Veteran Yoruba actor Lere Paimo has challenged a recent claim by veteran actor Pete Edochie about the length of his acting career, saying he began acting four years before the Anambra-born actor.
Paimo, 86, said he started acting professionally in 1958, while Edochie recently traced his acting experience to 1962, when he was 15 years old.
The seniority debate resurfaced after Edochie reportedly challenged actors who claimed to have started their careers before him to come forward and provide evidence.
Edochie had cited his performance in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in 1962 as evidence of his early involvement in acting.
However, speaking during an interview with actor Kunle Afod, shared on YouTube on Monday, Paimo said his acting journey began in 1958.
“I started acting in 1958, and it was in 1962 that Pete Edochie started acting,” Paimo said.
He recalled meeting theatre legend Hubert Ogunde, whom he described as senior to him and other actors of his generation.
Paimo also argued that the Yoruba theatre tradition predates the development of English-language movie production in Nigeria.
According to him, Ogunde was the earliest actor he personally knew of, noting that the theatre icon began his work in the 1940s.
“I heard from history that when he (Hubert Ogunde) started in the ’40s, there was nobody before him,” he said.
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Paimo added that there was no English-language movie production in Nigeria at the time, claiming that Ogunde produced Yoruba-language movies that also served an educational purpose.
Asked whether Baba Olumegbon may have started acting before Ogunde, Paimo said he could not confirm it.
“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,” he said.
Paimo began his acting career with the Oyin Adejobi Theatre Group before later joining the Duro Ladipo Theatre Group, where he became known for his portrayal of Chief Basa in Obamoro.
The differing accounts have brought renewed attention to the long history of Nigerian theatre and the question of how seniority should be determined among veterans whose careers began during different eras of the country’s performing arts industry.
