By Tosin Ajirire
For veteran actor, poet, playwright and folk singer, Jimi Solanke, it was a final curtain call on Monday, February 5, 2024.
The pioneer member of Orisun Theatre Group, founded by the Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka in 1961, died just 59 days to his 82nd birthday while being rushed from his country home in Ipara-Remo to Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilisan, Ogun State.
In fact, Jimi Solanke’s death was a colossal loss to the Nigerian arts and culture sector. With his roles in iconic plays like Kongi’s Harvest, Kurunmi, Death and the King’s Horseman, The Divorce, and Ovoramwen Nogbaisi, he not only left an indelible mark on the nation’s cultural landscape, but also the world at large.
Mourning his passage, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu described Solanke, who was famous for his TV programme, Story Land on NTA, as “one of the finest of Nigeria’s creative artists”.
In his condolence message, the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun stated that the late actor consistently put the state in the limelight for very good reasons, most especially in the arts, right from his days at the University of Ibadan School of Drama.
“Baba Agba, as he was widely known by his numerous fans across the country, was a great ambassador of our dear state. He promoted the culture and tradition of the Yoruba race on the global stage with his drama, music, poetry and other works of art,” he noted.
Long before his death, however, this reporter sat down with Solanke at his Ile-Ife, Osun State residence where he reflected on his life as an artiste and also revealed how he would love to be remembered. Here are excerpts:
Youthful days
I came into the art at about the age of eight or nine. I was already a chorister at the Holy Trinity Church, Ebute-Ero, Lagos. That was the church my father was attending. I have dual Christian upbringing. My mother was a Wesleyan, a Methodist. I attended Olowogbowo Methodist School, Lagos to please my mother and at the same time robing as a chorister at the Anglican Church, Ebute-Ero. At school in those days, when they discovered some talents in you, they would put you on stage to perform at occasions like Parents/Teachers Association meetings.
I was a soloist in the church choir. It was the late S.J. Williams, the great organist that discovered my talent. Even till tomorrow, I would have loved to robe in that church because as a choirboy, I met a lot of great people. People like Sola Odunfa, Olu Ogunbanjo, Kayode Kuyoro, Femi Kuyoro and the Ogunnekans were my colleagues in the choir; we grew up together. I also knew Rev. Ogunbanjo, who was the longest serving reverend in the church.
The only thing that took me out of the church was my secondary school education. I attended Odogbolu Grammar School, Odogbolu where my mates and I formed a band called Koroba (Buckets). We would turn our buckets upside down and start beating them as drums like the brass bands of the Caribbean. So, by the time I left school, I was already singing very nicely. In fact, while at Odogbolu, I had already perfected my singing ability so much that I was composing and writing songs for the late highlife musician, Roy Chicago. I was the one who wrote popular songs like Oro Ma Re Ara Adugbo for Roy Chicago. Go and look for the record, you will find my name boldly written on it. Was I paid for writing the song? No, I wasn’t paid a kobo but I was given credit for it. What I enjoyed was ‘Oh, that’s my song’ whenever I heard it being played. However, that was not the only song I wrote for Chicago, I also wrote Baby, Na Today You Come, Ase Ore Ti Tanlaye and… I think I wrote about four or five songs for Roy Chicago. No, I never played in his band because my father did not allow me to go near music aside the one played in the church.
In those days we were living on Sylva Street, it’s the street behind the hotel where Roy Chicago used to play. The place is called Abalabi Nightclub at Olorunsogo, Mushin. It used to be called Whitehall Hotel. In fact, a wall fence divided the hotel and my father’s house. Then I couldn’t go to nightclub because my father was very strict. No, I wasn’t rascally, I was only destined to be an artiste and I was grabbing onto it.
At least, I was able to prove to my father that an artiste is not necessarily an outcast. Much, much later my dad discovered that I had become a star. He would say, ‘Ehn! Jimi Solanke has gone to London. Ehn, he has gone to America. So, this boy would make it as an artiste after all’. My dad discovered that I am the shining star of the family and was happy that I have not become a criminal who would be at police detention today and in prison tomorrow. And I am grateful to God that I was able to give my beloved father a befitting burial when he passed away.
Mummy’s boy
What role did my mother play in my life? I would say my mother, Esther Wuraola Solanke, died for me. She died protecting me. She died saying ‘whatever profession a child chooses, as long as he is steadfast and well focused, he would prosper in it’. So, my mother gave me every support when I chose to become an artiste. But for this, my father didn’t like her. They were always at loggerheads. He was always abusing her because of me. Soon, my mother got tired of it all. One day, she just fell sick and died. Are you surprised? Yes, that’s the truth. It happened a long time ago. You know, a mother would be ready to sacrifice her life for her child.
You won’t believe it. My mother would prepare food and keep it at the back of her window for me. I would scale the fence, pack the food, eat it, put the plate there and scale the fence back to the nightclub. All this time, my father had issued an order that I should not be given food to eat in his house anymore. So, when he was not in, I would scale the fence and eat. When I look back, I am always grateful to God. That is why I always take life easy.
However, despite my ordeal in the hands of my father, I have vowed not to stop any of my children who wants to act or sing. My children are free to pursue any career of their choice. My eldest daughter, Kehinde who is in London, sings in the church and does so many other things. Her younger brother, Taiwo, is an actor and television presenter. I never asked anyone of them to become an actor or singer like me. It’s their choice. Kehinde is a PhD holder in Theatre Arts from an American university. She is a great actress, a firecracker on stage. She started from the Theatre Arts Department in Ife (OAU) here.
National tour
In 1967, my band was chosen to accompany on a performance tour of Nigeria some foreign musicians like Chubby Checker, Millicent Small, Randy Weston and Pete Seager. In those days, there were no opportunities for mediocre artistes. If you were a good artiste, people would know. So, because of my experience and wide repertoire, when Chubby Checker came, I was asked to join him. I was already a popular singer then. I had my own twist record, Eje Kajo out. People are still playing that record till tomorrow. I was the first artiste to sing Eje Kajo and before you know it, other musicians like Ebenezer Obey have started singing it.
In 1977, I joined the American percussionist, Raphael McDonald in waxing an album where I chanted Onala poetry. What happened was that after FESTAC, I was tired of staying in Nigeria. I had met lots of people who came from all over the world, so I decided to travel out with these people. Therefore, immediately after FESTAC, I travelled to America. One day, I was at home in New York when somebody phoned and said he had put my name on a recording programme. That was how I met great artistes like Grover Washington, Miriam Makeba, and Eric Gale etc.
Wole Soyinka and I
Majority of us were curious of what was going on at the Mbari Centre at Ogunpa-Oyo in Ibadan. In fact, it was there we got to know that the University of Ibadan School of Drama was going to kick off, because we were like apprentice to Professor (Wole) Soyinka at the centre.
So, from there, we all applied to the School of Drama and we were admitted. No! Professor Wole Soyinka did not influence my admission into the drama school. We all sat down for the exams, did the interview and the audition before we could be admitted. Nobody was ready to help anybody. We all came in on merit; that is why majority of us who attended the drama school are still performing till today. The training was worth it and in fact, we later became instructors there. My colleagues then included Jimmy Johnson, Tunji Oyelana, Yewande Akinbo, Betty Okotie now Betty Edewor, Gringory, and Yomi Obileye.
I would describe Oga Wole Soyinka as straightforward, direct, bold and confident. When he wants to do something, he does it without looking back. I learnt all these things from him. He is also very culturally oriented. He doesn’t believe that the hood makes a monk. He dresses simply. He doesn’t believe in having too many cars because he can afford it. He’ll just get a good, functioning car. All these I learnt from him. In fact, he changed my dressing outlook. Before I became a dramatist, I used to dress to kill and Wole Soyinka would make a fun of me. He is a very natural person. I learnt that from him.
Pyrate Confraternity
We were all members of Pyrate Confraternity. That was a long time. We were all part of everything he (Soyinka) did then. For instance, I was with him when he held up the radio station at Ibadan. Go and check the book, Penkelemesi my name was written boldly there. In the book, he told the story of how he went to the radio station to retrieve the tape. I went with him. You asked whether he actually carried a gun that day? Haaa… don’t mind him, he had a toy gun.
Fooling around with kids
Ah, do I fool around with children? Look, as you grow older, you gather experiences. But if you refuse to share these experiences with people, most especially children or the younger ones, then you are not a good person. The reason why you are endowed is to share your knowledge or experience with others. Children are my first love. They are so important to me. It is what you give them that they will build on. That is why I do children’s programme on television. And I have been doing it for over 40 years. So, about four generations of them would have watched my television programme. That’s why I’m always grateful to God for protecting me.
Most challenging role
Why I am not a common face in the movies is that I prefer to be invited that going about scouting for roles. I have played over a thousand roles in my life, which some people will still remember and hail. So, why should I be going around begging for roles? However, my most challenging role was in Owvorawen Nogbaisi, a play written and directed by Professor Ola Rotimi. I found it more challenging because I had to sit down and learn the Edo language in which the play was written. Even, the then governor of the Mid West saw the play and refused to let me go. He later gave me a job at the Mid-West Arts Council. Till today, when I greet people in Edo language, they think I am an Edo man.
Fame vs. humility
Fame has made me to be more humble. It has made me to have respect for people because when people love you, you have to realise that it is not you that they love; it’s the God in you. So, fame has taught me to be modest and respect people a lot more.
My family and I
I love life a lot. Life gives me inspiration. My being alive and having my family around gives me lots of inspiration. When I had my first wife, I had no time for her. I couldn’t stay at home to take proper care of my family because as an artiste, I was always on the road. So, it affected my family. My wife and I quarreled and the family broke up, and I had to take the three children, Oyinkan, Taiwo and Kehinde along with me to Benin. I didn’t want that to happen again. That’s why I said I derive inspiration from being around with my family. I don’t want to leave them because they inspire me. They make me look younger and happy. They give me the confidence to live.
It is good when you are in tune with your wife and home. That’s the first thing that will inspire you every second of your life. If not for my new wife, I wouldn’t be in this house of my own. I would have been living my usual carefree life. How did I meet my new wife? Well, she was a drama student at Obafemi Awolowo University where I teach. She had seen me perform a number of times and fell in love with me. We later met and got married. No more no less. She is an actress too. She was in a movie, Rererun. We understand each other very well. Each time I went to pick her from location, I pampered her because I know the kind of trauma she must have gone through. And the same thing she does for me. Oh, no, I don’t feel jealous when I see a man holding her on stage. I believe it’s all drama. It doesn’t go beyond drama. There is nothing a dramatic person cannot take. This problem of jealousy was exactly the problem with my American wife, and that’s why I decided not to marry her again.
I’ll tell you the story. One day, in America, I was getting ready for a performance and she came to the backstage and saw men and women putting off their clothes, changing into different costumes. She raised hell, saying ‘eh, man, is this what you people do behind the stage? Undressing in the presence of each other? Is this acting? You want to tell me you don’t sleep with each other here? Eh, man, this is crazy!’ She was so angry that the she stormed out of the place. Later that day, when we got home, it was like hell. She gave me serious trouble and nothing I could do to convince her otherwise. That day, despite the fact that she was carrying my baby, I resolved to divorce her because she didn’t understand my profession.
Legacy
I want to be remembered as a man who came into this world to educate people through entertainment and at the end of the day, he too was educated in the university of life.