Veteran actor Kola Olaiya has criticised fellow actor Pete Edochie over the ongoing debate about seniority in Nigeria’s acting industry, accusing him of being proud and failing to recognise the contributions of earlier theatre practitioners.
Olaiya made the remarks in a recent episode of Oyinmomo TV, uploaded on Friday, amid renewed debate following comments by Edochie and Yoruba theatre veteran Lere Paimo.
“Pete Edochie is a proud human being. I have known him for long. Pride is in his blood. That is why he cannot respect elders,” Olaiya said.
He argued that Nigerian acting history predates the emergence of actors who later became prominent in English-language films, citing theatre pioneer Hubert Ogunde, who began his theatrical career in 1944 after leaving the police.
“Before they gave birth to Pete Edochie, Ogunde had been acting. That is why he cannot admit that some people started before him. Ogunde started theatre in 1944, when he resigned as a police officer,” he said.
Olaiya also mentioned Oyin Adejobi, Duro Ladipo and Kola Ogunmola as earlier figures who contributed to Nigerian theatre.
“Ogunde produced a lot of movies and made records before Edochie was born. After that, people like our fathers, including Oyin Adejobi, Duro Ladipo and Kola Ogunmola, joined the industry. Where was Pete then?” he asked.
He added that Edochie being a senior actor in his region should not automatically make him the most senior in Nigeria.
“I do not know if he is the first in his region and has no superior; that is fine. But in the whole of Nigeria? No,” Olaiya said.
The debate intensified after Edochie said on Isbae U’s Curiosity Made Me Ask podcast that he began acting in 1962 at age 15, including a performance in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.
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