Popular Nigerian veteran actor Alhaji Tajudeen Oyewole, known widely by his stage name Abija has revealed how he got denied the opportunity to visit Mecca in 1994 by his then boss Alhaji Yekeen Ajileye. The actor revealed this during an interview with BBC Yoruba as he also spoke about how he met with Late Ajileye in Port Harcourt, which birthed his acting career.
Abija explained that he was a herbalist and driver before venturing into acting. According to him, it was in Port Harcourt that he met with his late boss because Ajileye needed someone who could drive him back to Oshogbo, and he volunteered to.
When he got to Oshogbo, he decided to join the Ajileye group as an actor, and since then, he started his acting career.
He, however, explained that there was a little disagreement between himself and late Ajileye when he decided to shoot a sequel to a movie his boss headlined him on. Alhaji Tajudeen said his boss wasn’t happy about this, and there was a time an opportunity to go to Mecca came, and his name was already shortlisted in 1994.
According to Abija, to his greatest surprise, his boss Alhaji Yekeen Ajileye removed his name from the list, and he couldn’t visit Mecca.
He explained how sad he was about this as all his family members and friends already thought he was going, and being denied the chance was a huge blow to his face.
He, however, revealed that 15 years after he was denied the opportunity, someone else sponsored
his trip to Mecca in 2019.