Yomi Fash-Lanso is one of the finest actors the Yoruba movie industry has produced. In this interview with OLUSHOLA RICKETTS, he speaks on his respect for traditional religions despite being a Deacon; actors seeking help from politicians, colleagues’ refusal to subscribe to health insurance, among others. Excerpts:
How well have you been able to achieve your plans for this year?
All my plans are in the hands of God. I do not disturb myself about tomorrow. Whatever I want to do tomorrow, I put it in the hands of God. It is not even wise to put all your plans before the public because the world we live in is a wicked one.
Why do you hardly share pictures of your wife and children on social media?
Did I just come to Lagos? I must have shared my wife’s picture on social media maybe once or so. I am the one in the public’s eyes, not my family. I also respect their privacy. If children grow up and they choose to be in the public, then it is their decision.
What has kept you relevant in showbiz for many years?
I tell people that understanding your terrain and profession is important. You also need prayers for God’s guidance. That is it for me.
Why do you find it so easy to move around freely unlike many other actors?
My forefathers, my ancestors will say ‘if you are not evil, you will not die of evil.’ Since I don’t wake up in the morning with the notion to harm people, why should I be afraid? It is very important to know that. It is your attitude that makes you go extra miles to protect yourself.
A good example is our pastors who go about with armed personnel. If they are truly men of God, who is interested in kidnapping or killing them? If their hands are clean and they were truly called of God, there is no need to go about with security guards.
Where do pastors see money from? Is it not from your tithe and mine too? Don’t let us be misled.
Are you against the wealth of pastors or what?
All what they do here, they cannot try it in the United States of America. They kept a pastor in the jail for molesting underage girls? If that happens in Nigeria, will you hear anything? We build our society around people, not institutions or laws.
Another reason for this mess in Nigeria is because our pastors are not talking. If we count true men of God in Nigeria, they are not more than two among thousands. I mean pastors that can stand before an evil man and tell him he is evil. They do not want to lose their worldly possessions. They do not want to lose the land they built their churches on. We are over 50 years old as a country and there is no steady electricity. People keep giving them their tithes and they are not asking questions. Until we start speaking the truth from the church, Nigeria will not make any headway.
How do you handle ‘area boys’?
I do not see them as ‘area boys,’ I see them as a product of our bad society, bad governance and bad attitude towards each other. If I love you and you love me, we will not have ‘area boys’ on the street. But there is no love in Nigeria. How many people do you cater for in your immediate environment? No one expects you to give out money, but you can show love. Asking someone how he or she is doing is enough to uplift such person’s spirit. But you and I are not doing that. So I believe we are the architect of the product directly or indirectly. We are now experiencing what they call ripple effect. If only we can show little love to people within our community, things would get better. I see these people as unfortunate Nigerians.
Don’t you suffer assaults from them?
At all, I don’t. Most of the guys want to associate with you. When they come close to you, you do not push them away. I am not better than them, I am just lucky and enjoying the grace of God.
Are you really a Deacon in the church?
Yes, I am a Deacon. But as far as I am concerned, the meaning of Allah is Olodumare. Allah is Arabic, Olodumare to Yoruba Muslim and Igbo call Him Chineke. It goes like that. The West call Him God. If I am calling God Olodumare and you think I do not know God, you need to wake up.
Our forefathers have been worshipping Oludumare for many years before the west came with their version of God. Now, we are in disarray; we do not know anything anymore.
How do you combine Christianity and your traditional beliefs?
I married everything together because I understand. Your religion is bordered on your culture and language. If the west had allowed us to worship God the way we know Him, everything will be peaceful in Nigeria.
You speak English fluently but you do not act in English movies. Is that deliberate?
name is Oluwayomi Ifashola. I am a Nigerian, I am an African. I have my language and culture as well. I cannot be promoting another man’s language and culture. It is stupid if I do that at the detriment of mine.
America has been able to conquer half of the world via filmmaking using their language. It is the same thing with India. So what is wrong with us waking up and believing in ourselves?
We need to u n d e r s t a n d where we are coming from and the essence of language. If you want to kill a tribe, first take away their language. That is what the west did to us. They sold to us Christianity in their language. We abandoned ours and appreciated theirs.
If they say our forefathers were idol worshippers, why did they take our idols? They should give them back to us and leave us with our way of life. We are a generation of confused beings, but we do not realise this. We do not know when to go right or left; we are just stagnant. For me, as an African and a Yoruba man, if I do not promote my culture and language, I should be ashamed of myself.
What really happened between you and Yomi Fabiyi during Moji Olaiya’s burial arrangement?
There are some salient questions people need to ask. Did they call the national body of the association (Theatre Arts and Movie Practitioners Association of Nigeria) before communicating with Fayose or Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu? The answer is no.
Moreover, the controversial write-up wasn’t written by me; you can go and check my Facebook page. It was written by Steve Aborisade, a media friend. But I fell in love with it because it affected me too.
I happened to have champion the course of Pastor Ajidare (the late actor) before he died. We started on Friday, he died on Saturday evening. The truth is for how long are we going to keep begging people for support? The media is not helping matters too; you need to lambast us with abusive words. Maybe that could send a signal to us.
Where is our health insurance? Are we so backward that we do not understand the meaning of insurance? The association, TAMPAN, has been on members for us to do group health insurance. But they are not forthcoming. Do you expect us to drag them from their houses? We already have the platform and template. We’ve discussed with so many insurance companies; we’ve even agreed with one to do this thing for us.
I fell in love with the write-up because it was talking to me as well. Must we shy away from the truth? I had to post it on my Facebook wall and put the writer’s name at the end of it. But on Instagram, the whole story didn’t share. When people started talking, I came out to tell them I didn’t write it.
We are entertainers, professionals. If Governor Fayose didn’t pay anyone money, don’t abuse him. Don’t pitch association and politicians against each other; it is wrong. It is not our entitlement; we shouldn’t expect that whenever we go to them for anything, they must give us. I campaigned for APC and President Muhammadu Buhari. Does that mean he must give me money whenever I need help?
Have you subscribed to any health insurance?
Of course, I have. If they don’t do it, we will do it for ourselves. Now, if you want to be a member of TAMPAN, you must be insured or you go elsewhere. Enough is enough.
