Veteran Nollywood actor, Yemi Solade, has revealed how he has enjoyed greater peace of mind after leaving church in 2013.
Speaking on The Honest Bunch podcast, Solade recalled how a pastor once ordered him to reject acting jobs that fell on Sundays, a directive he described as an attack on his livelihood.
He disclosed how a clash with his church leadership over movie roles pushed him away from active church attendance more than a decade ago.
The 64-year-old thespian said despite popular beliefs that regular worship is key to spiritual well-being.
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“I’d been told in church that I should tell producers not to call me for work on Sundays. And I cursed the pastor,” he recounted.
“You’re telling me not to leave my house and go to where my chop is. You want to ruin my career?”
The actor said he saw the instruction as unrealistic for someone in the entertainment industry, stressing that Sunday worship had no biblical backing.
“There’s no way in the Bible that Sunday, in the Greco-Roman calendar, was set aside for people to assemble and shout God and Jesus,” he argued.
Since distancing himself from organized religion, Solade said his life has been more fulfilling.
“The notion that if you don’t attend church, once life we must die, probably I’ve not seen anything change. Rather, I have peace. I do well,” he said.
The outspoken actor also criticized the culture of prioritizing church activities over personal responsibilities.
He narrated how a technician once diverted money he gave him for work into church offerings.
“I gave him money to buy some things, and later he told me he was in church. I said, Baba, you took my money to that church and gave part of it. That blessing is mine now,” Solade said.
Beyond religion, the actor touched on Nollywood’s history, challenging the widespread claim that the industry began with the 1992 Igbo blockbuster Living in Bondage.
According to him, Nigerian home video productions existed before then.
“The first movie you call home video was actually produced around 1988 by Ade Ajiboye, known as Big Abbas. It was Shosho Meji,” he said, adding that television classics like Things Fall Apart in the 1980s were also part of the foundation.