Moses Olaiya’s profile cannot be contained in one brief piece. In fact, a textual-graphical outline of his life would reveal a series of memorable moments

Olu Obafemi

I write this short farewell message to Pa Moses Adejumo Olaiya (best known as Baba Sala), with an admixture of pain and a palpable sense of guilt. First, that a man who, for over three decades, dominated and personified the Yoruba (and to a large extent the Nigerian) stage comedy, who provoked and provided so much laughter and humour in a world of ‘unordered anarchy (to borrow an intriguing phrase of Francis Egbokhare) and stress-filled existence should die, in circumstances which could hardly be defined in humorous terms; I dare not say in circumstances that could supply scenarios for tragedy, which he never traded in as a theatre and film inimitable practitioner; inflicts a lot of pain on kindred spirits and his erstwhile multitude of fans/acolytes.

READ ALSO: Baba Sala for burial December 6-7

On a personal scale, I owed Baba Sala one, which I never actualized; it is a four-decade old promise unfulfilled, unrequited, almost like love. In November 1978 I believe. I had gone on a research trip to the South-West, which was to take me to Ibadan, Lagos and Ife, to talk to the patriarchs of the Nigerian stage from the forties – a list that was to include practitioners of the travelling theatre and the literary theatre stage. I had gone to Moses Adejumo Olaiya’s home in Yemetu, Ibadan, literally without a previous appointment. It was not, as you know, the age of the explosion of telephony. And if he had a land line, I had no idea and did not have it. I was lucky to find him but he was in the middle of preparation for a journey for a production but I was pleased I did. He was warm, receptive and decent.

None of his stage trademarks was in evidence— the painted gap tooth, the smokeless long pipe, the cardboard-carved tie, the exaggerated hat, and so on…. He was simple and comely. When I told him of my mission, he was so animated that he promised instantly, to do anything for me if would come back at another time. I had quickly and naively requested for his play scripts. He laughed broadly (the dark-painted gap of his tooth was not there. He said ‘script-kini? I am not a playwright. I am actor, theatre man and musician.’ Before I could ask another question, he had dashed and brought two of his albums for me. Enthused and overwhelmed with gratitude, I had promised him that I was going to transcribe the plays, translate them and publish them after my studies in the UK. I never did. This is the reason for a sincere regret and I know he will forgive me—with his trademark largeness of the heart! I still have the transcribed edition of Tokunbo and probably Dayamondi. And there is still room for a posthumous amend.

Born on May 18, 1938, Moses Olaiya who died on October 7, 2018 at age 81, hailed from Ijesha town on Osun State. Popularly known by his stage name Baba Sala, (lesser known as Lamidi), Moses Olaiya is regarded, indisputably, as the father of modern Nigerian comedy. Notable names that he shares the travelling theatre hall of fame with are, Hubert Ogunde, Kola Ogunmola, Duro Ladipo and Oyin Adejobi and the numerous other members of the Yoruba travelling Theatre, with whom he had worked to influence the development of the Nigerian theatre and later Television drama. Comedy, as we know, is a difficult genre to realize. Even in the classical drama, there were many more patriarchs in the tragic fare— Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles than in the genre of comedy where Aristophanes was the single dominant figure. This must add to our appreciation of Moses Olaiya among the giants in political, cultural and historical domains of the operatic theatre tradition. He built a robust clan of comedians many of whom are still very active in Nollywood today. The modern inheritors, the reapers of Baba Sala’s past labour, of the comedian’s guild, the stand-up comedians, are smiling to the banks today.

READ ALSO: Music, comedy as celebrities unveil LAND

The death of this theatre doyen and comedy king has not only aggrieved Nigerians and comic theatre lovers across the nation but has also signalled the end of a phase in the canon of Nigerian comic theatre. In fact, it becomes the challenging task of contemporary comic characters on the Nigerian TV screens to sustain and out-live the already well-established and unmatchable legacy laid down by Moses Olaiya and also to ensure the continuous flow of the comic/farcical phase of the Nigerian theatre scene.

Related News

Moses Olaiya’s profile cannot be overtly contained in one brief piece. In fact, a textual-graphical outline of his life would reveal a series of events and memorable moments. As modestly, one of the earliest scholars on his theatre, I will only capture and x-ray a few of the most relevant periods of Olaiya’s life on the Nigerian stage.

Moses Olaiya practised in the oral cultural era of heavy reliance on improvisation and script-lessness with a robust and active involvement of a participant audience. The Yoruba travelling theatre was largely non-scripted and improvisational. With Olaiya’s theatre deployment of slapstick for humour and laughter generation, entertainment and social commentary, the script, which became the dominant communication armoury of the literary theatre, was hardly missed, except for permanence. Olaiya’s appearance on the stage alone, even before the other cast members emerge and the spontaneous dialogues ensue, was enough to throw the audience on the auditorium space into uncontrolled laughter. This oral, populist and non-scripted theatre form made it difficult for researchers on his work and those of others of his folk theatre generation, to capture a multitude of events that could have shed ample light on his early life, especially before the “known” Moses Olaiya emerged.

Moses Olaiya started his career as a civil servant, serving the federal government while working as a sanitary inspector in one of the government institutions at the time. He usually dedicated his evenings then to teaching and would occasionally transform into a nocturnal entertainer, with people gathering to watch him perform. He also daily substantiated these with the task of a thrift-collector (Alajo).

His professional career began with a full-time engagement in high life music. In 1964, he put together the band known as the Federal Rhythm Dandies which paved and etched his path to super-stardom as “the band was the toast of Nigerian elite” (Auguye, 2018). The club played quality Juju music at various social events and was massively received by music fans and investors.

READ ALSO: Highlife music a way of life – Kalapi Ojuka, finalist, HiLife Fest 2018

__________________________________

Obafemi is a Professor of English and Dramatic Literature and Chairman of Reproduction Rights of Nigeria (REPRONIG)