How do you feel being part of the Cast and Crew of Village Headmaster?
I feel very excited that I’m part of the Planning Committee It’s been very nostalgic for me.
Tell us your role then in Village Headmaster?
I was Folake in Sisi Clara’s Shop. I was an Apprentice when I started and it was a very lovely and interesting role and we so took it so seriously, as if we are actually learning to sew but as time went on, I graduated. I traveled abroad to be a better person and later came back again, having gotten my freedom. I went into joint business, Doyin and Folake and it was really good time, very good time.
Your role in Village Headmaster was what year to what year?
My role as Folake never ended. It was from when I joined in 1983 till I left in 1988.
How do you also joggle that role with other commitment in the industry?
There was really no other commitment as at that time because there was no Nollywood at that time, I’m talking 1983. We were not doing back to back, that you have to be on 3 sets at the same time, and because the Village Headmaster was something that was consistently running every week, so there was nothing like being able to combine 2 jobs.
It was strictly Village Headmaster. All the other things I did like “Mirror in The Sun”, I was in Village Headmaster but it never clashed because we have a very good time table for work and most of those independent producers as at that time were also working in conjunction with NTA, so there is always an understanding, there was never really any form of challenge at all.
You’ve been very consistent in your career and I’m wondering what has kept you going over the years, 36years to be precise?
Passion! Passion for what I love to do. I enjoy my work, and that was one of the reasons I had to give it a break in 1998 to be able to go to school, I went to school abroad.
When I was in primary school, I had been introduced to Literature very early and the Cinema actually. Because when we read our literature book they make us go to the Cinema to watch the movie of the book we read, and we will now go back to school and act it on stage in school for the end of the year party then. They will now bring us to NTA to now act it on TV. So I’ve been exposed to television from when I was like 7/8 years old till today, but professionally from 1983.
The cast and crew of Village Headmaster, how many are they?
You can’t put a figure to it at all, because it was unending, and because it was an NTA thing we always had consistent directors. Because a lot of young men were graduating from school. Some of them had their NYSC in NTA. Somebody like Tade Ogidan was also part of the directors that directed Village Headmaster. Tunji Bamisigbin was also part of Village Headmaster. Later Enebeli Elebuwa was also a part of Village Headmaster. So we had an unending cast, so we cannot put a figure to the cast and crew of Village Headmaster.
So what should we expect from the Committee in terms of the plans for the 50th celebration?
The 50th anniversary has already kicked off with a press conference that took place 2 days ago. On the 8th of October, we would be having a round table discussion. We are going to have people like Professor Yerima as one of our speakers and Prof. Duro Oni as well and we would be talking about Drama and it is going to be at the Freedom Park. Then we are going to have a Drama at Terra Culture on the 9th. We are having Matini in the afternoon, that’s an all-comers affair, but later at night we are going to be having a Command performance, and on the 10th that’s when we will be having our Gala Night at Shell hall and we are going to be launching Village Headmaster Foundation as well.
We are going to have Awards, posthumous awards, and lots of other kinds of award for the occasion.
