Actor Bob Manuel has claimed that he started Nollywood before Pete Edochie, insisting that the veteran is not the oldest man in the Nigerian film industry as many believe.
In an interview with Gbam shared on Monday, Bob Manuel speaking in Igbo, clarified that while Pete Edochie is older than him by age, he began acting before the revered actor became widely recognised in Nollywood.
“Pete Edochie is not the oldest in Nollywood. I started before Pete. He is older than me but he didn’t do the first Living in Bondage with us. It’s Living in Bondage that started the business. You are not the one to say, you are not the one to choose that you are the oldest,” he said.
He added, “You that is saying that you are the oldest, where is your own? Who watched them? As we are talking now, some people are planning to remake Things Fall Apart to be a movie… What Pete did was TV series. Both those that bring the money and those that act the movies didn’t study theatre art in the university. When I see these things, I laugh.”
Pete Edochie is widely regarded as one of Nollywood’s founding figures and enjoys legendary status in Nigerian cinema. His role in the 1980s TV adaptation of Things Fall Apart shot him into the limelight before Nollywood gained mainstream recognition in the 1990s.
Bob Manuel, however, insists that he and others who featured in Living in Bondage laid the foundation of the industry.
The actor’s comments come weeks after Yemi Solade made similar claims.
Speaking on Father’s Path with Tope in July, Yemi said, “I’m senior to Pete Edochie. I started acting before him, though he’s older than me. I was 17 in 1977 when I represented Nigeria as the youngest actor. I’ve done 48 years in the industry and I’m still standing.”
He further argued that the Yoruba film industry predated Nollywood and had veterans like Hubert Ogunde, Ade Afolayan, Baba Sala and Dr. Ola Balogun who did not receive as much recognition due to lack of media coverage.
“Living in Bondage was not the first movie… but because they romanced the media while my people were just doing the do,” Yemi said.
