It is not in the place of a person to determine what his destiny is, rather the focus should be knowing it early enough. The reality of this has aided the rapid popularity of Nigerian actor, social media comedian and event host, Adeoye Adeyemi Elesho, also known as Yemi Elesho.
In 2015, Adeoye Adeyemi Elesho started his journey into comedy and eight years after, he has risen to the class of A-list comic actors in the country. But being a son of a veteran actor did nothing to aid his journey as an entertainer. He started an acting career back in his secondary school days, even when he had not met his biological father. Against his will and that of his father, he was born with the same gift—arrest audience’s rapt attention through jokes.
Making people around him laugh was so natural that Adeoye Adeyemi Elesho was not aware it was a talent—with which his father became a household name in the Nollywood industry. His consciousness was subsequently awakened to his unique gift by a former neighbour after he had started acting back in the secondary school.
“I started with a group in secondary school the principal gave us the go-ahead to hold rehearsals every Wednesday and he gave us a hall to use. When I finished secondary school, I gathered the group I had formed in secondary school. We were up to 50 then and they paid N2,500 to obtain forms. So, we visited schools and picked plays from the literature texts. We would then stage a play from it which served as their continuous assessment”, said Adeoye Adeyemi Elesho.
Speaking further, Yemi Elesho said, “I would say my neighbours in Oyo State discovered the talent in me. They were the ones who made me realise I could make money from my sense of humour. People used to gather around me to listen to anything I had to say because they were sure that I would make them laugh. I didn’t know the worth of my talent until I got to Lagos.
“I eventually started with anchoring events in my neighbourhood for some years before I went to the university. My former school mates who started making skits before me enlightened me on how to use Instagram to my advantage. I created an account on Instagram in 2015”.
Like many parent, Adeoye Adeyeni Elesho’s father wanted him to become a legal practitioner, leading to a conflict of interests under one roof. According to him, it was a noble intention by his father, whom he did not meet until he was 16. However, he was not cut out for wearing a gown and wig and studied theatre arts in the university. But one thing he agreed with that has played a key role in his success was the strict upbringing he received.
“Interestingly, my father wanted me to study Law. He even thought I was studying Law while I was in school. I couldn’t deceive myself by doing his wish. Acting comes naturally for me, I just wanted to do what I knew how to do best. He was angry with me and at some point he even stopped sending money to me. However, there was a day he came to my school and was impressed by the comments my lecturers made about me. I was a dynamic actor while I was in school. I guess it was because I never used to talk anytime he was around; this was because he was very strict. He probably didn’t see that potential in me.
“My dad and I just became friends in recent years. I didn’t get to know him until I was 16. It seems when there is a striking resemblance between a particular child and the parents, there is a possibility that such child and the parents would tend to always have misunderstandings. I guess that’s an explanation for why my dad and I were always at loggerheads. He never wanted me to go into entertainment or acting but the fact was that it was in my blood to act. At a point, I decided to leave acting and try something entirely different”.
He has distinguished himself with his own unique contents in the Nigerian comedy space. He has carved a niche for himself among his contemporaries, churning out funny videos in his indigenous Yoruba language. Over the years, he has skillfully characterised the message he tries to pass across.
“When I started, people expected me to speak English; they saw me as a local person but I was not bothered. My fans love what I do and that is what is most important to me. I continued and my following improved. When I had only 10,000 followers, it felt like they were one million followers. Now, things have changed, no one complains about my dialect anymore, some of them even comment in Yoruba now,” the actor explained.
“Even at 100,000 followers, I still feel I need to do more because I have a big dream. I am conscious of the fact that it is not about the number of following because the views on my skits goes beyond the number of followers I have. Instagram has really helped me.”
