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Veteran actor and filmmaker Yemi Ayebo, famously known for his role in the 1993 Yoruba classic Yemi My Lover, has opened up about the financial difficulties he endured despite the widespread success of the film.
Speaking in an interview with YouTuber Mr LilGaga, Ayebo revealed that although the romantic fantasy captured the hearts of many—especially in Yoruba-speaking parts of Nigeria—he saw very little financial reward due to piracy and limited promotion opportunities at the time.
“I was the one who wrote and produced the movie in 1993. The movie cut across the country, especially the Yoruba-speaking part, but I didn’t make any money from it; 90% was gotten by piracy,” he said.
According to Ayebo, the film’s release during the analog era meant there were no social media platforms to promote it effectively. This lack of visibility, coupled with his attempt to independently manage its marketing, created friction between him and industry marketers. Some of them, he alleged, retaliated by producing and selling unauthorized DVD copies, worsening his financial woes.
“The awareness was low, and I was struggling, doing the little I could to promote it. As a result, the movie was pirated, and the marketers were not pleased with me because I handled the marketing myself,” he explained. “The marketers waged war against me, which marked the beginning of my problems with them.”
Ayebo added that piracy was so rampant that unauthorized screenings took place in rented halls where people paid to watch the film. Others printed their own copies of the movie to sell, while he struggled to sell his originals from a small office.
With no real system in place at the time to curb piracy, he said his losses were enormous. “There was no way to combat piracy due to limited means of communication,” he said.
Despite producing the movie with a modest budget of about N50,000 to N60,000, Ayebo said the little profit he earned only allowed him to buy a camera, set up a small office, hire a few staff, and purchase a car. He added that his lack of industry knowledge forced him to take on every aspect of production and distribution by himself.
“In the film industry, there’s supposed to be a division of labour, but I did everything myself due to my limited knowledge,” he said.
The filmmaker’s financial troubles worsened in 1996 after he was falsely accused and arrested in his office. He recounted being detained by military personnel at the time and nearly losing his life due to the false allegation.
“I was taken to Alausa, Ikeja, where we met a major, and I was falsely accused, beaten, and the major asked that I should be killed,” he recounted. “However, some of his colleagues stopped him, and I was locked up. Before I could resolve the case, I spent almost N500,000, and that issue was a major setback for me.”
Now, Ayebo says he is still facing tough times financially and struggling to find opportunities in the industry due to lack of influence and connections.
“Right now, I’m broke and don’t have much. Things aren’t easy,” he admitted. “The movie industry is all about connections; you’ll struggle financially if you’re not well-connected. I need more connections to get back on my feet.”
Watch him speak below…
#YemiAyebo
#YemiMyLover
#NollywoodCelebrities
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