Lagos Lawyer, Wemimo Ogunde (SAN) is one of the sons of late movie icon, Chief Hubert Ogunde who hailed from Ososa, a sleepy town near Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State. Because of the great indigenous stage plays and movies he did in his lifetime, many believed he was a traditionalist. But his look-alike son, Wemimo, who turned 60 last year has revealed that his father belonged to the Aladura sect in his lifetime.
At the recent Xmas Carol of Olorunwo Cathedral Church at Gbagada, in Lagos, Wemimo Ogunde revealed how many didn’t know that aspect of his dad. The tall and handsome Wemimo himself is a Pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God. He told the congregation when he was asked to come and give the exhortation that he was born an Aladura “When I was born my dad was attending the Aladura Church. Yes. Our house was a home of tradition. Even after my birth, I was into Aladura Church”. The founder of Olorunwo Cathedral Church, Primate Emmanuel Omolaja Olorunwo also revealed that he had his root at Alagomeji area in Lagos. That was in 1977. I grew up at Alagomeji, around Papa Hubert Ogunde. Wemimo was a little kid then.
At that Xmas Carol service, Wemimo revealed that unknown to many, his late father, Hubert Ogunde sang so many songs of Aladura. He explained that as for Ogunde’s songs, it is not his voice that made his songs distinct, it is the lyrics of the songs. He then broke into singing one of Ogunde’s songs for about 10 minutes. His voice sounded like that of his dad. It’s very rich. Late Baba Ogunde & Baba Olorunwo lived at Alagomeji together.
Wemimo Ogunde, in an interview he granted City People last year revealed that it was his dad who made him study Law. His dad, Hubert Adedeji Ogunde, was born on 10 July 1916 and died on 4 April 1990. He was a great actor, playwright, theatre manager, and musician who founded the first contemporary professional theatrical company in Nigeria, the African Music Research Party, in 1945.
He changed the name to Ogunde Theater Party in 1947 and Ogunde Concert Party in 1950. Finally, in 1960, he changed it to Ogunde Theater, a name which remained until his death in 1990. He has been described as “the father of Nigerian theatre, or the father of contemporary Yoruba theatre”.
In his career on stage, he wrote more than 50 plays, most of which incorporate dramatic action, dance and music, with a story reflecting the political and social realities of the period.
His first production was a church-financed play called The Garden of Eden. It premiered at Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos, in 1944. Its success encouraged Ogunde to produce more plays, and he soon left his job with the police force for a career in the theatre. In the 1940s, he released some plays with political commentaries: The Tiger’s Empire, Strike and Hunger and Bread and Bullet. During the 1950s, he toured various Nigerian cities with his travelling troupe. In 1964, he released Yoruba Ronu, a play that generated controversy and earned him the wrath of Chief Akintola, Premier of the Western Region. The Ogunde Theater was banned in the Western Region of Nigeria for two years as a result. This ban was only revoked by the new military government of Lt. Col. F. A. Fajuyi on the 4th of February, 1966.
In the late 1970s, Ogunde was spurred by the success of Ija Ominira and Ajani Ogun, 2 pioneering Yoruba feature-length films, to co-produce his first celluloid film, Aiye, in 1979. He released Jaiyesimi,
How does Wemimo feel at 60? “I had 2 months to think. The whole of July and the whole of August for reflections. The long and shot and the summary of my feeling now is Gratitude to God for sending chosen people my way to bring me to where I am. That’s just the summary.
Every phase I have always had people stepping in to help me.
What I mean is that from my birth till today my life has been the product of people coming in at critical times to help me. So I cannot actually see it as a life of achievement because I cannot see any direct effort by me to make anything happen. It has always been the exertion of energy after I have had opportunity. Because of that, I believe that it is a life that has been lived taking, advantage of Gods help through people that he has sent to me at those critical times.
Where were you born? Where did you grow up?
“Before I was born, my father, who many people don’t even know was a Christian, of the Aladura sect, saw that my mother was very ill, and so the Prophetess who was heading the church that he belonged to at that time, Home Praying Band of Miracles told my father that his son was coming. There was no DNA. I believe she knew by prophesy. She said my mother must move out of the house and go and live in a rented apartment. My mother moved out of the house and I was born in a rented room where my mother was staying just close to our house at No 4 Cemetry Street, Ebute Metta. From that time, the 1st person in my life came in. My dad’s sister, Dorcas Olusanya. She was the one who took care of me when I was young, much more than my mother did. And was always there to help me, to guide me, nuture me, to teach me, until her death in September 2012. She had 3 children. All of them died. I never saw anyone of them. So, I was her son. I was her child. I am very glad that when she died, I buried her like a Queen.
That was the first. Thereafter at Primary School, at Ladilak Institute I had many encounters there. I can mention 2. The first was an experience I had with one chap who has my friend, who used to sit close to me. He was my only friend. I did something to him which injured him. It was a very nasty experience. I felt really bad. I was purnished. What I discovered was that it was that experience that taught me compassion, the value of friendship, because when the boy came back from hospital, he still agreed to come and sit with me. I was 7 years old when it happened in 1965. But from that time, I saw that the lord wanted me to understand the need for one to take friendship seriously not to harm your friend, to always do good to him, to always think of him. It was an experience I had very early in life. I always call that the intervention of Jesus.
Then, in Secondary School, I had another encounter. I lost my mother when I was 12 in 1970. And so when I entered Igbobi College in January 1971 my mother was already dead. I was just 12+. At that time I had to wake up quickly to learn about the discipline of study, the discipline of punctuality in school, because I was a day student, the discipline of even doing your homework. For a 12 year old, just entering secondary school. with no experience, I found that very difficult to do. So, my grades started falling and when I finished WASC in 1975 I had 2 credits, 6ps and 1F. That was a very poor result. I had to resit my WASC in 1976 before I could get good result. So when I entered University I had 3 close friends. In 1978, God sent another person to me, a friend of mine again, who told me about an opportunity to teach and I started taking the private tutorial classes from 1978. It was the money I got from there, from the opportunity that this friend opened to me, that I used to pay my way through University. So, I didn’t have to depend on my father, I paid my way myself. And so the discipline that this opportunity gave me, helped me to understand how to save, how to manage money and how to plan.
In the University also I met friends who are still with me till today. One of them incidentally was the one who opened me up again to an opportunity to work in Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s Chambers. It was another one that gave me his car to use on my wedding day. So, when I got to Gani’s Chambers again in 1984, by 1985, I met one man who is late now. And he just took a liking to me. I was handing some of his cases. And when we left Gani’s Chambers we continued that relationship. I can tell you that this man who was from Kogi State, who didn’t meet my father was responsible for about 75% of my income. From 1987 to year 2000. He was the one who introduced me to notable Nigerians, he was the one who built my practice. He was the one who opened me up to so many places and corporate clients that I had at that time. He was the one who did it. He didn’t know me. He didn’t know my father. That was how he did what he did.
What can I say about what Chief Gani Fawehinmi also did? There are so many things to say about how he helped me to build my professional career. That is just to tell you that doors were being opened to me by people and that is how I have lived my life from the beginning till today.
So, if you look at what I have to say about my 60th birthday now, it is more about other people not about myself.
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