Veteran Nollywood Yoruba actor, Lere Paimo, has explained why he has been away from the movie scene for a long time.
While speaking with The Nation, the actor disclosed he stopped getting movie roles because of the creation of Theatre Arts And Motion Pictures Practitioners Association Of Nigeria (TAMPAN).
“Firstly, I travelled abroad for some time and when I came back, some of our junior colleagues said they created a new association called TAMPAN so they stopped inviting us for jobs,” he explained.
“They said they are supporting a particular person but they don’t know that whoever blocks one’s way of survival has done great damage. I can’t curse them because they are all our children. That is why you have not been seeing me in movies. More so, we cannot be in some of the movies they produce these days due to their script; we can’t be party to such movies. I have been in my space and God has been faithful in every way.”
Lere Paimo went further to state that although he isn’t angry with the formation of the new body; he doesn’t have a clue as to why they stopped inviting him to star in movies.
“Those that created TAMPAN were our members from ATNP but I am not angry. They are the ones who know why they decided not to invite us for movies anymore. They were called to order but they were adamant which does not affect me in any way because what God has done for me he hasn’t done for many of them,” he said.
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The 81-year-old actor started acting in 1960 after he joined the Oyin Adejobi theatre group founded by Pa Oyinade Adejobi.
He became popular following a lead role as Soun Ogunola in an epic yoruba film titled Ogbori Elemosho. Since then he has featured, produced and directed several Nigerian films.
On April 2014, he won N1m cash prize in a Nigerian game show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.