Veteran Nollywood actor Yemi Solade has explained why he stopped attending church regularly, saying a disagreement with a pastor over his acting career ultimately changed his attitude towards organised church activities.
Solade made the revelation while speaking on the Honest Bunch podcast, recalling an incident in 2013 that led him to withdraw from regular church attendance.
According to the actor, a pastor at his former church instructed him to tell movie producers not to offer him acting jobs that required him to work on Sundays.
Solade said he found the instruction unreasonable because acting was his profession and a major source of his income.
He questioned why he should abandon opportunities to earn money on Sundays when part of the money he earned from acting was also used to support the church through offerings and other contributions.
The actor said the disagreement became a turning point for him, after which he stopped attending church regularly.
Solade explained that he has not experienced the negative consequences some people associate with staying away from church. Instead, he said he has enjoyed greater peace since stepping away from regular church activities.
He also complained about the numerous church programmes, committees and messages that previously consumed his time.
According to him, his decision was not necessarily a rejection of God or spirituality, but rather a personal choice to avoid religious activities that he felt interfered with his career and peace of mind.
The veteran actor also shared another experience involving an elderly technician who allegedly used part of money given to him for a job to make a contribution at church.
Solade questioned the decision, arguing that the man's responsibility was to complete the work for which he had been paid rather than diverting the money to a religious activity.
He further challenged the idea that Sunday should automatically be considered the only day on which Christians can worship, pointing out that people in professions such as acting may have to work on weekends.
Solade's comments have generated discussion on social media, with some Nigerians supporting his position while others criticised his views on church attendance and Sunday worship.
The actor, who has spent decades in the Nigerian entertainment industry, has also recently spoken about the history of Nollywood and challenged the widely held belief that the industry began with the 1992 film Living in Bondage. He argued that Nigerian television and home-video productions existed before the popular film.
Solade's latest comments have therefore sparked a wider conversation about the balance between religious commitments, work and personal freedom, particularly for people whose professions require them to work on weekends.
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