I can no longer feature in cultural plays — Oyin Adejobi’s widow
Eighty-four-year-old matriarch of
the Oyin Adejobi theatre dynasty, Grace Oyin Adejobi popularly called
Iya Osogbo, talks about her life and acting career with GBENGA ADENIJI
Where and when were you born?
I am Grace Oyin Adejobi otherwise called
Iya Osogbo. I was born in Osogbo, Osun State, in August 1931. My father
was a contractor and he spoke many languages. He was an educated man
and wrote down the birth dates of all his children. My father had three
wives and my mother was the second wife. My mother, who was a trader,
bore five children with only three of us still alive.
Tell us about your educational background.
I attended the All Saints School,
Osogbo. In the past, education was important like it is today but not
all parents gave it much attention as it is nowadays. My parents were
not too keen about it, so when I left school after studying up to
Standard Four, I learnt cloth designing. When I completed learning as an
apprentice, I opened a tailoring shop where I employed some
apprentices. The shop ran for sometime before I closed it. I decided to
close the shop after five years because we were not making much profit.
We could sew a woman’s traditional
attire for six shillings. The only thing was that the money had value.
At the time, my mother had travelled to Ghana on a business trip. I was
staying with my maternal grandmother at the time my mother was out of
the country. It was not long then that I got married.
How did you meet your husband?
My husband was the late theatre guru,
Oyin Adejobi. We both stayed in Osogbo and had known ourselves for a
long time before we got married. He was also our choir master at an
Anglican Church in Osogbo. We both attended the same school and he was
my senior by many years. We both knew our parents.
Was he into acting when you met him?
It was when he travelled to Lagos with
his brother who was a primate that he learnt many things about theatre.
He was good at playing the piano while he was in Osogbo. We did not have
any plan to get married when he was in Lagos but it was when he
returned that we started an affair. We were close even when he travelled
to Lagos. When he came, we continued with our relationship as friends.
At the time, people made enquiries about the family one wanted to marry
into. It was not like today that people get married without making
findings about the families of their spouses. There was also an
intermediary who served as a go-between between the lovers. We had one
too despite the fact that my husband and I had known each other for a
long time. My husband was from a good family. Notwithstanding that, I
could not just jump at his proposal. We were not even allowed to visit
our would-be husbands’ houses until the marriage rites were done.
Tell us about the wedding day.
We did not have a formal wedding
ceremony. But members of the two families met and had a ceremony. It was
a great day and I remember it affectionately.
When did you start acting?
It was in Osogbo in 1953. We had only
two males with us at the time. We also did many shows in Jebba, Kwara
State. Every festive period, we travelled round the country to perform.
We drew a lot of crowd because many
people liked Oyin Adejobi’s kind of performances. Ours was stage theatre
of excellence. In those days, it was believed that only unserious
people embraced acting. Many parents did not allow their children to go
into theatre. But today, the situation has changed.
Did your husband initially tell you that you would join his theatre troupe?
He did not need to tell me because my
love for acting started since when I was in school. I was a very popular
pupil in my school’s drama society. Anytime there was a cultural event
in the school, I always played a lead role. I love acting. It is in me.
My teachers loved me so much because of that.
Would you say your love for acting also made you marry Oyin Adejobi?
I told you that he was a very
responsible man and from a good home. He had few friends but was close
to some people like the late dramatist, Kola Ogunmola.
Can you remember any major play you acted in with the Oyin Adejobi Theatre Company which you treasure till date?
All our plays are memorable. You have to
watch them to agree with me. The storyline is always interesting and
the messages deep. My first participation in the production of the group
was in 1953 at the Billiard Room in Osogbo when we acted Paradise Lost.
On that day, my husband lit the corners of the room with local lamps
for illumination. The audience was huge that day. His theatre business
was so broad that we sometimes travelled across many states to record
episodes of any play we were working on.
Why did he decide to marry more wives?
He really was not someone who liked
polygamy. But his work made him marry about four more wives. There were
some women that came into the group only for acting but they were
different from the ones he married.
What was your reaction when took the decision?
Well, I did not react in anyway because I
supported his decision from the beginning. All his wives participated
in the productions. We all travelled with him across the states. At the
time, the likes of Kareem Adepoju (Baba Wande), Kola Oyewo and others
were with him.
Can you remember some of the plays?
Some of the plays are Paradise Lost, Kuye, Orogun Adedigba and others. We did not produce many films because most of the productions were stage plays.
A marketer is producing a
film titled Orogun Adedigba, which shares same title with the
autobiographical movie of your husband. One of his ex-workers, Kareem
Adepoju, was also named by the marketer as one of the key actors in the
movie but he has denied featuring in the yet-to-be-released film. What
do you have to say to this?
I do not want to talk about it. ‘Orogun
Adedigba’ is the life story of my late husband. It chronicles how he
started using the crutches at age seven. That was not how he was born.
It is not possible for anybody to now say that it’s a story he wants to
use as a play. I do not want to hear of that.
What is your favourite food?
I like pap and pounded yam.
What is your favourite drink?
It is room temperature water.
You look healthy at your age. What is your secret?
The secret is God. He is the giver of life and peace.
Do you do exercises?
Yes, I do. I take a walk round my
compound. My doctors told me that it is not good for an elderly person
to be sitting idly. They advised me to always take a walk. That is why I
always do so.
How do you relax?
I do have a siesta or read the bible. I enjoy church activities too because they are always spiritually refreshing.
How do people react when they see you?
My children do not allow me to trek or
take public buses. But there was a time I decided to take a walk from
where I stay in Ibadan, Oyo State, to an area in Mokola. I had not
walked up to 10 minutes when a man driving a sleek sport utility vehicle
moved towards me. I was scared and nearly fell into the gutter close
by. He must have seen the fear in my eyes, so he quickly stopped the
vehicle and later beckoned on me in a friendly manner. I waited as he
alighted, saying ‘‘Please ma, do not be annoyed. I was too happy to see
you. Are you Iya Osogbo?’’
I answered in the affirmative and he
smiled broadly. It was a time when the news was all over that ritual
killers were on the prowl. He gave me some money and I retreated but he
begged me to accept it that he was one of my fans. I collected the money
and when he offered to give me a ride, I told him I was just taking a
walk. I was scared till I got home because of the money he gave me. I
know that I have to acknowledge my fans whenever they do show
appreciation for what I do.
How did you get the nickname Iya Osogbo?
You know my husband ran a television series called Kootu Asipa
(Ashipa Court). The nickname came from there. Some persons started
calling us the names we used in some plays which many of us did not
like. We complained to my husband and he used an episode in the series
to stage a play in which punishment is meted out to anybody who calls
another a name he or she does not like. He later asked us the name we
wanted to bear in plays and I said Lagbenjo Iya Osogbo. Kareem Adepoju
said Baba Wande and Alabi Yellow chose Alabi Yellow.
What is your view about the types of Yoruba films being produced now?
Let me say that things have improved greatly in the industry. Besides, the practitioners are giving the audience what they want.
Why don’t you act again?
I am no longer young. I do not have the
strength to be going from one location to the other. I still acted in
many films after the death of my husband. I can no longer act in
cultural plays. Even when my husband was alive, we mostly used the bible
in our plays. Our theatre group didn’t know how to use incantation in
plays.
Would you act in cultural movies if you are invited?
What else am I looking for? Is it a house on water that I want to build? I love gospel plays now.
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