Yemi Solade Declares Pete Edochie His Junior in Nollywood, Says Yoruba Actors Laid the Industry’s Foundation
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Yemi Solade Declares Pete Edochie His Junior in Nollywood, Says Yoruba Actors Laid the Industry’s Foundation
Veteran Nollywood actor Yemi Solade has asserted that iconic actor Pete Edochie is his junior in the Nigerian film industry, despite being older in age.
Speaking on a recent episode of Father’s Path with Tope, Solade reflected on his early years in the Yoruba segment of Nollywood and addressed widespread misconceptions about the origins of the industry.
“I’m senior to Pete Edochie. I began acting before him—even though he’s older. I was just 17 years old in 1977 when I represented Nigeria as its youngest actor. It’s been 48 years and I’m still in the game,” he said.
Solade emphasized that while the general Nollywood narrative often credits other regions, the Yoruba filmmaking tradition has deep roots that predate the popular home video boom. He lamented the lack of documentation of Yoruba contributions, which he believes allowed others to wrongly claim ownership of Nollywood’s origins.
He credited Ade Ajiboye (aka Big Abass) with producing Nigeria’s first home video and acknowledged pioneers like Hubert Ogunde, Baba Sala, Ade Afolayan, and Dr. Ola Balogun for laying the groundwork for the industry.
“We were making films with celluloid. Even the home video era started as an experiment,” he explained, recalling how Yoruba filmmakers sold cassettes from bookshelves in stores, gradually building a market.
Solade expressed concern that Yoruba contributions have been overshadowed due to poor archival practices. “We didn’t document anything, and that’s why others came in to say they started it. But people like us are here to correct that,” he said passionately.
He also mentioned that industry legends like Adebayo Salami and Jide Kosoko are living witnesses to the foundational work done by the Yoruba creative community.
