Veteran Nollywood actor in the Yoruba genre, Kareem Adepoju, also known as Baba Wande, has accused iconic movie producer, Tunde Kelani, of cheating him of the proceeds of their jointly produced movie, ‘Ti Oluwa ni IIe’.
The movie, written by Adepoju and directed by Tunde Kelani, was released in 1993 through Mainframe Films and Television Productions, Kelani’s production company. It was the latter’s debut as a film director.
Baba Wande alleged that Kelani had not been sharing the proceeds from the movie with him. He revealed that he wrote the script and invited Kelani, who promised to turn the script into a movie. Kelani provided all the equipment and the financial strength to produce the movie, while Baba Wande was responsible for providing the costumes, actors and actresses who featured in the movie.
The duo agreed to split proceeds from the movie, with Kelani taking 70 per cent, while Baba Wande settled for 30 per cent. The first proceeds from their effort was N180,000, but Baba Wande was given only N15,000 from the money as against the 30 per cent they had earlier agreed on. The actor revealed that the only excuse he was given was that there were other expenses that had to be settled, but he was not convinced. He was directed to meet the accountant of the company for subsequent payment. However, they didn’t disclose the actual amount that was made.
Due to the popularity and the applause the movie received, fans requested for a sequel of the movie. But because of the way he was treated, Baba Wande claimed he lost interest in releasing a sequel of the movie. After so much pestering from his fans, he decided to produce part two and three of the movie. They both wrote part two and three of the movie which they produced. However, he didn’t go to Kelani to demand for anything and the movie producer also didn’t give him any share from the movie.
The veteran actor alleged that Kelani has been the only one enjoying the reward of their sweat and labour. Despite the fact that he has been advised to seek redress in court, the actor revealed he would not because Kelani is his friend. Responding to Baba Wande’s accusations, Kelani said, “He is my friend, he is my brother, we are family. I can call him at anytime, I am not going to say anything for social media or newspaper”.
