Why I hired a Yoruba coach for my role in ‘Anikulapo: The Ghoul Awakens’- Saga

By Tolulope Oke

Saga Adeoluwa, former Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) reality TV star, has revealed that he hired a Yoruba language coach to improve his fluency while preparing for his role in Anikulapo: The Ghoul Awakens.

Saga played Aderoju, a prince, in the Netflix five-part mini-series produced by ace filmmaker Kunle Afolayan. The series is the third instalment of the epic story set during the peak of the old Oyo Empire in South-West Nigeria.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, Saga recounted how he landed the role despite his limited grasp of the Yoruba language.

According to him, Afolayan reached out after watching a series of his social media acting videos and initially assumed he was fluent in Yoruba.

“When Kunle Afolayan called me, I was dumbfounded. He said he reached out because of the ‘Couple Chronicles’ videos I do with Liquorose. He thought I was the one speaking Yoruba in the videos, but I was only lip-syncing,” he said.

“When I met him in person, he asked me to speak Yoruba, and after I did, he told me I needed to improve.

“I will forever be grateful to him because he gave me the opportunity and believed in me, even though I couldn’t speak the language well and didn’t fully have the charisma for the character at the time.

“After receiving the script, I cleared my schedule for a month to study my lines and get into character.

“I also hired a Yoruba coach who taught me every day, and I began watching Yoruba programmes and listening to radio broadcasts.

“It wasn’t easy, but my co-stars helped me on set by correcting me.”