Veteran actor Yemi Ayebo, known for his role in the 1993 Yoruba classic Yemi My Lover, has revealed that despite the film’s success, he made little to no profit.
In a recent interview, he blamed widespread piracy and poor promotion in the analog era, claiming 90% of the film’s earnings were lost to illegal distribution.
He also accused industry marketers of sabotaging him by selling pirated copies after he chose to bypass them.
“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.
“I didn’t profit from that film because it was created during the analog era. There was no social media then, so I didn’t have the opportunity to promote it widely.
“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.
“The marketers waged war against me, which marked the beginning of my problems with them.
“Since then, I’ve been struggling. Both pirated and original copies of the movie circulated. People were printing and selling it without my consent.
“Back then, there was no way to combat piracy due to limited means of communication. Across all Yoruba-speaking regions, the film was being distributed illegally, and people profited from it.
“Some even rented halls to screen the movie and charged people to watch it. Meanwhile, some marketers printed the DVD covers and distributed them, while I was in my office selling what little I could.”
Ayebo said he handled all the marketing and promotion himself due to limited industry knowledge.
He said the small returns he made went into buying a car, setting up a modest office, and covering other basic expenses.
“In the film industry, there’s supposed to be a division of labour, but I did everything myself due to my limited knowledge,” he added.
“I produced ‘Yemi My Lover’ with about N50,000 to N60,000 and only made a small amount back. I don’t own a house, I rent an apartment. So, from the money, I bought a camera, rented an office, hired a few staff, and got a car. That was all.”
The filmmaker also revealed that his financial struggles deepened in 1996 after he was falsely accused and detained, describing it as a “major setback”.
“There was a time in 1996 when I was in my office on Lagos Island, and a guy came to my office with soldiers,” he added.
“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.
‘However, some of his colleagues stopped him, and I was locked up. Some of my boys were also arrested. Before I could resolve the case, I spent almost N500k, and that issue was a major setback for me. Things haven’t been the same since.”
Ayebo revealed that he is currently facing financial difficulties, adding that getting jobs in the industry has been tough due to a lack of connections.
“Right now, I’m broke and don’t have much. Things aren’t easy,” he said.
“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.”
