Actress and broadcaster Eyiyemi Rogbinyin has revealed that she left Africa Independent Television (AIT) because she was not paid her salary for six months.
Eyiyemi plays the roles of Iya Onidiri in Itura and Hajia Malaika Doherty in Dust both on M-Net Africa Magic.
A graduate of architecture from the University of Jos, she worked in the construction industry and interior design before a detour to Raymond Dokpesi’s Daar Communications owners AIT and RayPower FM.
As a broadcaster, she worked with the likes of Dayo Adeneye (D1) and Kenny Ogunbe. Then came tailoring and eventually acting.
She told QEDNG publisher Olumide Iyanda in a recent interview that her journey into broadcasting was brief.
Eyiyemi recalled how she earned N2,000 in the architecture industry and then moved into interior design where she earned N12,000 monthly. She said AIT offered to pay her N8,000 in 1998 at a time when all she wanted was to move to the United States.
“I didn’t get my first salary till three months after and there was a lot going on in DAAR Communications I couldn’t understand it,” she said.
“I did one year in AIT. I left because I had not been paid in six months. I was not going to do what other people were doing,” she added.
After she left AIT, Eyiyemi went into tailoring for over a decade but shut down the business at some point because she wasn’t managing her money properly. According to her, she later re-registered it as a limited liability company.
The actress said she never planned to become an actor. However, she made her comeback to the entertainment industry in 2021.
She praised her colleague Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi as being instrumental in her journey in Nollywood, stressing that the latter’s openness to her is rare in the industry where everyone sees the other as their competition.
“Acting was never one of the things that I wanted to do. It wasn’t even on the radar but I was given opportunities to act. I started with stage. I started with Bunmi Davies who produces Ali Baba’s January 1st show. Bunmi Davies used to do stage plays I think every month,” she said.
Eyiyemi said she considers stage as the “epitome of acting.”
Asked if she was similar to her character Iya Onidiri also known as Radio Ibaokuta in Itura, she said, “I do not believe in spreading gossip. There’s nothing in it. If somebody confides in you, hold it and if you are going to spread it keep the person anonymous.”
On the issue of actors disrespecting crew members, Eyiyemi said it hurts her when such occurs and she does not fail to address it when it happens in her presence. She described actors who disrespect crew members as “badly behaved”.
“A feature film takes at least five days, that’s if they are rushing it. You are going to work in close proximity with somebody for five days and they greet you in the morning and you won’t answer. Why? Because you’re a star?” she asked.
On the flip side, Eyiyemi said she has not had any case of crew members taking advantage of her but admitted it happens in the industry.
According to her, it is a conversation that should be had. She said there are different ways of handling situations and an actor must be professional and not allow a misunderstanding with a crew member get in the way of their job.
“If you don’t put yourself on the ground nobody will step on you as carpet,” she said.
