Veteran Nollywood actor Adewale Adeoye, popularly known as Elesho, recently opened up about his unique journey to fame, starting from his birth as an albino. In an interview with media personality Adedoyin Kukoyi on Sunday, Adeoye shared how his distinct appearance set him apart from the beginning.
“It was not common to give birth to an albino in those days because my parents had a different complexion from me,” Adeoye explained. “I became popular since my birth. The news got everywhere that a white man was born. Some will scold their wards for coming to our house because they had given birth to an albino. Some will even wonder if I’m Chinese. Many people come to look at me out of curiosity.”
Recalling the day he was born, Adeoye mentioned his late mother’s initial distress. “My late mother said the day I was born was a day of sorrow for her because she was a dark-complexioned trader who sold breakable plates that were being supplied to her by the Lebanese. So when I was born in a hospital in Ibadan, my mother wept for the suspicion that might arise that she had had something with one of the Lebanese,” he said. However, his father joyfully embraced him, seeing a resemblance to his own grandmother.
Adeoye also shared how his elder brother, Yekinni Adebola, would fiercely defend him from taunts about his albinism. Over time, accepting his identity helped defuse the situation.
Discussing his path to acting, Adeoye credited his father, a chief in the Ikirun area of Osun State, for inspiring his talent. “I can say it was from my father’s character that I inherited the ability to talk. My father was an embodiment of happiness. He was always happy. When the chief is greeted at that time: ‘May the chief live long,’ he would respond: ‘May the natives not get sick too.’ He always had a reply to everything said to him,” Adeoye recounted. “I am not the first entertainer from Ikirun. It was God that gave me wisdom to speak the way I do.”
Adeoye is also the father of popular skit maker Yemi Elesho, known for his comedy skits. Yemi began his journey to stardom in 2016 with the help of fellow comedian Arole, who introduced him to Instagram skit making.
