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Muyideen Oladapo, a Nigerian actor, producer, and director best known by his stage name Lala, has talked candidly about the difficulties he encountered as a child prior to his success in Nollywood.
Lala has been open about some of the difficulties he had prior to being well-known in the entertainment business.
After his elementary school education was interrupted owing to financial constraints, the movie star, who was not born with a lot of money, recalled relocating to the North with his uncle.
Lala recalled fleeing with his cousin and colleagues Lukman Raji, only to return when they were barely able to make ends meet in Lagos.
Speaking in an interview on the Talk2B podcast with actress, Biola Bayo, the Osun-born actor confessed that he wasn’t born in a privileged family, so his parents could only afford to fund his education up to primary school.
His mother was an Okro seller and he had to fetch firewood and weave baskets for poultry to sell, in order to purchase his common entrance form because he wanted to further his education. Things were so tough, that Lala revealed he payed for WASSCE two years ahead the exam because he was out of school.
When he was advised to learn a trade, the Yoruba movie star said he refused to take up vulcanizing and instead pursued his passion for entertainment, which led to him learning how to drum.
The actor said his decision to pursue drumming was however met with disapproval from his parents, who sent him to live with his uncle in Kebbi state.
He said during his time in the North, he learnt how to bake bread alongside his cousin, actor Lukman Raji.
Lala said after six years in Kebbi, he decided to take a bold step and flee to Lagos to pursue his dreams.
The actor recounted how he and his cousin hitched a ride on a truck transporting cows to Lagos where he eventually established his own bakery business. In his words:
“At a point, I wanted to travel to Lagos. I had packed my bag and as I stepped outside I met my uncle who told me I was following him to Kebbi state.”
“He claimed he was told I moved with smokers. He then took me to some market women traveling to the north. It got to a point during the trip that I started vomiting.
“Lukman Raji and I are cousins. Lukman’s dad is my mother’s brother. Lukman and his family had lived in the north. Lukman was my set and we quickly bonded because he often travels to Osun during the festive period.
“It was there I was assisting my uncle who had a bakery. I lived there for six years. It was from Kebbi that I ran to Lagos. I used to come to Lagos with Lukman. I used to tell Lukman that Lagos was good.
“The day we were to run to Lagos, we noticed my uncle had left the house to buy flour at a location, we boarded the truck used to transport cows to Lagos.”
Lala admitted they both returned to Kebbi state three times due to the struggles in Lagos. He said he however persevered and eventually made a name for himself in the entertainment industry. Lala added:
“We ran back to the north about three times because of the struggles to survive in Lagos.”
Lala is a household name in the Yoruba movie industry, with notable roles in films like ‘Awure Eni’, ‘Omo University’, and ‘The Ghost and The Tout’. He has also directed several movie projects.
He holds a degree in Dramatic Arts from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), which he obtained in 2015. He also bagged a Master’s degree from the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
