Laying the path for nollywood
The relevance of the movie profession in the effort toward realization of peace and harmony in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. One of those that made that relevancy a reality is Charles Olumo, the Abeokuta-born prominent Yoruba artist that has successfully spent 54 years showcasing Yoruba culture through movies.
The 83-year-old man, popularly called Agbako, the movie name that shot him into the limelight, spoke to Bashir Adefaka in Lagos recently. Excerpts:
What can you tell us about your background?
I was born in Abeokuta and had my early education there. When I was in school I was into sports because I ran a lot and did well in other sporting activities. This year I’m 83 years precisely.
When did you join the movie industry and why did you choose to play the role of Agbako (trouble) in the many movies you partook in the past?
First and foremost, I must tell you that today I am one of the happiest living persons on earth because I live to realise that I am still alive.
I embraced the Theatre in 1956 and I chose to be Agbako (Misfortune) in movies because I wanted to drive home a point that bad and good go together. As there are bad people so there are a lot who are wonderfully good.
My bad role in movies was to enable people identify bad people and be able to understand also what is bad. It was also my idea to make people know the consequences of being evil.