Veteran Yoruba Actor Tombolo Seeks Public Help As He Rides Okada To Survive

• Veteran Yoruba actor Ezekiel Atilola, known as Tombolo, has been riding commercial motorcycles to fend for his family
• Nollywood actor Kunle Afod shared an interview with Atilola, revealing the struggles the veteran faces decades after his debut
• Atilola, who began his theatre career in 1984, made a candid confession about his finances and what he recently did to pay his daughter's school fees

Actor Kunle Afod has called on Nigerians to come to the aid of veteran Yoruba film star Ezekiel Atilola, widely recognised by his screen name Tombolo.

This comes after the older actor opened up about the financial hardship that has pushed him into commercial motorcycle riding as a primary source of income in a video shared online on October 16.

Afod conducted a sit-down interview with Atilola and posted the conversation on his YouTube channel, bringing renewed attention to the struggles of one of Yoruba theatre's familiar faces.

Atilola, who began his career on the theatre stage in 1984, has appeared in a number of Yoruba productions over the decades. His most memorable role came in the film Tombolo, which gave him the nickname by which most people know him today. Yet despite that recognition, he told Afod that he has never produced a film of his own, though he holds onto the hope of doing so one day with the right financial support.

"I have faith in theatre and I really like theatre," he said during the interview.

The actor was candid about the absence of a support system around him.

"There is no one to help me. I am the only boy my mother gave birth to, and I have three elder sisters. I am the only one people really know, and there is no money with them either," he said.

To keep his household afloat, Atilola turned to okada riding. He recently had to sell his own motorcycle to cover the polytechnic fees for one of his daughters. The bike he currently operates was obtained through an instalment arrangement worth N1.5 million in total, with weekly payments of N30,000 that he has been keeping up since January.

At the close of the interview, Afod urged Atilola to share his bank account details publicly and appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to offer whatever assistance they could.

This is not the first time Atilola's situation has drawn public sympathy. Back in 2023, videos of him riding a commercial motorcycle circulated widely online and briefly brought his circumstances into the spotlight, with reports confirming that okada work had become a steady means of livelihood for him outside of acting.

Watch Kunle Afod's interview with actor Tombolo below:

Kunle Afod breaks silence amid wife's drama

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Kunle Afod was focused on his professional commitments amid a public online disagreement between his estranged wife, Desola Afod, and actress Wumi Toriola.

The actor took to Instagram to share a video of himself at work, where he said he had been invited to discuss some of the challenges facing crew members in the entertainment industry.

His post came as Desola and Wumi’s disagreement over respect and how actors should address one another continued to attract attention online.