When you look at the lives of Nigerian actors, or, generally, individuals in the entertainment industry, you are made to think that is all rosy on that side of life. You are encouraged to go in, especially if you have a longing for telling stories.

‘There is money there, what am I waiting for?’ You will tell your friends and family.

‘Don’t go in there. Do something else for yourself first, then start auditioning.’ A senior adviser may tell you. But, you stay focused. Why not?

To achieve most things in this life, you will need to stay focused on the goal.

But, when you go in, you may realise that there are red roses and the dead ones. You may fight your way through and be happy with yourself. But not everyone has luck on their side. Religious people will say it is you either have the grace or you don’t.

In 2018, a renowned film producer – you may like to call him an amazing storyteller – Kunle Afoloyan during a chat with Punch’s Saturday Beats, noted that Nigerians are quick to believe everything they see on social media.

“By the way, I live my life, people tend to think that I am the richest Yoruba actor, but that is a lie. Nigerians assume a lot. I live in a rented apartment because I cannot afford to build one.

“When they see me buy a new car, they don’t know if I paid for the car in instalments; instead they call me a big boy. What type of big boy lives on ₦50,000 or ₦100,000 income per film as an actor?”

He further challenged actors that fall into the showbiz category to declare the source of their wealth as it is impossible to have amassed such wealth from acting in Nollywood.

“I challenge any Nigerian actor that is living larger than life to state how they made their money because I am sure it is not from the movies they make. I am talking about both the English and Yoruba actors.

“If they like, they can say they make ₦5 million per film, they cannot afford to build or buy a house at Lekki or Victoria Island or Ikoyi. It is impossible. They should call out mathematicians to figure it out. It is a lie.

“It is because they meet some influential people that give them businesses or they have side businesses. Since we do not all meet such people or make the kind of money they make through these people, we just have to be content with what we have.

“In my life, I have never seen an ‘educated illiterate’ country like Nigeria. Nigerians are very gullible when it comes to judging other people’s lifestyle since they do not know anything, they assume. Then social media came and it made things worse.”

On Monday, May 23, actor, Seun Ajayi, says something Afolayan mentioned:

Dear Rising Actor… run oh! Run and go get yourself some stable side Hustles oh! My brother my sister, you need your garden watered by different Brooks oh, because.. the Sapa hmmm

The “Hustle” star simply reiterated what Afolayan said in 2018.

You know that cliche saying: “a word…” and the rest of the sentence.

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