Ibrahim Chatta: Why I dropped out of secondary school

Ibrahim Chatta says he dropped out of secondary school to pursue a career in acting. 

Chatta, who ventured into acting in 1985, spoke in a recent interview with BBC Yoruba.

The film star said he usually skipped classes as a young chap for acting gigs in theatres with his colleagues.

Chatta disclosed that his commitment to stage acting led him to abandon secondary school education.

The actor, who is in his 50s, said he has continued to self-educate himself through online courses and programmes.

“I started acting very early in my life. I knew I was going to go into acting as a kid. Acting took a lot from me. It did not allow me to go to school. My parents would think I was in school those days but I would have followed my colleagues for what we call travel theatre. It has now transitioned into filmmaking. That was how some of our bosses started their acting career from the stage into cinema movies,” he said in Yoruba language.

“Although, I am doing some courses in adult education that are related to acting, I did not finish my secondary school education. The English language is like every other language. It can be taught and can be heard. The English language I speak is self-taught and I love reading so much. When I was little and I bought puff-puff, I used to read the paper wrap. I read about the English Language from the books.”

Chatta rose to fame for his role in the movie ‘Aiyekooto’ (2012).

Some of his notable films include ‘Atini O’go’ (2006), ‘Mafi Wonmi’ (2008) ‘Olo’ (2008) ‘Mafi Sere’ (2009), ‘Orere Laye’ (2009) and ‘Ebere Adigun’ (2010).

Others are ‘Ifa Iwa’ (2013), ‘October 1’ (2014), ‘Olokiki Oru: The Midnight Sensation’ (2019), and ‘Omoyagba (2020)’.