One name that is synonymous with the Yoruba movie industry is Yinka Quadri. Popularly known as Fagbamila or Kura, the Igbomina, Kwara State indigene has become a household name both at home and abroad. In recognition of his contributions to the industry, Quadri has received numerous awards from America, United Kingdom, Canada, Republic of Ireland and, of course, his home soil. In this interview with BUKOLA BAKARE, he recalled how he took that leap of faith in the 70s to become an actor, the tough decision to voluntarily quit school to run his father’s business and how he become a success story in the make-believe world. Excerpts.

You are often addressed as Kura or Fagbamila in your movies. How did you come about these names?

Fagbamila came before Kura. In those days, if you didn’t partake in traditional theatre performances,you were not a force to be reckoned with in the Yoruba theatre industry but that was way back then.

When did you start your acting career?

I started in 1977 under the umbrella of the late Taiwo Olayinka a.k.a. Agbodorogun. Back then,only artistes who starred in theatre performances were recognised. That was when I chose Fagbamila as my stage name.

As time went by, I became the leader of a travelling theatre known as Adetutu and I wrote a play titled Olaniyonu for LTV8.

What year was that?

That was in 1985. I played the role of Fagbamila, meaning a herbalist who helps people in need. I remember that there was also a character called Ifadare who was always using his powers to carry out evil acts. After Olaniyonu, I produced so many other serials for LTV8. These productions were a huge success and that was how the name stuck. In the year 1989, I was called again to come and present a special programme for the festive season. At that time, artistes lived solely on productions, stage performances and radio programmes. There were a couple of films then but nothing like home videos. Productions were done on celluloid which is very expensive. These special productions were aired in series on television for about two hours during such festivities. Towards that time, my father, a native of Igbomina Owomeje in Kwara State, belonged to a club that brought about development in the community. During a meeting at any member’s house, there would be some form of entertainment (food and drinks).

One day, I followed muy father to one of such outings. About six people were at a table, eating. Before they knew it, one had eaten two out of about five meats served. He was on the verge of taking a third one when my father, said: “No way. Kura niwo yi o.”

Obviously, that meant the person was a thief?

(Interjects) Oh, No, that was not what the statement meant. Thereafter, I asked my mother for a translation and she said that it was a Hyena that Yoruba’s called Kura and that animal is such a wild one that the Yorubas often call it “Ajegunjeran” (eater of both bones and flesh).It is so powerful and loves eating meat that when it sees one, it is no longer itself. Its like a hungry lion. I felt that it could be a metaphor for someone that’s tough, not necessarily wicked. This was at a time I was writing a crime script and I adopted the name, Kura and it was a widely accepted production. The movie was titled Kutupu and I played the character, Kura. In 1992, I wrote another story which I titled Kura and that was how the name stuck to date.

You started out in 1977. What challenges have you faced as an actor?

There have been challenges here and there but I thank God that I have been able to overcome them. In anything you want to do in life, challenges abound but the most important thing is that God has helped me to pull through. The greatest challenge is that as an artiste, you cannot be your real self. For instance, I was born on the Lagos Island and I relocated to the mainland in the 80s. Sometimes, I desire to pay a visit to the Island to see things that have changed there but I’m scared and wonder how I can do that without a crowd being around me. It pains me that I have lost that kind of privacy. At times, I just feel like going sight seeing just like any normal person but the thought that one may be mobbed creeps into my mind and I can’t go. I could be coming back from a location and feel like going to the market to pick up some items, you suddenly discover that even the trader’s exclaims. It is enough to scare you away (chuckles). Sometimes, this is uncalled for but what can you do? Apart from that in this industry, you have to be respectful, loyal and dedicated, despite all the limitations I mentioned earlier. Sometimes, people mis-interprete your good intentions. There are hypocrites, talented people,God-fearing people and even those who are the devil-incarnate in this industry. While you are trying to be a good person, some people will hate you for not dancing to their tune. So, it is not easy. The Englishman would say: ‘If you cannot be them, join them.’ But it is not possible to join bad people. These are all challenges in the industry.

Was your decision to act a spontaneous thing? Were you influenced by some events that had happened in the past?

I woke up on the morning of July 16th, 1977 and at that time, I was with one of my bosses, an architect, whom I was with when I dropped out of school in class three and my dad asked me to undergo apprenticeship.

Why did you drop out of school?

(Pauses) It’s a long story. A cousin of mine was working with my dad, who was a very established trader on Lagos Island. He worked with him for 16 years and in my town, it’s just like someone who goes to school, it is expected that you would graduate sometime. Consequently, his parents wanted him to leave but he was very loyal to my father who wondered who would take care of his business afterwards. It became a serious issue that had dragged on for over four years. It got so bad that people murmured in some quarters that my father was ‘using his destiny, as Yorubas would say, and I wasn’t happy with all that. At that point, I told my dad to release him and I voluntarily dropped out of school to take over his business. It was a difficult decision and my father reluctantly accepted. My cousin taught me the basics of running the business for about three months before he left.

Didn’t you nurse the idea of going back to school after you had established yourself?

In truth, I ought to have gone back but by then, acting had become a passion for me. I had already started out from school but I joined my dad’s business in 1978 and my dad felt that rather than drop out of school just like that, I should go to Alhaji Lawal who’s an architect to learn some form of work which was an addition to acting. It was during this that I met one of my friends, Fatai Alabi. We joined forces because we liked the Theatre as we were inspired by how the late Ade Love, Hubert Ogunde and Kola Ogunmola used to perform on stage. Glover Hall was the only hall on Lagos Island then and our uncles used to take us along to watch stage shows. We had a meeting at Moshalashi Street in Obalende and took off from there.

That means you started off with stage performances?

It’s funny because we went to buy drums and we called a few friends to join us and met on July 16th 1977. We went on for about a year and afterwards, somebody introduced the late Taiwo Olayinka to us and told us that he saw that we had an interest in acting but didn’t go about it the right way. This man (Olayinka) used to be under Sir James who was a Floor Manager with the Nigerian Television Authority and also doubled as an artiste. He’s still very much alive.

Where is he now?

I cannot say precisely but I know he later moved to LTV8.Taiwo Olayinka was a printer and he accepted to be our leader so as to give us a sense of direction.

In other words, you were like a moving theatre?

A travelling theatre.

Did you give your group a name?

We used to be known as Afopina before Olayinka came and he changed the name to Isale Oro. This further put us in the limelight for another two years. He trained us well. Thanks to him, we knew how to commercialise theatre, how to book a hall, sell tickets for stage productions, how to dance and other things. In January 1981,Taiwo Olayinka decided to form his own group and had to leave ours. He said he wanted to be his own boss. It was at that point that we also decided to change the name of our group to Adetutu Theatre Organisation.

What was the first stage play from your stable?

The title is so long that I may not be able to repeat it here. In those days, if your title wasn’t strongly worded and laced with Yoruba idioms, you were not recognised as a theatre practitioner. That’s why till now, most people think I studied Yoruba due to my rich interpretation in movies but I often tell people that if you are very passionate about what you do, you’ll be improving as the days go by. My first television series was Agbodorogun, followed by Egbinrin Ote,which was an adaptation of a book that SSCE students used for Yoruba Language in 1984.

Really?

Yes. We staged it throughout Lagos State in schools. I sought permission from the author of the book as well as the Ministry of Education and we were given the go-ahead to stage it. It was later adapted as a television series too. Araba, Olaniyonu and a host of others followed suit. As the world keeps evolving, the theatre industry was also growing. It was around 1988 that home video came about and as such, there was no time for a moving theatre any more. You could become an independent producer and call people to partake in your production.

How were you able to transit from a stage performer to partaking in movies. Was the transition a difficult one?

The transition was quite easy because it showed that there’s an improvement in the industry. It’s not easy to perform on stage because you need to keep moving with costumes and other props but in the case of movies, it goes round the world and gives you less trouble in terms of production.

What was your first home video?

That would be Ekun and it was released in 1989. It was the late Alade Aromire’s movie. I must state that I was the second person to bring out a home video in Nigeria. That was even before Kenneth Nnebue released the popular Igbo movie, Living in Bondage.

Not many people know this.

Well, I am telling you now. Before Nnebue brought out Living in Bondage, I was one of his pioneer actors because he started out with Yoruba movies. You can go and ask him. Not many people know this but I really don’t think it is necessary to blow my trumpet. Fatai Adetayo who is known as Lalude and myself used to work for Nnebue. Out of the 27 Yoruba movies that he released, I can humbly say that I featured in 23. It was after the release of these movies that he did Living in Bondage. With that release, the Igbo part of Nollywood claim that they pioneered home videos in Nigeria which is not true. I can categorically tell you that it’s not true.

Most of the characters you portray in movies depict the rich proverbs and culture of the Yoruba.For a person who dropped out of school, how come you handle these roles so well?

I can only give thanks to God. You know, in anything you do, you need to put God first and that’s just what I do.

There seems to be some sort of discrimination between Nollywood actors and their Yoruba counterparts in terms of cross over roles. Is there really discrimination between the two?

I am sorry to say this but most of these Nollywood actors are terrible. For instance, English as a medium of expression is nobody’s language, every one just speaks it. It’s not our fathers language, but Yoruba is. The fact is that there may be so many English movies around does not mean that they are better than their Yoruba counterparts. This was seen as a challenge in the past and that was the reason most Yoruba artistes began to do cross-over roles but the twist is that when you get to the market, the igbo marketers sell English movies and Yoruba marketers sell ours. Often, these marketers refuse to sell our movies and we decided to promote our own films worldwide in our own way. We feel that this is even a plus for us as artistes as we would be selling our culture to the rest of the world. If you look back, you will notice that Nollywood started off with Igbo films before English films. Most developed countries like America, China and India turn out films in their indigenous languages and we felt the need to do the same with our Yoruba movies. That is why we try to make the standard of our productions very high.

We have equally researched and found out that it is even our indigenous language that viewers abroad respect. Let’s face the truth, I think our indigenous films carry more weight than English movies.

The truth is that Yoruba productions can equally match up with the English ones. There has been a decrease in the sale of English movies now, Ghanaians have taken over in the continent and they have made it clear that any artiste that wants to come from Nigeria to shoot a movie in Ghana, must pay some sort of fee. This is because they now have a well-established movie industry as well. There was a certain Indian movie that won an Oscar Award. How did this happen? It was simply because the entire movie was done in Indian language and it was subtitled. If they can achieve that feat, what stops a Yoruba film from doing the same? I am not making negative comments about Nollywood but when we go abroad, some of our fans make us understand that if not for our indigenous movies, their children wouldn’t have been able to learn the language. That alone motivates us to do better.

Does that mean you do not intend to do any form of cross-over production?

I do not discriminate and I can say the same for most of my colleagues. You will have noticed that during the making of some Yoruba movies, we do invite our colleagues, either an Igbo or Hausa-speaking person for certain roles but what I frown at is bringing in a neutral person who does not understand the language to partake in a movie. But we don’t discriminate. We invite cross-over artistes when the need arises.

Do you have any English production to your credit?

Of course. If you cast your mind back to the rested soap opera, Palace, I was part of the cast but I didn’t do a movie.

You have been in the make-believe world for over 30 years. How fulfilled are you? Have you ever thought at some point to delve into other things?

Looking back now, I really don’t think there’s any other thing that I can do that would have brought me fame and wealth like acting. I am fulfilled and I always thank God for His mercies. My parents were very rich but I if not for the industry, I would have ended up a trader. Even if I was one, would I be able to buy or quantify the honour I get now? Definitely no.

Even if we get to the Presidential Villa today as artistes, I am sure President Goodluck Jonathan will recognise us because we have come a long way.

Do you have children who have decided to tread your path as an actor?

I have seen one or two indicate interest but the agreement I have with them is that even if they want to go into acting, education is key and they must study to a reasonable level before doing that. If that is done, I have no problem with them.

Apart from the late Ade Love, do you have other role models?

No. For me, it’s Ade Love and no one else.

What are your plans?

I desire to become an international actor.

What advice do you have for your colleagues as well as the up and coming ones in the industry?

The future of the industry is really bright and if we improve in terms of production, story, the use of techniques and most importantly, continue to be good actors, the industry will lift Nigeria as a whole. I would advise all of us to keep up the good work, be dedicated and loyal in this business and, above all, to be prayerful