Veteran Nollywood actor Sunday Afolabi has opened up about the financial difficulties and personal challenges that pushed him into commercial transport work, following the circulation of a video showing him calling passengers into a minibus.
Afolabi spoke during an interview on Talk to B Show, hosted by actress Biola Adebayo and aired on Tuesday, where he explained how relocating to Badagry, Lagos State, affected his acting career.
The actor said he moved to the border community because it was the only place he could afford to buy land and build a house with the money he had at the time.
“I relocated to Badagry because I wanted to have a building of my own. As at that time, the little money I had could only buy me land in that area,” he said.
Afolabi acknowledged that the distance from central Lagos made it difficult for him to remain active on film sets.
“Out of sight is out of mind, but the distance of the house to the city has been a barrier… The kind of job I do, you don’t really make much, and you struggle a lot,” he added.
His financial challenges later forced him to sell his vehicle and explore other means of earning a living. He said he sold his Nissan Quest for N180,000 after being unable to afford repairs for almost two years.
“I lost my Nissan Quest; I couldn’t afford to fix the shock absorber for almost two years,” he recalled.
“I sold my Nissan Quest for N180,000 to settle some debts and buy a fairly used motorcycle… I was not used to motorcycling, so I kept falling,” he said.
Prompt News reports the actor said his experience with commercial motorcycle riding eventually ended after he suffered serious injuries in separate accidents, including one in which he fell into a pothole while on a plumbing-related errand. He said another accident left him hospitalised for almost two weeks.
Rather than depend on begging, Afolabi said he explored several trades, including tailoring, solar panel installation, photography and commercial bus driving.
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“So, if I call myself a jack of all trades and master of all, there’s no mistake in it, because what I hate most in my life is to beg for food. I’ll rather do any legitimate job,” he said.
On the viral video that showed him loading passengers into a commercial minibus, Afolabi admitted that the public reaction affected him because he feared the footage could create the wrong impression about his circumstances.
“People’s reaction to the video made me feel bad. Because people felt bad, I also felt bad that this is a wrong presentation of me to the world. It might be discouraging to anyone who wants to call me for a job, but I hoped for a positive impact,” he said.
He clarified that the minibus was no longer operational.
“Currently, the minibus is not working,” he added.
Afolabi said his situation could improve significantly if he received assistance with accommodation closer to central Lagos and obtained a reliable vehicle for e-hailing services.
“If I can get accommodation help, it will help me get acting jobs… If I can also get the help of a good car, Toyota brand or anyone, I wouldn’t mind, just a good car that I can use for Uber,” he appealed.
“I’ll stop calling passengers into a minibus and strategically position myself as an Uber driver… There’s no shame in it,” he added.
The actor, whose career dates back to 1970 when he joined the Adelove Theatre Troupe, has featured in several Nigerian productions, including Owo Blow, Madam Dearest, Super Story and Village Headmaster.
Afolabi also expressed gratitude to his wife for standing by him through his difficult period, while hoping that assistance with housing and an e-hailing vehicle would enable him to return more actively to the film industry.
