Actress Sola Sobowale Debunks Drug Trafficking And Arrests in Saudi Arabia
Veteran Nigerian actress Sola Sobowale has addressed false rumours circulating about her supposed arrest and death sentence for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia.
During an interview on the Deep Drive podcast with Teju Babyface, Sobowale shared that upon returning from the United Kingdom to Nigeria, she was faced with numerous negative reports, including false claims of her demise in the Middle East.
The 58-year-old actress clarified that she has never visited Saudi Arabia and refuted the fabricated story upon her return to Nigeria. Sobowale expressed gratitude to God for compensating her in the face of such damaging rumours.
“The worst of the rumours I heard about me was when they said Sola Sobowale had been killed in Saudi Arabia and that I carried cocaine.
“It was written here in Nigeria. I was arrested in Saudi Arabia. That there, they amputated my leg and my hand. And I said to them that I am a star in Nigeria and that they should kill me.
“So when I now got to Nigeria, at the airport, they said, ‘Sola Sobowale is dead’. I said do you believe in abracadabra? I said I am alive. I have never been to Saudi Arabia.
“I do not even know where it is on the map. So many negative things. But to God be the glory. God has compensated me.”
She further revealed that she temporarily halted her career to give precedence to her children, underscoring that she had no expectations of reciprocation.
Additionally, she reminisced about relinquishing her highly profitable acting position, which was yielding her a substantial sum of over N5 million per month during the early 2000s, in favor of humble employment in England.
She said, “It was confusing because my tag read ‘Olu’. Because I did not put Olusola. Especially one of the top Ogas looked at me and said ‘have I met you before’ and I said no,” she said.
“Then he looked at me and walked away. After I saw him in the office, I went there and asked may I know you sir and he said his name is Seye Fadipe. And I said yes, you have met me before. I said my name is Sola Sobowale. You met me on the television.
“He looked at me and said ‘are you crazy?’ I said I am not crazy. He asked what are you doing? You are up there in Nigeria. But there was something better than that. My future. My children are my future. There will be a time when the energy that Sola Sobowale will no longer be there. Then it is what you sow that you reap.
“At that time, Sola Sobowale was baba career. Career that there was nothing you will not do. Not senior carer or team leader. You will wash. You will carry. You will clean. You will do everything. That was what I was doing. The following week, my name was called to go to college and register.”
