Veteran Yoruba actor Lere Paimo has weighed in on the ongoing debate over seniority among Nigeria’s veteran actors, insisting that he began his acting career before Pete Edochie.
The 86-year-old actor said he started acting in 1958, four years before Edochie’s reported entry into acting in 1962.
The debate resurfaced after Edochie challenged actors who claimed they were older in the profession to come forward and provide evidence of when they began their careers.
Paimo made his position known in an interview with actor Kunle Afod, which was shared on YouTube on Monday.
According to the veteran actor, he had already been involved in acting before Edochie began his career.
“I started acting in 1958. I met Hubert Ogunde, who was senior to me and others, and there were big movies produced back then,” he said.
Edochie recently cited his performance in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in 1962 as proof that he had been involved in acting from an early age.
Paimo, however, said the history of Nigerian theatre extended beyond English-language productions, highlighting the role played by the Yoruba travelling-theatre tradition.
He particularly referenced the late theatre icon Hubert Ogunde, whom he identified as the earliest actor he knew of.
“I heard from history that when he (Hubert Ogunde) started in the ’40s, there was nobody before him, and we never heard from history that the English industry, or any movie done in the English language, started before him.
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“Since we didn’t hear or read that in any history books or documentation, I believe the Yoruba industry started first.
“There was nothing like English-speaking movie production then; Ogunde started by producing movies in the Yoruba language, which he used to educate everyone who watched those movies back then. We never heard about English-speaking movies until now, when, with civilisation, we started hearing and seeing that there are English-speaking movies,” he said.
Paimo was also asked about Baba Olumegbon and whether the theatre practitioner could have started acting before Ogunde.
He said he could not confirm such a claim, noting that his knowledge of the history pointed to Ogunde as the first actor he knew.
“I don’t know if Baba Olumegbon started before Ogunde, but all I know is that Ogunde was the person I knew who started acting first. Although I have been hearing about him for a long time, I can’t say he was senior to Ogunde,” Paimo said.
Paimo’s career began in the Yoruba travelling-theatre tradition before he joined the Oyin Adejobi Theatre Group, founded by veteran theatre practitioner Oyin Adejobi.
He later moved to Duro Ladipo’s Theatre Group, where he played Chief Basa in the stage production Obamoro.
Over the years, Paimo established himself as one of the notable figures in Yoruba theatre and film. He gained wider recognition for his portrayal of Soun Ogunola in the epic production Ogbori Elemosho.