Veteran Yoruba actor and filmmaker Yemi Ayebo, popularly known for the 1993 romantic fantasy film Yemi My Lover, has recounted how piracy and poor distribution structures robbed him of the financial rewards the film’s popularity should have brought.
In a recent YouTube interview with content creator Mr LilGaga, Ayebo revealed that although Yemi My Lover became a massive hit across Yoruba-speaking communities, he personally made very little from the project. He attributed this loss largely to piracy and his limited understanding of the film business at the time.
“I was the one who wrote and produced the movie in 1993,” he said, recalling how it resonated deeply with audiences across the country. “But I didn’t make any money from it; 90% was gotten by piracy.”
Ayebo explained that the movie, which tells the story of a young man’s romantic entanglement with a woman from a mystical water spirit family, was widely pirated. He claimed that illegal distributors took advantage of the analog era’s lack of digital oversight and profited heavily off his work, while he received only a fraction of the returns.
“There was no social media then,” he continued, “so I didn’t have the opportunity to promote it widely… I was struggling, doing the little I could.”
He said his decision to independently market the film didn’t sit well with some established marketers, who retaliated by circulating unauthorized DVD copies. “The marketers waged war against me, which marked the beginning of my problems with them,” Ayebo recalled.
Despite the movie’s success, Ayebo said he managed everything on his own—production, promotion, and distribution—because of his limited industry knowledge. He added that the little money he earned was spent on basic necessities. “From the money, I bought a camera, rented an office, hired a few staff, and got a car. That was all,” he said.
His challenges worsened in 1996 when he was falsely accused and detained. According to him, a man accompanied by soldiers stormed his office and took him to Alausa, Ikeja, where he was allegedly brutalized and detained under a false accusation. “The major asked that I should be killed,” he recounted, adding that some officers intervened to prevent it. He spent close to N500,000 resolving the case—a blow he said he has never fully recovered from.
Now, years after the film’s release, Ayebo says he is still battling financial instability and limited opportunities in Nollywood. “Right now, I’m broke and don’t have much. Things aren’t easy,” he admitted.
Reflecting on the realities of the entertainment industry, he emphasized the importance of having connections:
“The movie industry is all about connections; you’ll struggle financially if you’re not well-connected. I need more connections to get back on my feet.”
