‘How Adelove, Kunle Afolayan’s father, made me a star – Elesho

Veteran Yoruba actor Adeoye “Elesho” Adewale has opened up on how the late actor and filmmaker Adeyemi “Adelove” Afolayan discovered him from obscurity and turned him into a household name in the industry.

Adelove, a dramatist and producer who fathered renowned filmmaker Kunle Afolayan, died in 1996. He produced several well-known films, including “Ajani Ogun”, “Taxi Driver”, and “Ayanmo”.

Speaking on the AfricanAList podcast, the 67-year-old actor revealed that he had worked in several industries before entering film.

Elesho said: “The person who made me somebody in the industry was the late Adeyemi Afolayan (Adelove). He’s my boss. I remember that day nearly turned into a sad day for me, but he made it a happy one. I was living in Ilorin at the Low-cost Housing Estate, the houses that Shagari built. We had a producer who used to come from Ilorin; they were the only station.

“The problem we had with them was that they targeted the most beautiful women among us. They didn’t care whether she was your wife; they would still want to marry her. Those things cause a lot of fights, and we would give them a lot of money and still beg them for more. I had someone who came to me, who’s my friend’s younger wife. She came to Ilorin to settle a dispute at home, and the producer set his sights on her. I told him it’s not done that way and who she was to me.”

Elesho further stated that Adelove, who came to visit Veekee Olumodi, a boss at NTA Ilorin at the time, spotted him during one of their rehearsals at the station.

He described Adelove as a big man and a senior boss who helped and fed many people during his time.

“Adelove saw me and said ‘Albino’, and I replied ‘sir.’ I had a manager who was from Okitipupa then. He got angry easily; he was angered because I was called a person with albinism. I told him not to worry about it because Adelove was our boss. So I told him to go and sit in the car. Adelove said Albino, you’re the one acting, and I enjoyed it. Can you find your way back to Lagos?’ I said I could, that I wasn’t blind, and that there’s a difference between us.

“Then he said he wanted to shoot a movie titled Taxi Driver and that I should come with five of my people. He called his PA to give me a letter. When I saw ‘Adelove Film Limited’ on it, I began crying. I never believed I would go to Lagos. He gave the location and time, and he also told the PA to give me 300 naira for transportation. We had just come with 10 naira, and we didn’t know how we would get back home, and now we were being given such an amount of money,” said the actor.

Furthermore, the comedian stated that after Adelove’s PA handed over the cash and the letter, he went back to thank him for finding him worthy.

According to him, Adelove served as both his boss and his benefactor, noting that aside from “Taxi Driver”, he did about three more jobs for Adelove.

Elesho added, “He (Adelove) began to joke that it was Ode-Igamu and asked if I could see, we all laughed. When the producer came, I was filled with pride. Elesho, what date do you want to come back? I said, ‘I will never rehearse under your supervision again until I become famous by God’s grace.’ I told him Adelove came to visit me, and he even went to my house, but was told I was not here.

“That’s my first time meeting Adelove. I told my people how to be respectful; some knelt, greeted him, and prayed for him as I cried. Adelove was the one who brought me to Lagos; he’s my godfather, my helper, my Alpha and Omega in this industry. In one of his productions, it was three of us who starred in it during the era of Celluloid Films, not video.”