‘I wanted to join Femi Kuti’s band — but the Christian in me couldn’t cope’

Nollywood actor Sam Anyamele, well known for his breakout role in Superstory, has said music was his first love.

The actor said he had an early ambition to be a member of Femi Kuti’s band but his hesitation had more to do with his religion.

“My contemporaries were people like Mike Aremu, Wole Oni and Kunle Odutayo. Wole, Kunle and I used to be in the same band. I have forgotten the name of the band,” he told PUNCH.

“At a point, I wanted to join Femi Kuti’s Afrobeat band as a guitarist, but the Christian in me couldn’t cope with the kind of lifestyles that members of the band led. I couldn’t imagine myself performing on stage alongside half-naked female dancers.

“I just couldn’t bring myself to play in such a band where people smoked a lot. I felt that, as a member of the Assemblies of God Church, I shouldn’t be seen in that kind of company.”

Anyamele said he realised that he could not rely solely on Nollywood when film marketers and distributors, major sponsors of the movie industry, banned some popular actors and actresses from participating in movie productions.

“That was when my fears about Nollywood were confirmed and I made up my mind not to tie my future to the industry,” Anyamele said.

He continued saying, “I found out that many of those who made decisions for the industry, who spoke to the government on our behalf in those days, were not really core practitioners.

“So when I discovered in Nollywood that decisions were generally driven by sentiments and prospective actors were given roles on a movie simply on the basis of their looks, I decided that it was not the kind of place I should depend on for the rest of my life. As a pragmatic Nigerian, I had to think seriously about doing other things.”