Veteran actor Peter Fatomilola has told the story of the day a young skit maker treated him like a king after Nollywood itself had paid him like an extra. Speaking in an interview with African A-List, the 80-year-old Ifa priest and first Papa Ajasco said Debo Adedayo, popularly known as Mr Macaroni, first found him on a set in the Oyo area and later stunned him with a transfer that still makes him laugh in disbelief.
The first meeting was almost ordinary. Fatomilola had gone to work around Fiditi in Oyo State, finished two scenes quickly, and prepared to leave. The production that booked him paid ₦50,000. Macaroni walked him to the car and refused to let the journey end there.
“Mr Macaroni, the day I started work in this industry, in the area of Oyo, Fiditi, I finished quickly and he asked, ‘Uncle Fat, are you done?’ I said I was leaving. It was just two scenes. He took me to the car. Then he said, ‘Let me give you money for fuel.’ The money he gave me was not less than ₦200,000. The person I came to work for paid ₦50,000. And it wasn’t even once or twice. I can’t even count it.”
That fuel money was only the opening act. Macaroni later collected his number and called him to Lekki for another job, this time on a set that also featured Pete Edochie. Fatomilola said he arrived expecting a proper role. What he got was a brief “Peter to Peter” moment, one scene, and a payday that made him suspicious before he even reached the bank.
“He said, ‘I’ll be expecting you in Lekki tomorrow for a job.’ So I went together with them. I was waiting for them to give me a role, not knowing I was only called to play one role. What I saw was ‘Peter to Peter’ — Peter Edochie and Peter Fatomilola. We both wanted to act and he said we were done, he was satisfied. He called my son and gave him ₦100,000. My grandchild, the other person’s child, he gave him ₦50,000. That was when I became suspicious that I’d be given money before.”
He asked his son to check the alert while they were still in Lekki.
“We were still in Lekki. I asked, ‘Child, how much did he send? Did it enter?’ One million naira.”
The contrast is what has kept the story moving. A living archive of Yoruba theatre, a man who joined Ola Rotimi’s Olokun group in 1967 and later became the face of herbalist roles in films such as Sango, collected ₦50,000 for two scenes from one producer and ₦1 million for one scene from a content creator who was not even born when Fatomilola was already on stage. Fans online were quick to point out the lesson and the insult at the same time. One commenter noted that turning down the ₦50,000 job would have meant missing the ₦1 million, while still calling the original fee ridiculous for a legend.
Macaroni’s name has come up this way before. Colleagues have described him as the kind of artist who remembers people after the cameras stop. In 2023 he said one reason he gives is that he once jumped from celebrity inbox to celebrity inbox looking for help himself.