The Yoruba Nollywood actor Ibrahim Olalekan Bello, better known by his stage name Omoba Sanjay, has talked candidly about a difficult situation that compelled him to break up with a potential love interest in order to safeguard his career.
In an interview with fellow actor Kunle Afod on YouTube, Bello shared an incident that took place on a movie set early in his acting career, revealing how workplace politics and power dynamics can have a profound personal impact.
According to the actor, the situation began when a lady visited the movie location with a friend. She expressed interest in him, and given that he was single at the time, he welcomed the gesture.
However, things took a complicated turn when the producer overseeing the project, who was also interested in the same lady, began to act hostile towards him.
The producer, without confirming the nature of their interaction, assumed they were in a relationship and began treating Bello coldly.
Despite working actively on the set for five consecutive days, Bello said he was denied basic support such as feeding allowances, while the lady, who had no professional involvement in the project, was regularly given money.
It became clear to Bello that the producer was deliberately trying to provoke him, hoping he would react negatively. Choosing maturity, the actor decided not to respond in anger, even though he was aware of the producer’s manipulation.
The lady, unaware of the deeper tension behind the scenes, kept updating Bello about her interactions with the producer, which further confirmed his suspicions.
Recognizing the influence the producer held within the industry, Bello ultimately made the difficult decision to end the relationship after a while of dating.
He knew that pursuing it further could risk future job opportunities, as producers often collaborate and share opinions on actors during casting decisions.
In his words: “I was at a location on a particular day when a lady followed her friend to the movie set. She approached me and said she liked me and would like us to be together, as I wasn’t married at the time. Unknown to me, the producer I was working with on that set was also interested in the same lady and had been watching us from afar. He immediately assumed that we were dating, not knowing that we had just met.”
“For about five days on that movie set, the producer was giving the lady money for feeding, even though she neither acted in the movie nor did any work. Meanwhile, I, who was working throughout those five days, was not given any money for feeding. The producer wanted me to react angrily so he could use my words against me — but I didn’t react. Interestingly, the lady came to me every day the producer gave her money for feeding, and she always told me everything.”
“This made me upset and angry with the producer. However, after the movie shoot, I realized that the relationship with the lady couldn’t work because the producer was one of the top producers at the time. He could easily instruct other producers not to hire me. I couldn’t risk my career for the relationship.”
Watch interview below
