Nollywood actor, Deyemi Okanlawon, has weighed in on the recent clampdown on Naira abuse by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s recent clampdown on Naira abuse.
Deyemi, during a recent interview on the Nollywood On Radio show, slammed the anti-graft agency for “disproportionately focusing on entertainers” while larger issues of corruption and crime persist.
The actor also acknowledged that some cultural norms, such as the disregard for maintenance, need to be reevaluated. He further suggested that promoting respect for national symbols, like the naira, could help reshape public attitudes.
“Two things, I think that because something is cultural does not make it right. We have a culture that does not really emphasise on maintenance of things,” he said.
“We have seen how things are built and we do not maintain it so we continue in that light…
“They are saying have respect for the naira, have respect for your country, maybe that is the way to do it. But the second thing is that I also think there are so many issues with corruption and crime going on in the country across different segments of people.
“So this move by the agency to come against entertainers is a bit too much in the light of everything else that we are trying to deal with.
“If every day we hear about corrupt officials, politicians, or organisations being brought down by the agency, we’d be more likely to trust that they’re acting in our best interest. Then, if they ask us to stop something like spraying money, we’d likely obey without question because we’d trust that the agency has the moral right to make such requests.”
Nollywood actor Deyemi Okanlawon has taken the internet by storm after sharing a video of himself speaking Japanese to celebrate the birthday of the Emperor of Japan.
The talented actor, known for his versatility and linguistic skills, surprised his fans by wishing the Emperor a happy birthday in his native language.
In the video shared on his Instagram page, Okanlawon is seen dressed in a traditional Japanese outfit, bowing respectfully as he says “Otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu” (Happy Birthday) to the Emperor.
He then proceeds to speak in Japanese, expressing his admiration for the country’s culture and people.
Okanlawon’s fans were amazed by his language skills, with many taking to social media to express their admiration.
“Wow, Deyemi, you’re a man of many talents!” wrote one fan on Twitter. “I didn’t know you could speak Japanese!”
Another fan commented, “This is so cool! I’ve never seen a Nigerian actor speak Japanese before. You’re an inspiration, Deyemi!”
The Emperor of Japan, Naruhito, was born on February 23, 1960, and Okanlawon’s video was posted to coincide with his birthday celebrations.
The actor’s gesture was seen as a sign of respect and appreciation for Japanese culture, and it has sparked a lot of interest and admiration from fans around the world.
His ability to speak Japanese has impressed many, and it has added to his reputation as a talented and versatile actor.
Nollywood actor Deyemi Okanlawon has commended his wife for not questioning him when female fans flirt with him.
Speaking in a recent episode on the Deep Dive podcast hosted by comedian, Teju Babyface, Okanlawon said, “If look away was a person, that is my baby girl [my wife]. I remember one time I went out with friends and some lady tried to kiss me. Not once has my wife ever questioned me about female fans flirting with me.
“My wife has not being following me on social media for years. She has never followed me on social media.”
He said he never wanted to be an actor, stressing that he struggles to handle fame.
“I don’t understand fame. I have never dreamt of being an actor. If certain things had happened the way I wanted it to happen, I would never have left the cooperate world,” he said.
“In 2019, I quit acting. Fame is nothing, impact is everything.”
Renowned Nollywood actor, Deyemi Okanlawon, has said that making love with one’s partner four times a week simply isn’t adequate.
Okanlawon, who recently celebrated 10-year anniversary, stated this in an interview as he gave a hint about intimacy with his wife, Damilola Okanlawon.
Okanlawon opined that lovemaking should be as regular as one eats and should take place anytime- morning, afternoon and night.
He maintained that there is no timetable for making love to one’s partner and there would be times when they could go weeks without engaging in it.
Concurring to the actor’s opinion, Media personality, Daddy Freeze, warned that a woman who cannot satisfy her husband on bed should not be married.
Daddy Freeze
He noted that lovemaking should be done more than once a day.
Freeze opined that marriage is very important in a marriage or committed relationship and should be done more than once a day possible.
He advised his followers to marry partners, who can satisfy them on bed.
To prove his point, Freeze revealed how he counseled 83 women, 65 of whom, had cheated on their husbands at least once, while the other 43 had done it more than once.
He questioned that if lovemaking was not important, why were these women cheating?
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that Okanlawon is best known for his roles in Omo Ghetto: The Saga, Blood Sisters and King of Boys: The Return of the King.
He has been listed as the highest-grossing Nollywood actor of 2020 and 2021.
Okanlawon had his first experience with acting at the age of 5 when he featured in an ‘end-of-year’ play while in primary school. At the age of 9, Okanlawon featured in a nationally syndicated Television commercial with Kunle Bamtefa.
While at the University of Lagos, Okanlawon became an active member of the drama groups Gf(x) (Harvesters Company), Xtreme Reaction and Snapshots (Covenant Christian Centre).
Okanlawon made his featured film debut in the 2010 movie ZR-7, before which he featured in a short film titled A Grain of Wheat. He went on to feature in and co-produce many more short films and by 2012 he had gained notoriety for his numerous appearances in made-for-internet short films and web series including Blink, 6:30pm and Knock Knock.
In 2013, he switched careers to focus on acting full-time and has since featured in over 50 film credits, 8 stage credits and has appeared in OLX and GLO Television commercials as well as music videos for Waje and Aramide.
He has also had roles in movies such as Greg Odutayo’s “Beyond Blood” starring Joseph Benjamin and Kehinde Bankole; Pascal Amanfo’s If Tomorrow Never Comes starring Yvonne Nelson, Ishaya Bako’s Road To Yesterday starring Genevieve Nnaji and Majid Michel and Pascal Amanfo’s No Man’s Land starring Adjetey Anang.
He was in NdaniTV’s series Gidi Up with OC Ukeje, Titilope Sonuga, Somkele Iyamah and Joke Silva. He has also featured in the TV Series Taste Of Love, Lekki Wives, An African City and Dowry.
In 2013, he won Best Actor in a Short Film at the In-Short film festival for his role as a psychotic husband in the thriller, Blink. He attended the Acting for Film course at the New York Film Academy in collaboration with Del-York.
In 2015, Deyemi founded Covenant Entertainment Services, a production and talent management firm and soon became a consultant to Silverbird Film Distribution. In 2019 he took up the position of marketing manager at Silverbird Distribution, rose to head Nollywood and Independent movie distribution and thereafter took over the management of the operations of the company as acting CEO.
In 2022, he received his first ever nomination at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy for his role in “Omo Ghetto: The Saga”.
Popular Nollywood actor, Deyemi Okanlawon has revealed that many of his colleagues in the movie industry are broke.
In a recent tweet, Deyemi advised actors should sometimes go for the highest-earning role and not always target the highest feature or grossing movie, as it does not always equate to a “big bag”.
“Not every time aim for HIGHEST GROSSING or HIGHEST FEATURED… more often reach for HIGHEST EARNING! #alist”
A Twitter user reacted by asking: “I thought the fame brings the bag??”
The actor replied, “There are lots of famous broke ppl… fame is a byproduct, it’s the talent and the grind (work strategy and work ethic) that brings the bag,” he wrote.
Popular actor, Deyemi Okanlawon has averred that he got N10,000 for the first movie role he played after a four-day shoot.
The movie star spoke about “paying the dues” of hard work during his feature on the Rubbin Minds show.
Okanlawon said it took eight years of continuous effort to achieve his current status but many see him as an overnight success.
“They don’t see the toiling, frustration, and sheer hard work. They don’t see the moment when you’re working for virtually nothing. The first film I ever did, I got paid N10,000 and the next, N15,000,” the actor said.
“They took me to Ilorin to shoot for four days. I had a business I was running and a career at the same time. But I’ve honed my skills all these years. I was also proving myself and adding value to the producers beyond acting.
“I also read up on anything acting so I could be better. It’s not just music or film, it takes a while to get there in any sphere of life. Looking back at all the times I was frustrated at the slow progress, I just needed to be patient.
“If I had seen what’s going to happen now, it would have been easier to just relax and not cause myself headaches.”
Deyemi, who has starred in multiple Nollywood titles said he excelled despite having bad grades in school.
“I didn’t do too much in school. For one reason or the other, I came out with bad grades. I had to go the route of results. I could never have submitted my application for a job with how they were looking at grades,” he added.
“I had to go on the streets and prove myself. I was in sales so, every year, I could tell you what I did for one company or the other. ‘I raise this amount and sold that amount of product. That opened doors for me.
“I’ve gotten jobs from big financial institutions based on the results I had. 10,000 people could put up their applications but because I’ve proven myself, they would skip all the candidates and give me the job offer.
“I came into Nollywood with the same idea. There’s a difference between working hard and working smart. A lot of people go to auditions, thinking that’s doing the hard work. What they need to do is prove results.
“I did a lot of short films when I was coming in. I had them on my phone before approaching directors and it caught their attention. Networking with the right people and proving value did more for me than going to all auditions.”
Popular actor, Deyemi Okanlawon, has stated that he has hardly slept for more than four hours because of his encounter with a motivational speaker.
Okanlawon who has starred in movies like ‘Castle and Castle, Omo Ghetto: The Saga and others, took to his verified Twitter page on Monday to recount how the motivational speaker changed his sleeping pattern.
According to him, he was told that rich people do not sleep for more than four hours and that’s why he adopted the pattern.
His Twitter thread read, “I have hardly slept more than four hours in nearly 20 year but I can close my eyes in a stadium right in the middle of a match and sleep off in five minutes plus nothing can wake me up until my 4hrs is complete!
“The reason? Na one motivational speaker tell me say rich people no dey sleep pass four hours. Well, I have the 4hrs on lockdown, na the money remain,” he completed in Pidgin English.
In an interview, Okanlawon said he had to eat raw pepper in a movie to interpret the role.
“The first is acting as ‘Femi Stone’ in Funke Akindele and JJC’s movie, Omo Ghetto: The Saga. Not only because of the sheer scale of the production and the calibre of actors I was working with but it was the first time I was cast to play such a role and I thank the Scene One production team for providing all the support I needed.
The second is the character, ‘Fogo Bombastic’ in Niyi Akinmolayan’s movie, The Prophetess, where I had to speak Yoruba. I had never done that before and I also had to eat raw pepper throughout the production. The third was acting as ‘Bayo Olaoluwa’ in Yewande Zacheus’ movie, The Wait, which was extremely emotional for me because my wife and I had faced the same issues in real life”.
Revered actress, Genevieve Nnaji has berated actor Deyemi Okanlawon for making a joke of the trending women supporting women social media challenge championed by celebrities.
It started when Deyemi first posted a black and white edited photo of himself as a woman and captioned it with the “Challenge accepted” Hashtag.
He went further to post same photos of Donjazzy, Uti Nwachukwu, Nosa Rex and others.
Deyemi wrote: ”While I know how much we need some laughter in these times I still feel the responsibility to find ways to bring to light the causes dear to my heart and that I am very passionate about – equal rights and the true empowerment of women. Special thanks to all the men who are committed to same
Excerpt from @news18live… But while the challenge on Instagram is new, the network is a very-much real, very strong entity offline. Women in patriarchal societies have always been pitted against each other to make them feel as if every other women was in a competition against them. It takes years of unlearning this toxic practice to see and recognize women as other, actual individual beings instead of someone you’re constantly trying to one-up.
“Then women build strong networks, or stepping up for other women, of calling out sexism when it happens to someone else, but most importantly for establishing a safe space, with other women. The network tells you, “I’m here for you.” And sometimes, that’s all women have ever really needed: the support of other women.”
Genevieve who doesn’t seem to understand Deyemi’s stance fired back saying: ”We seek solace in humour to distract us from pain or discomfort. Tell me what you feel exactly”.
Suave actor, Deyemi Okanlawon has shared the challenges he encountered before stardom.
The award winning Nollywood hunk noted that he was once asked to withdraw in the university as a result of poor academic performance which was triggered by the absence of his father.
Speaking in an Instagram Live chat with popular rapper, Bouqui, he said:” I was in my coming of age years when my father left the family. It was a time when I felt I needed a male influence the most. I had just gotten into the University of Lagos. I was pretty young, I was 16 and I was studying Chemical Engineering.
“We share this same name and my identity was strongly tied to that of my father. It was so tied to my father that I felt broken hearted. Everything in my life shut down. It is now that I can look back and call it depression. I had no words for it, I was just lethargic, didn’t care about anything .I couldn’t study, I had a mental block for years”.
On how it affected his academics, Deyemi said:”I remembered that at some point, things had gotten so dark that at some point I went to the field of UNILAG medical centre in the middle of the night , I knelt down and I was screaming ‘Saying I was done’. I was screaming and praying. Not too long after that, I just felt this kind of peace and I started meeting the right people, I started studying again. Because I had been failing in school, I had been warned by my department that I would have to withdraw If I kept on failing”, he revealed.
Nollywood hunk, Deyemi Okanlawon has advised single damsels not to pray for sexual prowess when choosing a life partner.
The ‘Gidi Up’ actor said he was prompted to outline the qualities to look out for, because of his recent encounter with some ladies who are interested in serious relationships but seem not to know what to look out for in men.
According to him: “To single ladies, don’t pray for a man who loves God, write a list of what the man daily does to show his love for God, then pray over it. Also, don’t pray for a man who is rich and loves you, pray for a man that sees and takes advantage of the opportunities to create wealth that allows him the liberty to give you the attention you need.
“Don’t pray for a man who is faithful to you, but pray for a man who has learnt self-discipline and control, deliberately reprogramming his mind to not lust after other women. Do not pray for a man who is good in bed but for a man who pays attention to and understand your body needs. Don’t just pray for a man, be specific,” he advised.
Okanlawon had his first experience with acting at the age of 5,when he featured in an ‘end-of-year’ play while in primary school. At the age of 9, Okanlawon featured in a nationally syndicated Television commercial with Kunle Bantefa. While at the University of Lagos, Okanlawon became an active member of the drama groups Gf(x) (Harvesters Company), Xtreme Reaction and Snapshots (Covenant Christian Centre).
