Veteran Nollywood actress Sola Sobowale has clarified rumours surrounding her alleged arrest for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia.
The 58-year-old film star reflected on the negative reports published about her in Nigeria after she moved to the United Kingdom to work in menial jobs.
The actress revealed that one such report claimed she was killed in Saudi Arabia for drug trafficking, and explained that many people were surprised to see her alive upon her return to Nigeria.
“The worst of the rumours I heard about me was when they said Sola Sobowale had been killed in Saudi Arabia and that I carried cocaine.
“It was written here in Nigeria. I was arrested in Saudi Arabia. That there, they amputated my leg and my hand. And I said to them that I am a star in Nigeria and that they should kill me.
“So when I now got to Nigeria, at the airport, they said, ‘Sola Sobowale is dead’. I said do you believe in abracadabra? I said I am alive. I have never been to Saudi Arabia.
“I do not even know where it is on the map. So many negative things. But to God be the glory. God has compensated me.”
The veteran actress disclosed that she paused her career to prioritise her children, emphasising that she didn’t expect anything in return.
She also recalled leaving her lucrative acting job, which was earning her over N5 million within months in the early 2000s, for menial jobs in England.
She said, “It was confusing because my tag read ‘Olu’. Because I did not put Olusola. Especially one of the top Ogas looked at me and said ‘have I met you before’ and I said no,” she said.
“Then he looked at me and walked away. After I saw him in the office, I went there and asked may I know you sir and he said his name is Seye Fadipe. And I said yes, you have met me before. I said my name is Sola Sobowale. You met me on the television.
“He looked at me and said ‘are you crazy?’ I said I am not crazy. He asked what are you doing? You are up there in Nigeria. But there was something better than that. My future. My children are my future. There will be a time when the energy that Sola Sobowale will no longer be there. Then it is what you sow that you reap.
“At that time, Sola Sobowale was baba career. Career that there was nothing you will not do. Not senior carer or team leader. You will wash. You will carry. You will clean. You will do everything. That was what I was doing. The following week, my name was called to go to college and register.”
