Nollywood In Review: Thank you for agreeing to speak with me at a short notice. I appreciate it. I am honored to sit with you for this interview sir.

Mr. Adebayo Salami: The pleasure is mine. The Yorubas have an adage that says, (Orisa ti awon obi ban se ti won le omo kuro mbe, orisa yen ko ni pe parun) roughly translated, “any god that forbids the participation of children in its activities is indirectly spelling its doom”.  We thank God. There are some people that paved ways for us. We know the legacy they left behind. At the same time, there are some legacies we are trying to leave as well. Part of it is the documentation of which we are doing now. So, I feel delighted to give you the chance to do your research.

Nollywood In Review: You witnessed the different stages of the development of theatre and Cinema in Nigeria. You actively participated in the different stages – you have performed on stage, were involved in the Yoruba travelling theatre, participated in the production of early movies shot on celluloid, and have been part of the Old Nollywood, and the New Nollywood. Now you are part of the emerging different ways of production screening movies. What do you think are the striking differences in these different periods?

Mr. Adebayo Salami: I will say lots of differences. I am happy that you mentioned where we started, especially the Alarinjo theatre. Theatre in Nigeria initially means nothing to many people, especially parents. If you choose to be a theatre practitioner, people see you as a drop out; they see you as a lazy man, as somebody who is not serious with what you want to do in life. Parents prefer that their children become a doctor or a lawyer. Theater started from Alarinjo. Our late father, Dr. Hubert Ogunde, is rightly seen as the father of theatre in Nigeria. I know that modern entertainment or theatre started from schools, churches – especially harvest and other festivals. Those early practitioners pick a story from the Bible and perform it. For example, Ogunde’s first story was the Biblical “Garden of Eden.” We followed suit. Those who where interested. This is out of passion. Because in those days, you cannot go into the theatre because of money. People who did theater where very passionate about it. I think the lesson for the present generation is that people should do what they are passionate about.

Nollywood In Review: This is interesting.

Mr. Adebayo Salami: Yes, it is. I can tell stories. As a child, I love listening to stories. Right from my younger days, I love anything to do with theatre. This is why I have been doing theatre for a long time. When I worked in different places, I used to spend my salary on making theatre, because that is what I loved doing.

Nollywood In Review: You have been part of this for a long time.

Mr. Adebayo Salami: I have all the experience as you rightly said. We performed stage plays within the town. Stages were demarcated with mats – we demarcate a space and invite people to watch – they pay 3pence, 6pence. I am talking of late 60s, early 70s. From there we moved to the halls, and from there we started moving from one town to the other. We started traveling to different parts of Nigeria in buses. We followed the pattern of Chief Hubert Ogunde.

As you know, Technology keeps changing. When we realized that we must commercialize this, there were ways we did this for it to be profitable. WE decided to add the production of a magazine – The Atoka – and we did some records with Decca. These coupled with traveling made it possible for us to pay the cast members. Then Television came in. We started making Television Programs. Our group started producing programs in NTA Lagos, NTA Ibadan. Even before then, there was WNTV in Ibadan. We also had in NTA Lagos, NTA Ibadan, NTA Akure, NTA Minna, etc. Combined with the other sources, we were able to survive. It was later that we came to the cinema.

Nollywood In Review: This is an important history.

Mr. Adebayo Salami: All these developments in the entertainment industry started from the Yoruba sector. The same thing with Theatre, Film and Cinema. History cannot be re-written. Wole Soyinka did Kongi Harvest. It was not a commercial venture. The other film was Son of Africa with Funso Adeolu as the major character – the former Eleyinmi in Village Headmaster. Then Bisi Daughter of the River. Real Yoruba movies started in 1976-77 with Ola Balogun, which featured Ade Love, Adeyemi Afolayan, the father of Kunle Afolayan. It was followed by another Yoruba Movie, Ija Ominira, by Ade Love, and The Hubert Ogunde Films: Aiye, Jaiyesimi, Aropin’tenia. I produced my own film in 1985, titled Ogun Ajaye and another one in 1987, titled Omo Orukan followed by another Eri Okan in 1989.

Nollywood In Review: I remember those films. They were shot on celluloid.

Mr. Adebayo Salami: Yes. But we couldn’t continue due to lack of funds. There was no help from the government. All we depended on was self-funding. In-between, those who could not shoot on celluloid, started experimenting with home video technology. The dwindling economy affected things. The economy started crumbling I remember when I shot Ogun Ajaye, there was no post-production facilities in Nigeria. Then after shooting, one must take it to London for postproduction. I shot that movie with #123, 000 (One hundred and twenty-three thousand naira). That includes the pre-production, production, and the postproduction. It was a lot of money then.

Nollywood In Review: That must have been a lot of money then.

Mr. Adebayo Salami: Yes, it was. Naira was 2 to 1 then. When I shot Omo Orukan in 1987, Dollar has gone up to 5 to 1. I spent 488,000. The postproduction was done in the US. Eri Okan was shot in 1989. The postproduction was done in 1990 in the US. I spent above #920,000. So, then we cannot move forward. Even if we borrow money, it would be difficult to recoup the money, because the gate fee was #5.

Nollywood In Review: With #5.00 gate fees, how many people would watch the program before you recoup your money?

Mr. Adebayo Salami: True. When I released Omo Orukan, I was given the smallest hall at the National Theatre. The capacity of the hall was 668. The management later changed it to a bigger hall that can take 1,800 and we did three shows daily. The hall was filled. We were later moved to the main hall. saw that we have a large crowd. But we could not continue to shoot on celluloid because of the huge investment involved. Without money, we did not have any option than to join the home video. When I joined them, I was able to change the face of the home video, to make it a little more standard. This is mainly due to my experience with shooting on celluloid.

Nollywood In Review: Cinema culture was lost at that period – and for a relatively long time. What brought it back?

Mr. Adebayo Salami: Initially, three of us refused to join the home video – Myself, the late Pa Hubert Ogunde, and Ade love. Why? Because it was not acceptable internationally. You can’t go to film festivals with it. But throughout that period, Tunde Kelani did not relent in his efforts. He did home video, but he continued to work towards producing on celluloid. After so many efforts, the Bank of Industry decided to put money into the film industry – for equipment, production, etc. This led to the resuscitation of cinema. This is what led to the categorization into “Old Nollywood” and “New Nollywood.” Investors put money in Nollywood. If you can do it right, investors would embrace it. I can Ageshinkole was not sponsored by Netflix. It was one of the investors that collaborated with Femi. We did Jagunjagun as well, it was well embraced by Netflix.

Nollywood In Review: Was security – and safety of the audience – one of the things that affected cinema culture? Did security play any role in the disruption of that culture?

Mr. Adebayo Salami: Yes, it did in a way. At a time, we have security problems in Nigeria. But it did not affect cinema culture as such. I don’t believe that. Films were shown mainly in the afternoons and evenings – mainly around 1200; 3:00pm and 6:00pm.  

Nollywood In Review: Let’s talk about piracy. It used to be very serious in the past. Has it reduced in any way?

Mr. Adebayo Salami: Yes. It’s not as rampant as before. Now people pay Netflix and other streaming channels to watch movies. That’s it. Therefore, piracy does not affect the industry the way it used to be. Besides, Netflix, Amazon, etc. are always doing something to protect their interests.

Nollywood In Review: You wear so many hats: Actor, Producer, Director, and Scriptwriter. And you have worn these different hats well. How do you handle these different roles?

Mr. Adebayo Salami: The background helps. Coming from the background of theatre arts and stage performance helps. Practically you learn these things. I have good training that gave me the rudiments. I read books and attended workshops and seminars. I also learnt the ethics of the production. It is important to know what and what shouldn’t be done. I see myself first as an actor on stage. I don’t do two things at a time. If I want to play a major acting role, I will not direct the movie. If I must direct a film, my acting role will be minor. I like to call myself a film maker. When you call someone a film maker, that means the person can direct, act, and produce a film. And you learn every day because things keep changing rapidly. For instance, the camera we are using on set right now is very new. This is the first time this camera is being used in Nigeria.

Nollywood In Review: You have children in that are experts – and successful ones – in the different fields of film production ….

Mr. Adebayo Salami: I would just say, it’s God’s design. I have never consciously planned that I want any of my children to take after me. Otherwise, I won’t spend money on them to study courses like Law, and other courses in the university. I would have just said to them, go and study Theatre arts. None of them studied Theatre arts. The only person who studied anything close to that was the one that studied English and took courses in theatre. And she is not practicing it. I didn’t encourage my female children to come into this profession because of their marital life. If after their marriage the family agreed that they could go into the profession, that’s fine. I did not tell Sodiq Adebayo to go into production management; I did not tell Femi Adebayo to go into acting – he studied law; I didn’t tell Tope Adebayo to go into directing – he is a good computer scientist. Rilwan Adebayo is a very good editor – and he is also a computer scientist. It’s God’s design. I believe that God is very kind to me, and I appreciate Him all the time.

Nollywood In Review: You are a thorough professional. Like you, they have that uncommon commitment to their work. Not many people are this committed. Not many people are that passionate. What advice do you have for upcoming youths:

Mr. Adebayo Salami: My advice is that anything you want to do make sure you are passionate about it. Acquire the right skills needed for your profession. Be patient and learn well. Be the best in what you do. Respect your language and preserve your culture.  In contemporary society, many people are in haste to get rich. I must confess that this has to do with society. A lot of people are emulating the Western world and are abandoning their culture. The way things are done in our culture is for people to climb gradually – the concept of morning, afternoon, and evening. But nowadays, people live fake life. Many don’t believe in the adage that “Slow and steady wins the race.” Most young men and women turn into something else when they get into the university. They join different gangs. They wrongly believe they can rise by doing that – and that is not true. Even in our industry, many young ladies do other things to make money – but they don’t last long. Most of them don’t end well. I thank God that my children listen to me. They have the fear of God and follow wise counsel. Parents should take care of their children. Parents should know their children. Parents should continue to look after their children. Good orientation helps. If you look at the orientation people like me, Yinka Quadri, Jide Kosoko, Baba Wande, Dele Odule, Samson Oluwole, Olofa Ina. That is the secret of our success.

Nollywood In Review: Apart from entertainment, in what ways can film help the society.

Mr. Adebayo Salami: Yes, it does. From Jagunjagun, people take different lessons. There is different analysis by different people. The lesson of betrayal, faithfulness, etc.

Nollywood In Review: Were those lessons considered by the producer before the film was made?

Mr. Adebayo Salami: I am always part of the story. From the beginning, our question is always about the lessons. We are always self-conscious about that. We focus on what the society stands to learn from the movie. The idea of Jagunjagun is to tell the youths, don’t let people use you. Gbotija came with a different mission but discovered that things cannot continue like that. The audience also can read other useful meanings to the movie. But it must start with our intended message.

Nollywood In Review: Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me and the world.

Mr. Adebayo Salami: It’s my pleasure.