In a recent episode of the Honest Bunch podcast, the 64-year-old revealed this information while recalling a 2013 incident that caused him to stop going to church.
He said that church officials at the time demanded that his Sundays be dedicated solely to worship and not employment, which he claimed was unfeasible for someone in the entertainment business.
“In my church, something occurred. In 2013, my spouse and I enlisted in the military.
“I was instructed at church to advise producers not to contact me for employment on Sundays. The preacher was cursed by me, Solade recalled.
He characterized the church service as the pastor’s business and contended that the demand was an attempt to disrupt his source of income.
Solade said, “I placed my hand in my pocket and dropped here because of the thing you told me I shouldn’t do on Sunday.
When will I be able to work, then? That Sunday in the Greco-Roman calendar is not mentioned in the Bible as a day for people to gather and yell “God” and “Jesus.”
“And you’re telling me not to go to my chop’s location and leave my house.” Do you wish to destroy my career?
The actor clarified that, in contrast to the widely held notion that consistent church attendance dictates one’s spiritual health, his decision to stop participating in church activities has provided him more tranquility.
“I doubt that I’ve noticed any change in the belief that if you don’t go to church, you will eventually die.
Instead, I am at ease. I perform well. Since I’ve received texts or other disruptions while attending church every day of my life,” the actor stated.
Recalling a personal experience with a technician who transferred his funds to the church, Solade further criticized the culture of sacrificing resources and labor hours in the name of religion.
One day, I gave this Baba money to buy some goods after he serviced my air conditioner, but he didn’t answer when I called him.
He later informed me that he was at church. You’re in your seventies, Baba, I added. Are you aware that you went to that church with my money? You contributed a portion of it. I now have that blessing. You went to drop down my money there.
“It will come to me if the prayer there is effective,” the actor stated.
People forsake their enterprises to support religious organizations, which Solade said was a sign of misaligned priorities.
Beyond religion, the actor also discussed the history of Nollywood, refuting the popular notion that the 1992 Igbo movie Living in Bondage marked the beginning of the business.
Citing prior works from the 1980s, he argued that television plays and home video productions preceded the movie.
One widely held belief was that Living in Bondage was the first Nollywood film.
“A man who is still living, Ade Ajiboye, who we call Big Abbas, created the first film that you term home video.
Around 1988, Ade Ajiboye’s Big Abbas produced Shosho Meji.
“Now everything on TV came apart. He stated that it was in the mid- to late-80s.
The South-East, despite its contributions, was late in formally embracing theater as an academic endeavor, according to Solade, who studied Theatre Arts at Obafemi Awolowo University.
“As theaters never existed in the East, you will not meet an actor my age or somewhat younger who will tell you he studied theaters there.
“We had a festival called NUTAF, or Nigerian University Theatres Festival, when I was a student at Ife.
Solade asserted that there were only six institutions at the time, with none in the East.
He believes that the basis of the business has been oversimplified throughout time, with little consideration given to the contributions made by people in other regions of the nation.
Over the course of four decades, Solade, who is renowned for his outspoken demeanor, has been in a number of Yoruba and English-language films.
He has also continued to be a contentious character in Nollywood, frequently speaking out against what he sees as hypocrisy in the entertainment sector and society at large.
