Segun Olusola’s Last Dance

Ambassador Segun Olusola’s many accomplishments in various fields of endeavourshowed he led a fulfilled life writes Nehru Odeh.

Ambassador Segun Olusola, who passed away on  21 June, aged 77, wore many caps on his sagely head.  He was a thorough bred diplomat, a dramatist, a master story teller, a writer, an art connoisseur, a broadcaster, a philanthropist and peacemaker.

But a very distinct quality of his which would be etched in the memory of many for a long time is his anglicised accent, his mastery of  Yoruba and English, his unapologetic love for African traditional cultural values,  his impeccable diction and rich, inflectional voice  —a trait he actually put to good use in his broadcasting and artistic careers. Still, an aura tinged with humility that is the exclusive preserve of the wise and experienced always surrounded him as he sat meditatively at public events.   Indeed, the widely-travelled  Iperu-Remo-born cultural activist had seen much of the world. Olusola shot to prominence in the 1970s when he created Village Headmaster, a television series which x-rayed the myriad problems bedevilling a nation in transition through the interaction and intermingling of a mix of characters from different ethnic backgrounds in a typical village setting. Not only did the programme make many  glued to their seats whenever it was on air, Olusola himself once confessed in an interview, “people in government broke their meetings to watch it.”

Olusola will be remembered more, not just by his constant presence at almost every art and cultural event, even up till his last days but also his selfless service and his vital contributions to national discourse, initiating programmes that could enhance peaceful co-existence in the society. Small wonder, after his tenure as Nigerian ambassador to Ethiopia in 1993 -the longest so far in that country- that he formed the African Refugee Foundation.

In an interview published in a national daily recently, the cultural activist bemoaned the spate of bomb blasts in the country, the threat the threat Boko Haram posed to the corporate existence of Nigeria and called on northern leaders to speak up against the terrorist organisation.

“I grew up here in Iperu- Remo in a carpenter’s workshop. My father was a carpenter and in the carpenter’s workshop were people who were Muslims including people from the north. I am a Christian naturally and my old man was a Methodist Church leader but he ran a workshop for carpenters and everybody was there. We were able to interact with other carpenters who were not Christians.

“And growing up in an atmosphere like that makes me feel uneasy now about tendencies that I read from what is happening in the north, particularly Plateau State,” he said.

His deep and uncompromising interest in the arts, humanitarian works and culture is perhaps the reason why even at grave cost to his health, he remained a vicarious, tireless worker carrying on with social engagements, keeping appointments and ever ready to proffer sagely advice and assistance. Even up till his last days, he believed he still had so much to offer humanity. When he marked his 77th birthday last March in Lagos, he, looking radiant, danced rhythmically to the music provided by drummers and confessed that he was the happiest person at the gathering.

“I never thought  I would live this long but God has been faithful. For this reason, I am looking forward to making good use of these additional years. There must be something that I have not done that God wants me to do. So I will find out and work on it,” he enthused while speaking to newsmen.

But that was the sage’s last dance. That dance on his last birthday eventually turned out to be Olusola’s statement of triumph, of having led a fulfilled life. No wonder when the news of his death filtered through last Thursday, it was greeted with astonishment and awe.

Nigerians from various streams of endeavour have continued not just to pour encomiums on him but also recount their experiences working with him. Dr. Obi Nwakanma a Nigerian  poet, journalist biographer and literary critic based in the United States has very fond memories of him.

“Ambassador Olusola was a remarkable man. I mourn him, but I also celebrate his life as a great humanist; a first class broadcaster, and an icon of the cultural movement of the 1960s, which now seem to be the very best of our times. On a personal note, he gave me introductory letters to his colleague, the Rwandan rep at the OAU in Addis Ababa in the 1990s, with whom I was supposed to stay on my way to Kigali to report the Rwanda/Burundi crisis, as a journalist for Vanguard.

“For all kinds of reasons, I could not enter Kigali, and this proved fortuitous for that family was wiped out during the massacres in the period. Olusola was to later say to me, “I could never have forgiven myself if you had died!”  Nwakanma also said Olusola was a great friend of the poet Christopher Okigbo and was generous both with his time and insight on him, adding that he was a good, kind, sensitive and liberated man.

Dejumo Lewis, an actor, director and producer, who played the role of Oba Ajelende in Village Headmaster said Olusola lived an exemplary life as a man of culture. He also said the late cultural activist, whom he referred to as his oga, taught him television production first before he got trained.

“As far as am concerned he is not dead. He was a man who did so much for his country and Africa at large. Such people don’t ever die,” he averred.

Professor Tunde Babawale,  Director General, Centre for Black African Arts and Civilisation, CBAAC,  described the late Olusola as an intellectual per excellence whose contributions to debates are deep and influenced decisions regarding culture issues, adding that the late connoisseur of art was a barometer which was used to gauge the feelings of Nigerians on issues relating to culture.

“As a journalist, he was a broadcaster par excellence, a world class broadcaster with an in impeccable diction,” he said.

Dr. Bruce Onobrapeya, distinguished artist, said Olusola had been a very important personality in the arts and culture world.

“Several times I drew inspiration from him whenever we met at events. He appeared to have answers to many problems. I hope the family would have the strength to bear the loss. And also, one hopes that the culture sector will  be able to continue from where he stopped,” Onobrapeya said.

Mr. Tony Okoroji, former president of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria, PMAN was also full of praise for Olusola whom he referred to as a cultural giant.

“Nigeria’s cultural sector has lost has lost a giant who was never too big or too busy to answer any call from the cultural community. The last time I had the honour of sharing a stage with him was in Calabar at the last  National Festival of Arts and Culture, NAFEST, where he was Chairman of the Colloquium and I was the lead speaker.

“Olusola was very eloquent and spoke English in the special style that only he could. He had in the past opened the doors to his Surulere home to me and offered me his special Ethiopian coffee as we rubbed minds on the future of the Nigerian creative sector. Not once did I invite Ambassador to an event and he did not honour the invitation,” he added.

Omooba Yemisi Shyllon, an art connoisseur, praised Olusola for sensitizing Nigerians to the beauty of African culture and for his humanitarian sensibilities. He worked relentlessly on that, and saw the need to protect people affected by situations they know nothing about. So he set up the African Refugee Foundation. I have seen him severally praying in the real African tradition at events.  He held strongly to Yoruba and African culture; no pretensions about that for him,” he remarked.

Born on 18 March 1935 to a father who was a carpenter in Iperu-Remo in Ogun State, Olusola attended St John Catholic School and Wesley School Iperu-Remo from 1941 to 1947. He had his secondary education at Remo Secondary  School Sagamu, where he was the Secretary of  the school’s Literary and Debating Society and organised  lectures, debates and literary activities. Olusola also attended Syracuse and Pittsburgh universities in the United States. After his university education, He returned to Nigeria and secured a job as an assistant accounts officer at the electricity Corporation of Nigeria, ECN.

“Everyday, I was always coming to Oxford House, where the broadcasting service was, to look for ways to read and write stories for broadcast. There was no doubt in my mind whether I would be a broadcaster,” he once said in an interview.

He later secured a job  at the  then Nigeria Broadcasting Service, NBS, now Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Ibadan as Broadcasting Officer, 1955-59; Executive Producer WNBC/ WNTV, 1959-1964. His primary responsibility then was t train TV announcers and other TV announcers and to direct programmes like debates and discussion programmes. It was while  working  at NBS that Olusola and Christopher Kolade formed an amateur drama company called Players of the Dawn in 1957.  Olusola was also Manager of Programmes at the  Nigerian Television Service, NTS  in 1964;  and it was  there he started work on Village Headmaster. But he didn’t complete the work until 1968 when the first 13 episodes were recorded.   Olusola was also Director of Programmes, NTA Lagos, 1974- 1976; General Manager, 1976- 1078; Director NTA, 1978-1987.

“Within two years of leaving school, I got a a job in the radio mainly as an announcer. Later, they found out that I could write apart from announcing. As A result I was moved to the features desk as a producer. I went round the country, reporting for radio newsreel. My senior colleagues were supportive, they didn’t look down at me and they gave me opportunities. By 1957 I was already producing for network. It was  while  going round the country that the idea of Remembrances of my Headmaster  came. I spoke to people like Dr. Biobaku, A.Y. Eke, the late Alake of Abeokuta, Oba Ademola and I asked them to remember what they knew about their village headmaster. It was then I  started thinking of a character like the village headmaster,” he reminisced.

Olussola also served his country in various capacities. He was the founding director of both the Players of the Dawn, 1958- 1964 and Arts Express. 1966-1966-1969; Chairman, National Festival Commitee and the Nigerian Arts Council; Director, Second All Nigerian Festival of Arts and Culture 1971 and Vice Chairman, Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria Planning Committee for the Second All Africa Games, 1973. He was Nigeria’s Ambassador to  Ethiopia, and the Organisation of African Unity, OAU, 1987-1993. He also held various positions in many educational, professional and cultural associations in the country.

Olusola was first married to Mrs Elsie Olusola, a popular actress who played Sisi Clara in Village Headmaster, and whose death was one of  his saddest experiences.

“I ‘ve just completed the OAU Summit in 1991 in Addis Ababa and was on my way back to Ethiopia; and as the ambassador to Ethiopia, I had to be back to receive all our guests. Unfortunately, my wife was away in Warri. I spoke to her that I was going back and she was asking me why should I be going back when there was already the beginning of an uprising against the government in Ethiopia.

“She started to cry, while speaking with  me on the phone; for Elsie to cry meant something great. She was  a strong-willed person. That was the last time I spoke to her and she passed on,” he recalled.

Olusola married Fehintola  many years later. He is survived by his wife and children namely: Ms Aderonke Ajibulu-Moniya, Mr. Jimi  Olusola II, Mrs  Toyin Laditi, Mr. Sabitu Olusola, Mrs Toyin Adejumo and Mr. Samuel Olusola.