Veteran Nollywood actor and lecturer Afeez Oyetoro, popularly known as Saka, has opened up about his challenging early years in the movie industry and how they affected his self-confidence — especially when it came to relationships.
Speaking in an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, Oyetoro recounted how his lack of financial security and recognition made it difficult for him to find love or even summon the courage to approach women.
“I didn’t have confidence. It took me a long time to start toasting women. There was no money in acting then — nobody recognized the actor. We were just doing it out of passion, and they didn’t teach us how to make money from theatre,” he said.
The respected actor, who also lectures at Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) in Ijanikin, shared how many people dismissed his passion for acting and urged him to pursue a “more meaningful” job.
“I had no car, so when you call a girl to marry, they will say no — there’s no future for this man. In fact, one of them told me, ‘Why don’t you quit acting? You’re wasting your life, leave this theatre, go and do something relevant.’”
Oyetoro added that a woman he once considered marrying even demanded he own two cars before she would accept his proposal — a condition he realized was a sign to walk away.
“Something told me, ‘Afeez, this is not your wife,’ so I ran away from there. It was when I got to the school that I met my wife,” he shared.
Today, Saka is not only an acclaimed comic actor but also happily married to Olaide Oyetoro. Together, they have three children, proving that his perseverance and faith in his craft eventually paid off.
