My father does not belong to the secret society - Ogunde's daughter

Dayo is one of the children of the late
consummate dramatist and actor, Hubert
Ogunde. She tells OLUFEMI ATOYEBI and
GBENGA ADENIJI reasons behind her father’s
marriage to many women
As daughter to the late Hubert Ogunde’s
last wife, did he treat you specially?
I am sure my father did not treat anyone
specially. He loved all his children and treated
them equally. I grew up at a time when many
of my siblings were already fending for
themselves, so naturally, I enjoyed some
forms of affection from my father but I am
sure he loved us equally.
Did your mother tell you how she met
your father?
He married my mother with the usual
ceremony, although the difference was that
some of his other wives joined him in his
group as actresses. In the past, parents did
not like their children to take up acting. So,
he married some of them in order to retain
them and build the theatre group. My mother
once said that sometimes after training the
girls, their parents would come back and take
them away.
Did your mother appear in any of Ogunde’s
movies?
My mother took part in some of my father’s
plays. They got married in 1967 and she
played a role in Aropin N’Teniyan and
Ayanmo. In the former, she acted as the
eldest wife and in the latter, she featured as
Iya Pupa . She was also on stage in Yoruba
Ronu , Awo Mimo and others.
How many wives did your father have?
I really don’t know the number. But I think it
was 10 and my mother was the last wife. I am
the second to the last child of my mother.
How would you describe the late Ogunde?
My father was a very intelligent and talented
theatre practitioner. He had a strong passion
for what he did even when there was no
money and there were hurdles in the way. I
know that much about my late dad.
Being a busy man, how much time did he
have for his children?
I will say that I was fortunate to be born when
he had time because my older siblings said he
had no time for them. I spent most of my
time in a boarding school and whenever I was
on holiday, I travelled with him anywhere he
went. He created time for me and my elder
brother which, as I said earlier, is just
natural. I think he only had no time when he
was much younger. To some extent, he was a
family man. He tried to keep us together and
that is what is working for us till today.
Most of his plays were wrapped in
traditional beliefs; did he exhibit same at
home?
My father was a Christian although his own
dad was a traditionalist. He actually learnt
some things from his father but not that he
was into traditional practices.
But people said he belonged to some of the
secret societies he portrayed in his
movies?
He did not belong to any secret society.
People erroneously believe he did. When he
died, those who attended his funeral saw that
his body was taken to church and that the
church elders were the ones who buried him.
If he belonged to any secret society, his body
would have been taken away for burial by the
members and we would not have been able to
bury him the way we did.
After his burial, I returned to school. Some
teachers told me that they wanted to come to
the burial of my father but that they were
afraid because they heard that about 11
people were to be buried along with him.
They said they feared being taken as part of
the 11 persons. I was amused with such belief
about my father. His lying-in-state at the
National Theatre and his house in Alagomeji
and hometown, Ososa, was witnessed by many
people. No part of his body was cut off.
Those dressed in traditional attire on the day
of his burial were his children, grandchildren
and members of the National Troupe. They
dressed the way they did to honour my dad.
There was nothing secretive about the life of
my dad.
Where were you when he died?
I was not with him because when he took ill.
He was flown abroad and he died at Cromwell
Hospital, London. I was with him when he
took ill in Jos. But when he was to be flown
abroad, I was about to return to school and
he promised me he would be back. He
encouraged me to face my studies. The first
time he took ill and was flown abroad, he
returned to finish the shooting of Mr.
Johnson.
Is it true that he had about 50 children?
It is not true. We are not up to 50. We are
just over 20.
Did all his children participate in his
movies?
If not all of us, it will be most of us. Each
time he was producing films, we were all
required to give one form of support or the
other. His wives did the same. We were
always with him.
Was he paying them?
He was not paying us and his wives.
Everybody was always happy to partake in his
productions. But he would provide allowances
sometime to appreciate us and not that he
was paying us professional fees.
How wealthy was he?
In terms of his movie equipment and
creativity, he was rich. But in terms of
financial worth, he was not rich. All the
money he made, he invested it in the business
because he loved what he was doing. He never
threw parties. He believed in building his
business and to quantify his worth in that
area, I will say he was a billionaire.
How did he manage to keep many wives?
One thing I noticed is that God gave him the
grace to keep many wives. No doubt, there
were scheming and fights among them. But
God gave him the wisdom to settle the rift
amicably. In fact, all the quarrels among our
mothers did not affect the children. We
refused to be dragged into their
disagreements. Nobody taught us what to do,
it just happened that way. We never
supported our mothers whenever they fought.
If another wife fought with my mother, it did
not stop me from eating the food of that
wife. If I did not, it was not because he
fought with my mother but because I was not
hungry. That was the way it was and our
mothers later realised they were wasting their
time fighting one another. My father was able
to maintain unity to the extent that there was
no serious fight in the household that made
any of the wives to pack out of the house.
Many people still ask me how my father was
able to maintain unity among us before his
death. Some even wonder how we still
continue in unity after his death. I think he
was a lucky polygamist.
How did he react to his wives’ quarrels?
The level of the quarrel determined how he
handled it. He would dismis trivial ones or
call the feuding wives to listen to the story of
each of them. He knew how to settle whatever
disagreement they were having without
allowing it to fester.
Your father ensured you had quality
education; did he give others such
opportunity?
I studied Theatre Arts at the University of
Ibadan and all my siblings are graduates in
one discipline or the other, depending on
individual’s career preference. He did not also
influence the career choice of any of us. He
gave us freedom but kept us away from bad
group.
What do you miss most about him?
I miss his pampering and intimate talks. He
pampered me a lot. I remember the day he
came to my school, he gave me a celebrity
treatment. Most of my colleagues who saw
him that day said they never knew he was my
father. Since that day, many started according
me respect.
When I was in UI, even after his death, people
were willing to assist me. Lecturers were
willing to mentor me to make sure I finished
well. They also expected so much from me
because of the success and brilliance of my
father in the entertainment industry. When I
performed below their expectations, they felt
disappointed. If a question was to be
answered, I would be expected to give the
answer. I recall that one of my lecturers, Prof.
Dapo Adelugba, packed several textbooks for
me one day to read, saying “ Ogunde’s child
must not fail in this department.”
How did he scold you whenever you
misbehaved?
I was told he used to beat my older siblings.
But he never beat me. The highest punishment
he gave me when I erred was to ask me to
kneel down and put my hands up. Even at
that, after some minutes, he would ask me to
go to my room.
How does it feel being Ogunde’s child?
The feeling is great. My father’s name has
opened many doors for me in many places. In
fact, when I want to avoid questions from
people I prefer not to add Ogunde to my
name.
Are his children continuing his legacy?
It is not all his children that showed interest
in his movie business before his death. Only
two or three of us are into acting. One of my
elder brothers, Laja, is a full-time actor. I
act occasionally too.
What has happened to his proposed film
village in Ososa?
We are still working on it. Past governments
tried to do something about it and the
present government is continuing the work.
But we have completed work on the museum
within the village.
Did your father’s success as a theatre
practitioner influence your career choice?
To some extent it did because I acted in Awo
Mimo on stage. I was always with him during
productions. If I had not studied Theatre Arts,
I would have read Mass Communication or
any art-related course.
Before you were married, how did your
husband react when he knew your father
was Ogunde?
Initially he did not know while we were
courting but when he knew, I was not too
sure if he was overwhelmed. One or two
persons had developed cold feet in the past
because I am from such a famous family.
They thought that much would be required of
them to marry me. I used to be bothered
about certain misconceptions concerning the
Ogunde family. I think people are getting
more enlightened so as to separate fiction
from facts.
What are the qualities you imbibed from
him?
The major quality I took from him is the way
he trusted people easily. I also imbibed his
patience and meticulous planning. He was
never in a rush to achieve anything. He would
take his time to attain the best. I want my
children to emulate his humour and
creativity. It is his creativity I want my
children to imbibe more. I remember when
Chief Obafemi Awolowo died and he was to
perform, he did not rehearse and when he
mounted the stage, he sang so wonderfully. I
was surprised when I saw him sing. He was
highly creative.
How was his social life?
My father attended social functions
occasionally. But he was not given to parties.
Social activities were not as elaborate then as
they are now. He was mostly indoors
meditating. He also attended festivals because
of his profession and to draw inspiration.
7 things you didn’t know about my father
•He liked dancing
•He never liked wearing English attire
•He was not fetish
•He trusted people
•He liked reading
•He enjoyed watching English movies
•He enjoyed sugary things