His real name is Kayode Olaiya but many people call him Aderupoko, a name which literally means someone who overloads a vehicle. He has been answering the name for more than thirty years as a professional actor and he believes the name, which he never liked at first, was a blessing in disguise for him. Aderupoko, who insisted that he would only grant the interview if he was allowed to speak in Yoruba, shares the story of his life in this interaction with SEGUN ADEBAYO.
Your real name is Kayode Olaiya, but many people call you Aderupoko, how did you come about your stage name?
I think I should ask you how you got to know that I am Kayode Olaiya. What led to the name Aderupoko is a long story but I will let you know about it if time permits us. I started my career with Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) and Western Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (WNBC), first in Africa at Agodi in Ibadan as a story teller. It was a live programme then and we do come on air between 4p.m and 10p.m. when the late sage Obafemi Awolowo introduced TV.
Where we have the Oyo State Government house today used to be a bushy place. My friends and I usually go to the place to pluck mangoes and hew tree. I was a student then. One day, when we were coming from where we had gone to pluck mangoes, one man walked up to us and asked us if we could tell stories. We were about eight, but all my friends ran away except me. He beckoned to me, so I walked up to him. I thought he was going to scold me for not running away like my colleagues, but to my surprise, he asked me if I could be coming around with my friends to tell evening stories. I told him I would be coming. He asked me to go and tell my friends so that we could all be part of it. I was saddled with the responsibility of telling the story to my friends. After some time, the late Hubert Ogunde came in for a stage performance called Olongbo Dudu (Black Cat).
How did those people ensure that you stayed, did they entice you in anyway?
Yes, I could remember that the only time we used to drink soft drinks like Coca-Cola and Fanta was during festive seasons like Christmas and Ileya. They ensured that we drink a bottle of Fanta or Coca-Cola each time we came so that we will always come back. We became so happy that we hardly miss a day because we knew we would drink Coca-Cola and Fanta. Even my friends who did not like the idea in the first place later joined us because of Coca-Cola. That was not the only thing we enjoyed, we were also given money. I could remember that we collected one pound, which we shared among ourselves.
What were your parents’ reactions and how did this not affect your school?
Our parents did not complain because we were making money which we could use to buy few school things that we needed. Our parents were not that rich to send most of us to school so we added the proceeds we made from our story telling to whatever we got from our parents. More so, there were few television sets in Ibadan as of that time, people would go about looking for television set in the evening to watch programmes. So, in less than no time, I started becoming popular among my friends and especially in my area that many parents would want their children to follow me when going because they knew they would see them on TV.
So, how did you move from story telling to live stage performance?
Like I said, when we started the story telling thing, after a while the late Ogunde came to the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) for his live stage drama. But I discovered that the rehearsals and performances of people like Oyin Adejobi, Ogunde and Duro Ladipo were different from what we were doing as story tellers. They came from different parts of the country to NTA for their stage performances. So after sometime, I decided to join a theatre group called Edunkunle Travelling Theatre in Ibadan.
While you were doing all these, I am sure you were still in school. Did you miss class for any reason?
Yes, I missed a couple of classes and I received serious bashing from my teachers. I remember a day when my teacher said he saw me on TV when I was supposed to be in school. When I was in school, I was the band leader. I was the one who played the konga drum for my school for a long time. It was during a school performance that Baba Ajimajasan saw me playing the drum and asked my boss then, Edunkunle if I could come and play drums for him in one of his shows. He obliged him but I never went back to Edunkunle group because I was enticed with money and I loved watching cinema at the Odion Cinema because that was where Ajimajasan used to have his rehearsals and shows. It was at Ajimajasan’s group that I met Jacob, Iya Ijebu, Baba Eleko, Arikuyeri, Jegede, who is known as Aworawo now (Star gazer).
Those days, we had Baba Sala and Ogunde who had programmes on NTA. These people were not based in one place, they moved around so when they had gone for weeks, there would not be anyone to record new episodes on TV. The recorded one would have been exhausted before the return of Baba Sala and others. So the management felt they needed to fill that space and called for a rehearsal of jesters. So, I was invited for an auditioning alongside the likes of Baba Mero, Ola Omanitan, Ayinla Olumegbon, Baba John Bull and Duro Ladipo, which was led by Lere Paimo. So myself, Papalolo and Jacob got the job because of the characters we portrayed.
Tell us about Awada Kerikeri that held sway those days?
I am coming to that. Like I said, the story is a long one and I hope we could have the time to cover everything in the course of the interview.
Baba Sala had registered his episodes with Alawada. So when we came on board, they decided to remove Ala from our own and called it Awada. So when Baba Mero came in, he could not use Awada because we had been using it, so he added Kerikeri to his own to become Awada Kerikeri.
This was what led to Aderupoko that people called me today. I used to be known as Araga when I was doing stage plays with Ajimajasan group. You know I told you we travelled a lot of times as a theatre group. So anytime we were to travel; we usually go by a lorry called 9/11 because of our luggage. So, when development came and we started travelling with coaster buses, we thought we could pack our luggage the way we used to do when we traveled with 9/11. I was the stage manager and the driver, also supervised what would be loaded inside the bus. So, the bus would be moving at a slow pace because of the load it was carrying and the people would be complaining and started calling me Aderupoko. They saw me as someone who overloads the bus. So, that’s how the name Aderupoko came about and I am happy about the name today.
Looking at how you started and where you are today, would you conveniently say that you have chosen the right path?
Yes, I thank God for my life and the career I have found myself. If my dad were to be alive when I started acting, may be he would not have allowed me to go into acting because he was a practising Muslim. But I was raised by mother since I lost my dad at a very tender age. I believe the journey of every man is known to God.
Can you remember one day on this job that you always hate to talk about?
There had been days of good and bad happenings because life itself is full of good and bad, but I don’t allow things like that to bother me. In everything we do in life, we should try to bring out the good sides from it and I thank God that He has never allowed the bad sides to overwhelm the good sides.
What were those things you enjoyed those days that you miss now?
That should be stage performance. Today’s actors and actresses are not professionals because most of them did not start from the stage aspect of the job. Those days, government was making money from our works because we paid our taxes through the tickets we sold at shows. That is not something we enjoy today and I am not very happy about it. There was no piracy those days because we will sell our tickets at the entrance and we know how much we were expecting at the end of the day. Each state had its own tickets that we buy at their local government when we travelled to any state of the federation. Unlike today that we don’t even enjoy the proceeds of our jobs due to pirates. Yes, there is modernisation in every sector but it has only brought backwardness for theatre practitioners.
Has there been a time that you felt like quitting this job?
Yes, there was a time that I almost ran away. I borrowed money from the bank to shoot a movie but pirates dealt with me in a hard way. It was a bad experience for me and my family at that time. The marketer and the pirates connived to deal with me. I could not pay the money I borrowed from the bank; I could not sleep at night and during the day. It was like what happened to Baba Sala when he produced Orun Moru. In fact, his own story was child’s play compared to what happened to me. I remember that I was almost knocked down by a car when I was walking down the streets thinking about how I was going to pay back the money I borrowed. It was a serious dilemma for me. You know the story of the man and how that single event had affected his life till today. The movie sold widely but the marketer claimed that he didn’t sell a copy.
When you started growing up and you discovered you have tribal marks, how did you feel, especially as an actor?
Laughs… I thank God. When my parents put it on my face, there were a lot of people who had tribal marks then. It was something of pride to most of us then but when modernisation came, we discovered that people no longer put tribal marks on their children’s faces. Those who appreciate it on my face will still tell me I look gorgeous with it and I take that as complement. I feel great about my tribal marks because I know what they represent when my parents put it on my face.
How long have you been an actor?
I have been an actor since 1966. You can tell me how many years I have spent from then till now. I am happy that I have come a long way and that I can point at the success that has come my way due to my profession. By the virtue of this job, I have travelled out of the country, I drive my car, I have children who are well placed and I have a house over my head. I am well known across the world. That, to me, is my joy.
What exactly happened to the jester group of Aderupoko, Papalolo and Jacob?
When we left Ajimajasan’s group in 1978, we launched our own group in 1980 as Jesters’ International. Jacob, Papalolo and I. Jacob died in 1987. We were together for eight years before Jacob died. Papalolo and I continued after the demise of Jacob. Talking about what affected the group, when Jacob died, Papalolo was scared to move on.
What scared him?
He was scared that the job might not move the way it was moving when Jacob was alive. He said he wanted to do something else. I think he went away for many years and that affected his career a lot because people were not seeing him again.
How did that affect you?
I found it difficult to move on as well because our programme on NTA had to stop. I had to join those who are into film making until I produced my own movie. So, all those days, Papalolo was missing in action and when he resurfaced, it was not easy for him to make a full come back. I think my character on stage helped me to move on to the next phase.
How have you remained relevant?
Perseverance and contentment has been my staying in power secret. If I start to tell you the things that have happened to me on this job, you will be amased. Endurance is one thing that you need to learn on this job as you grow. If you fail to endure, you will fall. You can fall many times, but if you persevere and remain committed to your job, you will make a head way in the long run.
Some of your colleagues have lamented poor remuneration in the Yoruba speaking movie industry, but for somebody like you who has been around for many years, how have you been surviving?
God has been using people like you to help us grow and sustain in the industry despite the challenges we are facing. That is why I will always be grateful to God for the lives of these people.
You were one of the faces that people appreciate in the newly premiered movie, October 1, produced by Kunle Afolayan, what was the experience like?
October 1 movie is one of the best I have appeared in. I rate it the best because of what the movie represents. The history of Nigeria, where we are coming from and where we are heading to was what the movie centered around. I am happy to have been part of the cast and I am grateful to Kunle Afolayan for a job well done. He ensured that all the cast in the movie were all taken care of. Even the white guys from abroad were treated the same way we were treated. Above all, he paid us very well. I pray he makes the reward of his hard work. If God gives one the opportunity to be part of a movie like October 1 or any other movie in that class, you don’t have to be running to location before you put food on your table. Everybody had fun on set and it was an awesome experience despite the fact that it took us two years to complete the shooting. It still came out as a perfect movie.
You said you had travelled out of the country before. What was the feeling like when you boarded a plane for the first time?
It was a bit scary. Before I boarded, I heard a lot of people say it was this, it was that. Some people even made me feel like, it will kill you when you board it, but it was all lies. I was scared to my spines at first but later, I got used to it.
What’s your take on ANTP crisis?
Since the demise of Ade Love, problem has not ceased in the association.
How do you mean?
Greed is the major problem dwarfing the progress of the association. All the past presidents and the current one are all the same. They are greedy set of people. They were the ones that allowed the young ones to break away from the industry. They allowed the marketers to control the lives of the practitioners. They are selfish and bad set of people who don’t have the love of the people in mind. ANTP is good, but we lack God-fearing leaders. We have had series of meetings, but it yielded no positive result because the same set of people who don’t want us to grow, will truncate the good ideas that few of us have. They are wicked people. That’s why the young ones don’t trust us again.
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