Source: Richie Mensah YouTube

Nigerian actor Deyemi Okanlawon’s journey to becoming one of Nollywood’s recognisable faces is a story of setbacks, reinvention, determination and an unwavering commitment to excellence. From struggling academically at the University of Lagos to building a career in sales and marketing before finding success in acting, his journey challenges the conventional idea that success follows a straight path.

In a conversation with Richie Mensah on the Masterminds podcast, Okanlawon opened up about his childhood, academic struggles, entrepreneurial experiences, decision to leave corporate employment and the circumstances that eventually brought him back to acting.

His central message was clear: sometimes, what looks like quitting is actually redirection.

A Childhood Shaped by Books and Creativity

Okanlawon’s earliest memory of life was in a library, where he developed a love for books and stories. As a child, he would imagine himself inside the stories he read, visualising their characters and environments.

His creative interests extended to school plays, where he participated in numerous productions throughout primary school. He recalled playing different characters, including Jesus, Joseph and one of the three wise men.

However, when he entered secondary school, drama was no longer considered fashionable among his peers. Sports and fitting into the expectations of his social environment became more important, and he gradually moved away from the creative activities that had once given him joy.

Looking back, he recognised a connection between his creativity and academic performance. When he stopped participating in drama, he began to struggle academically.

With guidance and encouragement from a close family friend, he regained his confidence and improved his performance, particularly in mathematics.

His early experiences would later become an important part of his understanding of the relationship between creativity, discipline and personal development.

The Academic Setback That Tested His Determination

Okanlawon proceeded to the University of Lagos to study chemical engineering. However, his university years were far from smooth.

He admitted that he spent considerable time partying and neglecting his studies, eventually receiving a warning from the university over his poor academic performance.

The situation forced him to reconsider his priorities. He changed his social circle, committed himself to studying and sought support from friends who helped him understand difficult subjects.

Just as his academic performance began to improve, he received a letter informing him that he had been dismissed from the university.

The news was devastating. His family and community were disappointed, and he initially believed his academic journey had come to an end.

However, when he returned to check his results, he discovered that he had actually achieved a 3.0 grade point average for the semester. The dismissal letter had been sent in error, and his course adviser instructed him to disregard it.

Despite the improved results, the experience left him with a lasting lesson about personal responsibility, resilience and the importance of not allowing other people’s judgments to define one’s future.

Rather than abandon chemical engineering, Okanlawon decided to start his first-year courses again.

He explained that, at 18, he had thought about the implications of quitting and decided that he did not want to develop a pattern of giving up whenever life became difficult.

He eventually graduated with a third-class degree in chemical engineering.

Although his academic results were not what he had hoped for, the experience taught him lessons that would prove valuable throughout his career.

From His Mother’s Bakery to the World of Business

Long before he became an established actor, Okanlawon had gained practical experience in entrepreneurship through his mother’s bakery business, Baker’s World.

He helped with baking, decorating cakes, speaking with customers and selling products. While studying at university, he also sold his mother’s bread and cakes on campus.

After graduating, he worked with his mother for approximately two years, developing sales strategies and expanding the business’s reach across six major universities in southwestern Nigeria.

However, disagreements about the direction of the business eventually led him to leave.

For the first time, he moved out of his family home and had to confront the reality of supporting himself without the financial security he had previously enjoyed.

He described the period as one in which he discovered just how little he had.

Determined to build something independently, he joined friends to establish Quick Links Marketing Solutions, a business that brought together advertising, design and distribution services.

The venture involved producing a publication featuring advertisements from different businesses. Okanlawon was responsible for sales and distribution, taking the product to churches, shopping centres and other locations around Lagos.

At one point, he was so financially constrained that he walked several kilometres between Shomolu and Surulere to save money for food and avoid transportation expenses.

He also recalled living in a friend’s sitting room while using another friend’s office as his workplace.

These experiences exposed him to the realities of entrepreneurship, including financial uncertainty, sales, networking and the importance of creating business models that can grow.

Although the venture eventually reached its limitations, it helped him develop skills that would later support his transition into corporate employment and the entertainment industry.

Building a Career in Sales and Marketing

Okanlawon’s career took another turn when he enrolled in an employability skills development programme. After completing the programme and building relationships with its facilitators, he received three job offers.

He accepted a position as head of marketing at Proshare Investor Relations.

The role marked the beginning of a professional career that would span approximately a decade across sales, marketing and business development.

He later worked with Dealfish and became head of marketing at OLX Nigeria following its acquisition of Dealfish.

Despite graduating with a chemical engineering degree rather than a marketing qualification, he built his career through practical experience and measurable results.

His approach was straightforward: if his academic grades could not fully demonstrate his abilities, his work would.

Throughout this period, acting remained part of his life. He continued participating in church drama productions and developed his stage presence under the guidance of experienced theatre practitioners.

What began as a creative passion gradually became an opportunity for professional growth.

An Unexpected Entry into Acting

Okanlawon’s entry into film was not the result of a carefully planned career change.

During a business interaction, he met someone who invited him to audition for a film being produced by friends who had studied film in the United States.

He accepted the invitation and performed well at the audition.

Interestingly, other filmmakers who were present at the audition approached him to take the lead role in a separate short film.

His first audition therefore resulted in two acting opportunities.

One of the projects was A Grain of Wheat, while another early project mentioned in the conversation was Red House 7. He subsequently appeared in the short film Blink, which attracted significant attention online at the time.

Even as his acting opportunities grew, Okanlawon continued working in marketing. He eventually faced a decision when a production opportunity required several months of filming.

After discussing the decision with his wife, whom he married in January 2013, he chose to pursue acting more seriously.

What he initially imagined as a one-year experiment became a much longer journey.

Walking Away from Acting and Finding His Way Back

In 2019, Okanlawon decided to step away from acting.

Despite his passion for the craft, he felt that the opportunities available to him did not adequately reflect the level of skill he had worked hard to develop. He also felt he had not found the right management and representation to help him progress in the industry.

Rather than remain in an environment where he felt unable to achieve his ambitions, he moved into film distribution and became head of marketing at Silverbird Film Distribution.

He believed the move would allow him to build experience in the business side of the film industry and potentially progress into international distribution.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape.

With fewer corporate responsibilities, calls began arriving from filmmakers offering him opportunities to work on projects he had long wanted to pursue.

One of those projects was Omo Ghetto: The Saga, released in December 2020. The film became a major box-office success in Nigeria, with Okanlawon playing a lead role.

The success helped bring renewed attention to his acting career.

However, he explained that his return was not simply about accepting every opportunity that came his way. He wanted to work on projects that matched his ambitions and offered room for growth.

His experience illustrates how stepping away from one career path does not necessarily mean abandoning the skills, relationships and experiences accumulated along the way.

Sometimes, those experiences prepare a person for a different opportunity.

Excellence as the Guiding Principle

Throughout the conversation, Okanlawon challenged the perception that his career decisions had always been carefully planned.

He explained that he had not necessarily been intentional about every step of his journey. Rather, the one thing he consistently pursued was excellence.

For him, excellence meant evaluating opportunities based on the quality of the story, the strength of the cast and director, the producer’s capacity to deliver and the resources available to execute a project successfully.

He also recognised that not every opportunity needs to be perfect. Sometimes, a project with limited resources can still offer significant potential if the people involved have the right skills and vision.

His approach is a reminder that professional growth often requires more than ambition. It requires the ability to recognise potential, assess opportunities and make decisions that align with one’s standards.

Okanlawon also described his willingness to leave situations that no longer supported his growth as redirection rather than failure.

He compared personal development to growing a plant: when a plant is not thriving in its environment, the solution may be to change the environment rather than discard the plant.

This perspective offers an alternative way of thinking about career changes, business setbacks and unexpected transitions.

Letting Go of the Past Without Losing Its Lessons

Reflecting on the difficult experiences that shaped his journey, Okanlawon said he would not be who he is today without having gone through them.

He spoke about the importance of releasing the emotional baggage of the past while retaining the lessons those experiences provide.

His message was not that every setback is easy to overcome or that every decision will produce the desired outcome. Rather, he emphasised the importance of continuing to move forward, learning from experience and remaining open to better knowledge.

He described himself as persistent about his goals and ideas, but willing to change direction when confronted with superior wisdom.

That balance between determination and adaptability is particularly relevant for entrepreneurs and professionals navigating uncertain environments.

Persistence matters, but so does the ability to recognise when a different approach may lead to better results.

A Journey Beyond the Screen

Deyemi Okanlawon’s story extends beyond his achievements as an actor. It is also a story about entrepreneurship, professional reinvention and the value of transferable skills.

His experience in sales and marketing helped him understand the commercial realities of filmmaking. His early entrepreneurial ventures taught him about customer relationships, distribution and the challenges of scaling a business. His academic struggles forced him to confront the consequences of his decisions and rebuild his discipline.

Each stage contributed something different to the professional he eventually became.

For young people who feel defined by poor academic results, entrepreneurs facing setbacks or professionals considering a career change, his journey offers a useful reminder: one disappointing chapter does not have to determine the entire story.

Success may require changing direction, learning new skills, recognising better opportunities and being willing to begin again.

Ultimately, Okanlawon’s journey reinforces a powerful lesson: the goal is not necessarily to remain on one path forever, but to keep growing, pursue excellence and have the courage to redirect when circumstances demand it.

Source: Deyemi Okanlawon’s conversation with Richie Mensah on the Masterminds podcast.