INTERVIEW: Nigeria needs more film hubs to showcase culture, says Tope Adebayo

Born into the profession, Tope Adebayo, an award-winning movie director,  found himself on film sets as a child. In this interview with TheCable Lifestyle, Tope Adebayo talks about his transition from being a production designer to an award-winning director. Adebayo also weighs in on the economic and cultural significance of Nigeria’s emerging film hubs. He discusses the challenges, the need for more investors, and why government support remains crucial.

Pelumi Bolawa: How did the journey into acting start for you?

Acting started for me when I was very little. I was born into the industry. You know those days, so many people do not want their children to act. They believe acting is very close to begging. They see us as beggars. That is why our fathers had many wives in those days, so they could see people supporting them in what they were doing. Our father put us in the industry to assist. We fell in love with the job. I love dancing. So I joined a dancing group. Apart from when I was very small, they do take us to locations to act as children when they have roles that fit us. But when I started and told myself I wanted to do this was in 1991 when I decided to join an organisation as a dancer. Then we go around and perform on stage. 

Pelumi Bolawa: Were there any challenges you faced early on in your career and how did you overcome them?

Tope Adebayo: When I was still in school, it was a challenge for me to combine the two. But because of the love that I have for the art. I was able to combine the two. But it was stressful. Sometimes I would have a performance in Lagos and because I school in Ilorin, I would leave Ilorin very early to get to Lagos. Sometimes I would have to do extra days and nights. Sometimes, before I arrive at rehearsals, they would have taught me some steps that I would not know.

So, it was a big challenge for me combining art and going to school at a time. Even in my school, I did not do theatre arts. I was able to conquer it through the love I have for the art.

Pelumi Bolawa: At what point in your career did you feel you needed to go fully into directing?

Tope Adebayo: Initially, I was a production designer. But when my bosses that I was working with — Yemi Amodu and Razaq Olayiwola (Ojopagogo) discovered my skills in directing they said ‘You know, what is inside you is more than production designer. You need to pronounce yourself as a director.’ I did not see it. But I went to my dad and it was very funny to him. He asked ‘You want to go into directing at this stage? Do you think you are ripe enough?’. I said ‘I am’. And then, it was just like that. I never knew I knew about directing. It was when people saw it in me. That was when I decided.

Pelumi Bolawa: How does it feel like to be the son of the legend Adebayo Salami?

Tope Adebayo: It is so sweet to be the son of a living legend. When you have a dad that is doing something that people appreciate. And even if you are not doing the same thing that your father is doing, you can be proud of your father that this is my father. And not to talk of a living legend who has really changed the face of the industry for years and is still very active in the industry. He is a father, a friend, and a brother. He is someone you can confide in.

Pelumi Bolawa: How much influence has he had on your career?

Tope Adebayo: Oga Bello added a lot to my career. You know he used to be a director. He has directed so many projects. And when he directs and I sit beside him, I learn from him. I just know that I love sitting beside him when he is directing. I love looking at him and going to the studio with him. I was learning then and I never knew I was. But I was enjoying what I was doing.

So after when I decided to be a director, he guided me a lot. He was the one who gave me some links that I needed to go for some courses online. He taught me majorly to believe in myself. Told me to ‘always grow and hunt for the best’. Some people in the industry do not even know he is my father because I just go out there to work and go back home. Anywhere I people that I am his son they are always ready to welcome and assist. That name ‘Oga Bello’ has helped and opened doors for me.

Pelumi Bolawa: Interestingly, the Adebayos in the Nollywood industry have chosen one niche or the other, like producing, directing and acting… What birthed this?

Tope Adebayo: I would just say it is the work of God. None of us planned to be in the industry fully. We were just doing it for passion. None of us read theatre arts. Femi Adebayo studied law. Just like acting, he believes he can do it. He believes he has a passion for it and has been doing it since he was very small. I remember he used to play supporting roles as far back as 1985, in our father’s film ‘Ogun Ajaye’. I was in that movie as well. Sodiq read Geology. He never knew he was going to be a production manager. He was just doing it then for the sake of love. I read Electrical Engineering. We never knew it was going to be like this. So I would say it is just God’s doing. We have an editor as well, Alhaji Ridwan Adebayo, who read Computer Science. You know, we were dancing together at that time. When he wanted to do his Industrial Training (IT), he did it in my father’s office. I think that was where he picked his love for editing.

Pelumi Bolawa: You embody some comic characters in movies or series like ‘Jenifa’s Diary’… How intentional was that? 

Tope Adebayo: Initially it was not intentional. When we were shooting the first ‘Jenifa’, I was the production designer. So, when it got to that point when they needed someone to act the role of Waheed — Funke Akindele’s brother, they asked who would play it and I said I would play it because there was no time. I got on set and I did it. It was just like that. I never knew it was going to go this far. Years back, I did a bit of comedy. Maybe act like a policeman who sees an armed robber coming and runs away or loses his ammunition to a stranger. Once in a while, I do comedy, but I never knew ‘Jenifa’ would blow the scales like that.

So, ‘Jenifa’s Diary’ allowed me to showcase more about my acting. So, it was sweet to let people know I was not just good as a director but also as an actor.

Pelumi Bolawa: What’s your opinion about streaming services being rumoured to want to leave Nigeria?

Tope Adebayo: I knew it was a rumour. Although it is a hit in the industry for Netflix to bring out the kind of policy they are bringing out. But I believe it is an open eye again for the industry. This is going to give room for other marketing platforms to come in. And you know we Nigerians if we are not being pushed to the wall, we will not get a way out to look for an alternative. You will notice in the industry, we have majorly just one very high marketing platform, which is Netflix. We need more of Netflix. So, if Netflix is bringing this, I am very sure new marketers are going to spring up. And they are going to compete with Netflix.

Pelumi Bolawa: How do you think Nollywood has evolved over the last decade?

Tope Adebayo: In so many ways. Nollywood has been upright for those who do not understand what is going on in the industry. The film industry has generated employment for the youths. And it has given so many people hope. And that their future can be brighter. Nowadays, because of Nollywood, parents are now paying for their children to come into the industry.

Pelumi Bolawa: What’s your take on the growth of film villages on the growth of epic movies in Nigeria?

Tope Adebayo: I will say a very big thank you to those guys and I will say kudos to them. This is what the government should have done for us for a very long time but due to the situation of our country which we all know. They are not looking at our side and these guys deem it fit to take a risk. To put things in shape, this is an added value. Just think about us as Nigeria, the way we produce movies, the way we project our culture, and then we say the whole of Nigeria does not have a film village. It’s very bad.

So if these guys have come together individually to put up these things they are putting up then we should give them kudos. It’s a very good step and has been helping in showcasing our culture. It is not possible to wear suits more than the whites that wear their suit and the whites can’t wear agbada more than we that own it. We can tell them about our heritage and our culture because our culture is unique. So these film villages they are building have given us a good platform, supporting us to showcase our culture from every angle. This is the little way we can use in projecting them.

Pelumi Bolawa: What are its major challenges?

You know, building film villages takes a lot. In a film village, you are supposed to have a hotel, a five-star hotel. In a film village, you are supposed to have standard shooting facilities. It is not a joke. Film village is not a joke. We need investors to come in, we need the government to come to support.