When popular Yoruba actress, Margaret Bandele Olayinka, popularly known as Iya Gbonkan, cried out days ago that she had no car, she was not speaking for herself alone.
There are many Nigerians actors/actresses who do not have cars.
The reason is that the fame they have has not translated into money.
Rather, it co-habits with celebrity poverty.
Unfortunately, it is getting difficult to buy a car – at least a Tokunbo – by the day.
By 2015 when Buhari was taking over, you could get one for about N1.5, depending on the brand and taste. But now, you must get about N3.5m to own such, largely to the crash of the naira in the global market.
In other words, unless well-meaning people intervene in a case like that of Iya Gbonkan, owning a ride might become an impossibility.
The veteran actress had cried out over her inability to purchase a car even having been in the industry for decades.
She claimed that she had been taking buses to her destination every day.
Iya Gbonkan urged fans and followers to celebrate her while she is still alive, rather than waiting until she is dead to kill a cow.
“I have been acting for decades yet I don’t have a car. I jump on buses every day.
If I die now, you will kill a cow. Celebrate me now that I am alive. I need a car from my fans,” she said.
