Veteran actor Jide Kosoko has stated that despite his fame and over 60 years of experience in Nollywood, it hasn’t led to significant wealth.
Featuring on The Honest Bunch podcast, Kosoko explained that he is comfortable but doesn’t consider himself rich by Nigerian standards.
“I have been in this [movie] industry for this long. I thank God that I can eat three square meals. But can I claim to be a rich man by Nigerian standards? No,” he said.
The 71-year-old film star emphasized that piracy has significantly impacted the Nigerian movie industry and called for harsher penalties for pirates.
“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.
Jide Kosoko began his acting career as a child actor in 1964 in a television production named Makanjuola.
Since then, he has featured in hundreds of Nollywood movies in both English and Yoruba languages.