Veteran actor and showbiz personality, Kanayo O. Kanayo, has subtly warned the Nigerian youths and those eager to make money through internet fraud and ritual killings in the hope of becoming rich.
Kanayo, who blew up in the industry by interpreting ritualistic roles and making human sacrifices to garner wealth in movies has advised youngsters not to toll that line because it is wrong to make human sacrifices as wealth enablers.
Kanayo spoke as a guest of Ikenga Online’s November 2023 Town Hall Meeting, a virtual meeting that is held every month and powered by an online news platform, Ikenga Online.
Speaking on the topic, “Rituals, Riches, and Realities: The Myths of Money-Making and the Dignity of Labour,” the veteran actor, who has through his roles in movies acquired the sobriquet “Nnanyi Sacrifice,” urged youths to better indulge in hard work.
Speaking about rampant ritual killings, he said: “These people (youths) have up their ante and it is not about what they watch (movies). There is no truth to the fact that a man living in a thatched house will ask you to kill your girlfriend and sleep with her to make money.
“The Yahoo (scam) we knew many years ago was writing letters and promising deals that were utopian. We know many people who are in public office today who were part of it. I will not want to mention names.
“But today people are told that. The in-thing is Yahoo Promax, which involves killing someone, eating the heart of the person and washing it down with Hennessy, and the belief that you will make money. I can’t see any connection between that and making money. Money is made through hard work.”
Speaking about how he made money overnight to build a mansion in his hometown, which was a surprise to many, KOK said he did not indulge in any sacrifice.
He jocularly remarked: “I laid the foundation of my house in 2015, and in 2016, Globacom, owned by Mike Adenuga, signed me as one of those to be a part of a nationwide campaign it was holding.
“The money was huge. It involved performances in many cities, but sometimes they count 10 cities and pay us upfront, even before we start visiting those cities.
“So, I made a lot of money and built my house. I can say I made a sacrifice to build that house because, at that time, I had the option of buying a brand-new 2015 Range Rover. If I had bought it, today, I would have been seen as someone who was driving an old Range Rover.
“So the sacrifice I made was that I left the Range Rover and completed my house. That was the sacrifice I made.”
