Six years ago, the acclaimed first man to ever produce a Yoruba movie on celluloid, Alade Muyideen Aromire, died in an automobile accident after he was hit by a trailer along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The fourth of July made it exactly six years of his death and many are still grieved by the loss. While some see the day as the anniversary of a dear father, brother, uncle, and cousin, the family sees it as an opportunity to realize the task ahead of them, and continue with the progress of the Yotomi TV which is currently running on Daarsat Cable.
We recall that the pioneer of Yoruba home video industry, Muyideen Alade Aromire, was the first Nigerian to own a vernacular pay television channel, Yotomi TV. Prior to 1984, film lovers in Nigeria made do with cinema houses for their movie entertainment until Alade Aromire produced the first made-in-Nigeria home video titled ‘Ekun.’
The production of ‘Ekun’ on VHS format opened a new chapter in the evolution of home video film industry in the country. According to him, he borrowed N27,000 from his parents to produce that first movie. It was premiered at Super Cinema, Lagos in December 1984
