Adebayo Salami, also known as Oga Bello, celebrated his 50 years on
stage as an actor last week amid pomp and ceremony. The veteran actor,
at the event, said God has been good to him and wants to live the rest
of his life to work for Him. See excerpts from his interview with Journalist Segun Adebayo below:
You marked your 50 years on stage as an actor recently, how would you
describe the journey and how have you survived over the years?
I am a strong believer in the will of Allah. I strongly believe that
nothing comes to you without the knowledge of God. Talking about
survival over the years, I will say it has been the grace of God and His
mercy. In life, you can’t avoid challenges; they are part of your
existence as a man born of a woman. One thing that you have to be
careful about is how to handle the situation when challenges come up
from any angle of life.
It is normal for one to go through difficult moments in life, some of
the problems we go through end up making us a stronger person, if you
look back into those years, has there even been an event or occurrence
you wished had never happened to you?
Yes, there was a particular one that forced me out of theatre. It was
a very tough moment in my life and I said to myself that I wasn’t
interested in this job again. The event happened in 1985 when Mama Mero
died. We lost her exactly seven years after the death of her husband,
Ojo Adejobi, my boss. A lot of issues started coming up after the demise
of Mama Mero; a lot of speculations came up as people were alleging
that I killed the husband and later I decided to kill the wife. The
problem was so much that I could not stand it anymore, so I decided to
quit the stage immediately after the burial. It was after I had left
that he sent for me when he heard that I had left the stage and said is
it true that you want to quit acting? I told yes, that I had made up my
mind not to be part of it again. I won’t forget the particular Yoruba
word he used “Alakori” meaning a flippant or unserious person. He told
me that If I wanted to grow in life, especially on this job, I must
never run away from challenges; the more problems I faced, the bigger I
would become on the job. So, after that conversation with him, I changed
my decision and returned to stage.
Why would people say you had a hand in the death of your boss and his
wife, what kind of relationship did you have with the family?
You know our people are very funny; they like to dwell on Mr A says
that to Mr B when they have not even heard from the person involved.
I learnt that Baba Mero and his wife were the owners of the theatre
group that later became yours, is that why people alleged that you
killed them so that you could take over the group?
Yes, people said I killed them because I wanted to inherit their
property. I asked them where were the property? None of them could come
out to point at one because there was no property in the first place. I
know how much debt I paid back after his death. What I had in mind then
was all about my passion for what I do; I also planned to immortalise
Ojo Ladipo but the rumour about his death devastated me so much. It
was not as if Baba Mero had eighty bags of cement which I inherited when
he died. Baba Mero died with his talent. All I wanted to do was to
promote his name even after death and while I am doing that, I am also
helping my career on the other hand. I thank God for my life today
So, how did you manage to get over that period?
I just had to keep doing what I know how to do. People kept talking
but I didn’t allow their talks to get to me. You know one thing that
matters in life is your upbringing. If you had been brought up the way I
was raised, you would know how to remain focused and don’t give much
attention to what people say.
How were you raised?
I was raised in a Muslim home and we were taught three things: One,
to love, to be contented and to be very hard working. You must also
strive to endure any difficult situation, embrace people and above all,
love God. These are the things I have applied to my life and have worked
immensely for me in life. There is something in the Quran which says
you have to seek knowledge, which I did. If I want to do something, my
style is to do a thorough research about it before I take a final
decision on it. Another major point is that you have to be honest in
whatever you do and don’t look down on anybody; no matter how small the
person could be.
With fifty years on the job and seeing your children taking after you, how do you feel about this?
The truth is that I have never prayed that any of my children should
take after me. My only responsibility to them as a father is to make
sure they are all educated. And, I thank God that I have been able to
achieve that with the help of Allah. My prayer is that they should be
successful in life but not as actors. I am glad that they all give me so
much joy today.
If you have the opportunity to change anything in your life today, what would that be?
I think it is even too late to change anything about my life. So,
don’t let us talk about it. I am over sixty years old, what do I want to
change in my life at this stage? I can only ask God to help me manage
what I have; the good and bad sides of it. God designed my life the way
it is and I can’t complain about it. He has given me everything that
will make my life easy for me.
You have a big family, how do you manage to keep everybody under same roof?
It is God’s doing. I don’t know how to explain it to you other than to say I am grateful to Allah.
Is it true that you are planning to have another wife?
Where is that coming from? What do I need another wife for? I am over
sixty years old, I have wives at home and I am yet to get tired of
them. I am not having another wife; I am not even thinking about it. I
will be wicked if I ask God for another wife.
Are you tired of women?
I am not saying I am tired. I am only saying that I don’t want
another wife. I don’t want anything else in life or on this job other
than long life and to remain relevant on my job.
