking, i have phobia for sycophantic people, i stay away from people who do not practice the culture of respect. 

I'm highly Afrocentric, i love the Nigeria culture, i don't have a slave name. I said slave name because all foreign names are slave names. 

The white men came here and enslaved our Forebears then plummeted Africa for 500 years, we managed to get a semblance of liberation but it's still very appalling that Nigerians still love to clam themselves down with all manners of fetters of slavery. So it starts with the names we bear, hmm all these oyinbo names. I don't have one. My names are Olayemi Olufela Solade.

I'm who you would want to ascribe or describe as the Nigeria half cast, I'm a blend of yoruba, Efik and Brazil. So I think those are the things basically, I'm not freaked about religion but I worship God my creator, I'm not a religious bigot, I don't like politics because most politicians are not straight forward especially Nigeria politicians."

When asked if being a star actor has ever deprived him of his privacy, and if there are places he use to go freely before he became a star that he can no longer go. he said;

"I'd admit that being a popular face has deprived me of privacy as much as it has placed me in some advantaged positions...and in all of these, I have been able to strike a good balance in social interpersonal relationship with the FANS and general world.

My ability to be TRUE to myself and the environment has been a fantastic blessing as I move about without being held hostage in most cases.

I eat in very local BUKAS cos of the originality of the setting and ambiance." 

One of the anchors also said he should share the secret of his youthfulness, but he said; "Secret should NOT be let out ooo.

Seriously, there is NO SECRET to my youthful look other than minding all I do... Eat, drink, companies I keep, events I attend, spiritual & social lifestyle. In all, my look is HEREDITARY."