By Yusuf Olatunji
As famous as household name for the local matches, called “Isana Elefa” in the south west, Nigeria, many people know Baba Wande as he is fondly called in the theatre industry has various stage names such as “ASIYANBI”, ”SIYANBOLA”,”GBAJUMO”.
OGUN City News met with veteran actor, popularly known as Baba Wande, a 80 year old but who looks like a young man of early 40s. He is a native of Arikalamu Compound Olu-Ode, Owo-Ope in Oshogbo State of Osun.
EARLY DAYS
“During the stage Politicians: Free education policy in Western Nigeria in the era of Late Obafemi Awolowo,I attended Ansar-ud-deen primary school, Oshogbo from 1954-1960. I later proceeded to catholic Modern School, Agbor from 1961-1963 after modern school, I joined Oyin Adejobi theatre on full time”
WHEN DID YOU START ACTING?
“I started acting drama right from my primary school days in Ansar-ud-deen. Am lucky to be one of the pupils, the school choose to learn drama under the tutelage of Late Oyin Adejobi drama organization. Our school is privately owned by Ansar-ud-deen, the school management made use of the procedures gotten from the various stage plays. We,” pupils’ dramatist” presented at various designated centres to pay our teachers’ salary then”.
“Also Ansar-ud-deen society invited late Oyin Adejobi to perform stage plays for us in our school. That was how I developed interest in drama”.
HOW MANY FILMS DO YOU PRODUCE AND PARTICIPATED?
“I had lost count, I produced many films, also participated in many films(s),I can’t really be specific on the number of films I produced and participated in”
HOW MANY YEARS ON STAGE?
“I thank God for my life, glory be to Him. Now I am fifty-four years on stage”.
“ADVENT OF TI OLUWA NILE”
“You see I was gifted by Allah, whenever am in the commercial bus I listed to passengers’ conversation. One day I was in a bus, someone raised a controversy issue that some people sold a piece of land in a particular town and they began to die one by one. I quickly picked interest in the controversial matter, when I got home I began to think about the issue. Some people fight over here too and drag themselves to court room even I once experienced where they plaster a shelter overnight, somewhere in the Lagos State to beat other party to it. Wonders can never end. That was how I began to write the play but it was detailed then because it was titled. When TK (Tunde Kelani) established mainframe production, he asked me weather I have play which we can produce together. I told him that I have one, I narrated the story, he picked interest in it,. With his brain, my brain and other peoples efforts were put together for the play without title. We later coined the play title when shot a scene in hotel in Abeokuta , when we won the land case in court room, in that particular scene, to celebrate the case we won they asked me, “TALO NI LE?” means “Who owns the land?”, I responded “T’oluwa Nile Ati Awa ti a mo Itan re means “THE LORD OWNS THE LAND AND WE THAT KNOWS THE HISTORY OF THE LAND.”
WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH TUNDE KELANI?
“Myself and TK were friends from the beginning of T’Oluwa Nile production, we remain friends after and up till now we are still friends.
WHO ARE YOUR COMTEMPRARIES IN THEATRE FIELD?
‘My contemprairices were Lere Paimo, Jimoh Aliu, Moses Olaiya (Babasala), Ola Omonitan (Ajimajasan), Adebayo Salami (Bello), met us in the field and so on.
BABA WANDE MARITAL LIFE
“Glory be to Almighty Allah, I have many wives and Allah blessed me with many children, both males and females, there is no third tier of children in life. My children are doing fine in their various chosen fields”.
DOES ANY OF YOUR CHILDREN PRACTISE THEATRE?
“Maybe, if possible in future any one of them may decide to resign from his or her job to venture into theatre because they are bankers, engineer, and so on. Presently, they assisted whenever I have production, they participated in my films and then, after production they will go back to their various respective fields of work”.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEN THEATRE AND NOWADAYS THEATRE?
Then veteran actor spotted many differences in the theatre of yesterday and today. He begins, “The differences between then and nowadays theatre is very clear because some people then in our community were ignorance of theatre with wrong perceptions they see us as useless fellow then. But nowadays, they offer theatre art as course in our various universities now.
Secondly, another difference was then we move from city to city, village to village, from one state to another, we slept in king palace also to perform stage play in the palace square, that was when people started developing interest in drama. However, nowadays, there is no more travelling to village, cities and so on, audience sat back at the comfort of their living room to watch movies through technology.
Thirdly, theatre has moved away from the professionals who really love the job in the beginning. It has moved to the businessmen who now go into it for profitable means, like the common saying that “he who plays piper dictates the tunes” nowadays, some theatre practitioner dance to the tune of the marketers because if they asked to act nudity they will, because they have no choice. Though marketers know those they dictate to, they dare not do that with me. It is not all about money, but being a role model, preaching the right to our audience through plays and just like every other perform, we will sure give account of our deeds on earth before Allah.”
WHAT ARE YOU DOING IF YOU ARE NOT IN LOCATION?
“Hmm, when am at home I would be reciting the Holy Quran, if I have script to write, I do that and always like people around me to review it. That’s why you see people around doing presently.
BABA WANDE AND SPORTS
“Ah, I am an athlete, I play football, I do run, I do jump and I do various exercise to make me sweat and keep me fit”.
WITH WHAT YOU HAVE SAID SO FAR, WHAT DID YOU BENEFIT FROM THEATRE?
“Alhamdulillah! I benefited a lot from theatre, you see everything is not money, I got fame through theatre, I performed Holy Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia through theatre, I toured Europe and America continents through theatre, I trained my children up to university level through theatre, I really benefited from theatre, I thank Almighty Allah.
As Alhaji Abdul Kareen Adepoju benefits from theatre, he also as a mentor produce many artists via training the young budding stars to nurture them to stardom people like;
Shukurah Opeyemi Lawal, a native of Ikirun, Osun State. She is a Business Administration Graduate from Imo State Polytechnic. She is one of the Baba Wande trainees, she describes the living legend actor as a role model, man of the people who treats his subjects equally.
To Adetutu Omidiran, a native of Osogbo, Osun State, “Alhaji AbudlKareen Adepoju is my father because he treated me like her daughter though, am his apprentice in theatre industry”. Omidiran a computer Science undergraduate student at The Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State .
Abidemi Oladimeji, a native of Iragbiji, Osun State. To her, “Baba Wande is not our master, he is our father, a great father who plays fatherly role in our life, he never sees us as his trainees, he treat us like his children, also gave us good advice.” Though I am a Business Administration under graduate student at Osun State Polytechnic, Iree.
YOUR MEMORABLE DAY?
“The day I saw the Holy Mosque, Kaabah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It surprised me that I theatre practitioner like me can perform Hajj. I wonder that I could perform Hajj though the money I make from theatre because no individual or government sponsors my trip to Saudi Arabia. I sponsored my trip to Mecca with my sweat and the money and I made from theatre industry.
YOUR ADVICE TO NOWADAYS THEATRE PRACTITIONERS?
“I beg them to remember the son of whom they are, also they should know that one day we would leave this world where Almighty Allah would ask us to account for all what we did in the universe on the day of judgment.”
Thanks for your time.
You are welcome.
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