Veteran Nollywood actor Jide Kosoko has admitted that despite spending six decades in the industry, he does not consider himself wealthy.
Speaking on The Honest Bunch podcast, the 71-year-old actor explained that while he can afford basic necessities, he does not meet the standard of a rich man in Nigeria.
“I have been in this [movie] industry for this long. I thank God that I can eat three square meals. But can I say I am a rich man by Nigerian standards? No,” he stated.
Kosoko attributed the financial struggles of many Nollywood veterans to piracy, which he believes has severely impacted the industry’s revenue.
He called for stricter penalties against piracy, arguing that current copyright laws are too lenient to deter offenders.
“The punishment in the copyright law for piracy is still not strong enough as far as I am concerned. Somebody who has been pirating people’s works for years is a billionaire, so how much do you want to fine him?
“Fine him N500 million, and he will just bring it out of what he has sold. But if you attach a 20-year jail sentence to it with no option of a fine, people will refrain from piracy,” he said.
Kosoko, who began his acting career as a child in 1964 with the television production Makanjuola, has starred in hundreds of Nollywood films in both English and Yoruba.
Despite his contributions to the industry, he believes that inadequate structures and rampant piracy continue to prevent actors from achieving true financial success.
