It is no longer news that famed Yoruba actor, Ojo Arowosafe, who is
more popularly known as Fadeyi Oloro, is sick and in need of medical
attention. In this interview with DUPE AYINLA-OLASUNKANMI, the actor,
who is down with complications resulting from tuberculosis and presently
staying in Ado-Odo, Ogun State, away from the buzz surrounding him,
speaks on his state of health and other issues.
There have been lots of reports on your death?
Emi ma re o (this is me). I am not dead o.
How are you feeling?
I am not okay, that is because I have exhausted all the money with
me for treatment. This is not my house. It was when the whole thing
started that my family brought me here to keep a low profile. I used to
stay at Meiran, Lagos State. And I have been reaching out to the public,
but I had to face my God. I was not like this before, I could not walk.
But I am better now. Right now, I don’t have enough money for the
treatment I need. I cannot work at the moment; my shoulder, hand and
legs are not responding well. I cannot stand on my own, I am usually
assisted whenever I want to stand or use my walk (ing) stick as support.
I am just pleading with my fans and lovers to continue and stand up for
support, some people have tried, but I need more financial support.
Why are you just reaching out to the public?
I didn’t want to at first because I thought it was something I
could take care of. I was paying for my drugs and treatment all by
myself. It is because I don’t have the capacity anymore that is making
me reach out to the public. I sold my car but the money was not enough,
and I became handicapped. That was when I reached out to the public for
assistance.
When did the ailment start?
It was about five years ago if I am not miscalculating.
You are reaching out to the public for support but what exactly is wrong with you?
My doctor is the one in the right position to tell what the ailment
is. He has been discussing with some foreign doctors on my case. I have
been treated, but there is no difference. If there is money, the
ailment is something that can be treated here in Nigeria. There will be
no need to waste money travelling abroad for treatment.
Could this be a spiritual attack, being a prominent actor?
I can’t really say. I have been instructed not to take any herbal
medicine, except the drugs being given to me at the clinic. And with the
way things are, the drugs are not working as expected. By now, I should
be walking unassisted. And I have discussed this with my doctor; I was
given drugs, but no changes.
Have you considered all you described as aging symptoms?
Excuse me, I am a young man. I am not old.
What is the next thing for you?
I plan to continue seeing my doctor. But I have to also consider
alternative treatment now; herbs. I am not feeling fine. I just started
talking and I was not like this before. If I can be walking unassisted
and the parts of my body that are not responding well get back to their
normal condition, I will be okay.
What do you want from the public and have your colleagues reached out?
No, I haven’t heard from them. And I do not blame them. They did
the same to Baba Suwe and Alabi Yellow. Who am I to complain? It was
when I saw that I might be dying that I called out to the public.
You are a known actor, but why is getting help taking so much time?
Yes, I am a known actor and I have worked with so many politicians
while acting. If I could walk, I could have gotten into my car and gone
to meet them. But I don’t even have a car anymore. There is no
politician that I will stand in his presence and will say he cannot
recognize me. I have also stopped producing movies too, because of the
market we have. Movies are no longer sold out at the marketer’s places.
Why did you stop producing?
I had stopped producing about five years ago because of the high
rate of piracy then. And also nobody could pay my money, just like the
likes of Jide Kosoko, Taiwo Hassan. We are only being called to help
them feature in movies. And because I was so passionate about my job,
and the name I wanted to make, I had no choice but to help them. Some
would come and say they want to pay me 50,000 or 100,000 for a week job.
And I am a socialite.
Before I leave location, I have people who will come that they want
to eat and it is out of that money that I will give to them. How many
people do we tell this to? But the job continues. The market was what
actually made me to stop working. It is my own job that I can say is
working for me. I call people to come on set and I pay them off. And
you cannot expect someone like me to produce a movie with N500,000. If I
struggle to spend like millions on a movie, I am likely to go bankrupt
because of piracy.
Let’s talk about your character, Fadeyi Oloro. What is the good and bad side of it?
See, acting is my passion and is still my passion. The good part is
that it gave me name, money and fame. And I was also able to teach
people that being wicked is not good to humankind. The character came to
place when I acted the role of Fadeyi Oloro in the popular Jimoh Aliu’s
TV production, ‘Yanpon Yanrin.’ He was my master. The character is
actually the story of a man in his hometown in Oke Mesi, who was very
popular for his wicked acts. One of his acts was going to the bush to
pooh, and whenever he is coming back or going, and steps on anybody’s
pooh, he would pack it bring it home and sprinkle charm on it and the
person would die. All he did was to tell me the story of the man and I
put in more efforts by bringing it into life and that was how the name
stuck till date. One bad part was in the 80s, when some fans tore my
cloth at Mushin, because of my character thinking I am a wicked person. I
am a Christian. I attend Cherubim and Seraphim at Abule Egba, Divine
Parish. If not that I am sick, during the week I might not have time to
attend service, but Sundays I don’t miss service. I have had a young man
in my church dumbfounded because he could not believe that I was in a
church. It took him like a minute, before he could talk. I am only using
my character in movies to teach, which is also my profession.
As a socialite, how many wives did you have and how many are with you presently?
I don’t have more than a wife.
Are you saying you have been married to one woman all your life?
No, I have married other women, but they usually leave me. But I am proud of just one who had children for me.
Why did they leave?
I don’t know why they left.
Tell us about your costumes, who does it?
I do my painting and costume myself. We are talking freely with
each other now. But if I excuse myself and ask you to give me some time,
by the time I go in and come back, you will run away. I will have to be
the one to call you back, that it is still the same person that excused
himself. That is what is being called a professional. The character has
done a great deal for me, as an actor. Most people do not even know my
name. Sometimes I challenge them whenever they call me Fadeyi Oloro.
When I put on my costume, I am another person.
Do you plan to return to acting when you fully recover?
I have not quit acting. As I am now, not being able to walk, if I
have people call me and say I don’t need to walk about, I will gladly
put on my costume and get into character.
We are yet to see anybody take up your character since your absence?
It is God’s gift. If I am coming back again and it will be my own
production. I will not be coming under any group. It will be a personal
production and will be telling people I am back again. I am not dead.
This I believe will pull more crowd.
How much are you looking at for you treatment?
Even If I am given a million, I cannot really say this is the
amount I need. The call I received some minutes ago is from a doctor who
is based abroad and presently in Nigeria. He said he is in Osun State
at the moment, but will send me a message to go to a hospital in Ogun
State. He asked what the cause of my sickness is and I said
tuberculosis, which can cause a whole lot of other things. And I asked
him about the cost, he said I should forget about money for now and go
there first. He said I should forget about the past treatment that they
will have to start all over again. That they will treat me until I am
back on my feet and then money can be discussed.
What is your wish?
I want people to stand up and help me now that I need help. I don’t
want people to come to my grave when I am no more and come and be
crying. It is now that they should come out and help me financially
because I want to be back on my feet. I have a long way to go in this
industry.
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Source: The Nation
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