Yoruba Nollywood actor Ibrahim Olalekan Bello, popularly known as Omoba Sanjay, has opened up about a tough decision he had to make early in his career—ending a budding romantic relationship to protect his professional journey.
In a candid interview with fellow actor Kunle Afod on YouTube, Bello recounted an experience on a movie set that highlighted the complex nature of workplace politics and power dynamics.
According to him, the situation unfolded when a lady visited the set with a friend and showed interest in him. Being single at the time, he welcomed her approach, unaware of the complications it would soon bring.
However, things quickly took a complicated turn when the producer in charge of the project—who was also interested in the same lady—began to show hostility toward Bello. Without clarifying the nature of their interaction, the producer assumed they were romantically involved and started treating him coldly.
Despite being actively involved on set for five consecutive days, Bello revealed he was denied basic necessities, including feeding allowances, while the lady—who had no professional role in the production—was frequently given money. It soon became evident to him that the producer was deliberately trying to provoke a reaction.
Choosing maturity over confrontation, Bello said he refused to respond with anger, fully aware of the producer’s attempts at manipulation.
Unaware of the underlying tension, the lady continued to share details of her interactions with the producer with Bello, unknowingly reinforcing his suspicions.
Realizing the producer’s influence in the industry, Bello eventually made the tough decision to end the relationship after dating her for a while. He understood that continuing the romance could jeopardize his career, as producers often network and exchange opinions about actors during casting decisions.
In his words: “I was at a location on a particular day when a lady followed her friend to the movie set. She approached me and said she liked me and would like us to be together, as I wasn’t married at the time. Unknown to me, the producer I was working with on that set was also interested in the same lady and had been watching us from afar. He immediately assumed that we were dating, not knowing that we had just met.”
“For about five days on that movie set, the producer was giving the lady money for feeding, even though she neither acted in the movie nor did any work. Meanwhile, I, who was working throughout those five days, was not given any money for feeding. The producer wanted me to react angrily so he could use my words against me — but I didn’t react. Interestingly, the lady came to me every day the producer gave her money for feeding, and she always told me everything.”
“This made me upset and angry with the producer. However, after the movie shoot, I realized that the relationship with the lady couldn’t work because the producer was one of the top producers at the time. He could easily instruct other producers not to hire me. I couldn’t risk my career for the relationship.”
Watch interview below;