Odunlade Adekola , (born 31 December 1976) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, singer,

film-maker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

. He gained popularity and was widely known for his lead role in Ishola Durojaye's 2003 movie, ''Asiri Gomina Wa'', and has acted in many

Nollywood Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...

movies since then. He is the founder and CEO of the Odunlade Adekola Film Production (OAFP).

Early life

Adekola was born and raised in

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokuta and the surrounding are ...

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

, and he is a native of Otun Ekiti,

Ekiti State Ekiti State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkìtì) is a state in southwestern Nigeria, bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the northeast by Kogi State, to the south and southeast by Ondo State, and to the west by Osun State. Named for the Ekiti peo ...

Education

Odunlade Adekola attended St John's Primary School and St. Peter's College in

, Ogun State and then obtaining the West African School Certificate Examination before he proceeded to

Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Moshood Abiola Polytechnic also known as MAPOLY is a tertiary learning institution in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. The Ojere campus is in the South-Eastern part of Abeokuta, covering about 960 hectares of rolling land bounded by the Ogun River ...

,(MAPOLY) where he received a diploma certificate. Odunlade proceeded to further his education and in May 2018, he received a degree in Bachelors of Business Administration at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...

Career

Odunlade Adekola began his acting career in 1996, the same year he joined the Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts practitioners. He has starred in, scripted, produced and directed several Nigerian films also known as

over the years. In April 2014, Adekola won the

Africa Movie Academy Award The Africa Movie Academy Awards, popularly known as AMAA and The AMA Awards, is presented annually to recognize excellence among professionals working in, or non-African professionals who have contributed to, the African film industry. It was fou ...

for the best actor of the year. In December 2015, he marked his entrance into the Nigerian music industry. Photographs of Odunlade during filming are widely used as

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

s across the Nigerian websphere. On the 17th of September, 2018, Odunlade Adekola became the brand ambassador for RevolutionPlus Property Development Company. It was indeed a remarkable day for him. He was officially unveiled as the company's Brand ambassador at their Ikeja office in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

. Odunlade Adekola is a brand ambassador to several organizations such as Goldberg beer and Globacom Telecommunications

Personal life

He married Ruth Adekola in 2003, and has four children.

Filmography

* '' President Kuti'' *"Ile Afoju (2019)" *''

The Vendor The Vendor is a 2018 Nigerian nollywood comedy written, produced and directed by Odunlade Adekola, winner of the '' 2018 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards'' Best Actor in a Comedy. The official trailer for the movie was released in August 2018 w ...

'' (2018) *''Alani pamolekun'' (2015) *''Asiri Gomina Wa'' (2003) *''Mufu Olosa Oko'' (2013) *''Kabi O Osi'' (2014) *''Oyenusi'' (2014) *''Sunday Dagboru '' (2010) *''Monday Omo Adugbo''(2010) *''Emi Nire Kan'' (2009) *''Eje Tutu'' (2015) *''Ma ko fun E'' (2014) *''Gbolahan'' (2015) *''Oju Eni Mala'' (2015) *''Kurukuru'' (2015) *''Olosha'' (2015) *''Omo Colonel '' (2015) *''Aroba''(2015) *''Oro'' (2015) *''Baleku'' (2015) *''Babatunde Ishola Folorunsho''(2015) *''Adebayo Aremu Abere'' (2015) *''Adajo Agba'' (2015) *''Oyun Esin''(2015) *'' Taxi Driver: Oko Ashewo'' (2015) *''Samu Alajo''(2017) *

Shola Arikusa (film) ''Shola Arikusa'' is a 2017 Nigerian film produced by Hissa Yusuf and directed by Okiki Afolayan. It stars Fathia Balogun, Odunlade Adekola, Femi Adebayo, Yinka Quadri, Kazeem Bello and many others. Synopsis This is movie tells the story ...

*''Sunday gboku gboku'' (2016) *''Abi eri re fo ni'' (2016) *''Igbesemi'' (2016) *''Lawonloju'' (2016) *''Pepeye Meje'' (2016) *''Asiri Ikoko'' (2016) *''Pate Pate'' (2017) *''Adura'' (2017) *''Ere Mi'' (2017) *''Okan Oloore'' (2017) *''Ota'' (2017) *''Owiwi'' (2017) *''Agbara Emi'' (2017) *''Critical Evidence'' (2017) *''Olowori'' (2017) *''Iku Lokunrin'' (2017) *''Eku Meji'' (2017) *''Yeye Alara'' (2018) as Dongari *''Ado Agbara (''2019) *''Agbaje Omo Onile 1, 2, 3'' *''Omo Germany'' (2018) *''Gbemileke 1,2,3'' (2019) *''Sammu Alajo Comedy series'' (2020–Present) *''

The Miracle Centre ''The Miracle Centre'' is a 2020 Nigerian comedy film directed by Niyi Towolawi and co-produced by director himself with Odetoye Bode for Kherut Films. The film stars Yemi Shodimu with Hafeez "Saka" Oyetoro, Ayo Mogaji, Femi Adebayo, and Ayobam ...

'' (2020) *'' President Kuti'' (2021) * ''Ajibade'' (In Cinemas, December 2021) *'' King of Thieves'' (In Cinemas, April 2022) *

Elesin Oba, The King's Horseman ''Elesin Oba, The King's Horseman'' is a 2022 Yoruba-language Nigerian historical drama film directed by Biyi Bandele and distributed by Netflix, based on ''Death and the King's Horseman'', a stage play he wrote while in Cambridge, where he was ...

September 2022

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adekola, Odunlade Living people Nigerian male film actors Male actors from Abeokuta Male actors in Yoruba cinema Yoruba male actors 21st-century Nigerian male actors Moshood Abiola Polytechnic alumni University of Lagos alumni Yoruba filmmakers Yoruba-language film directors Entertainers from Ekiti State 1976 births Nigerian film producers Nigerian male singers Nigerian chief executives