Renowned Yoruba
playwright Akinwumi Isola celebrated his 70th birthday on February 24
at the Afe Babalola Auditorium of the University of Lagos. The
celebration came two months after he officially hit three score and ten
years.
The event was organised by the Ayan Agalu Soungobi foundation for Isola, a member of its board of trustees.
Organising the
proceedings in Yoruba, the MC and General Manager NTA Ibadan, Yemi
Ogunyemi said, “Today, we are here to celebrate our culture and
tradition as we celebrate Akinwumi Isola. Without language there is
nothing. Language is important to Professor Isola. Despite studying
French in the university, no one can deny that he is a true Yoruba man.”
Ode to ‘The Honest man’
Described as
Isola’s twin, another Yoruba literary icon, Adebayo Faleti read Isola’s
biography. He poured libation while offering prayers for Isola. Also
speaking in Yoruba, he said, “Nothing much is left to say about Isola
since he’s written it all, but the ones I know I’ll tell.” He spoke of
their days as students in the University of Ibadan where he was
studying English and Isola was studying French. “If you want to know
about pranks and humour, Akinwumi Isola is your best bet.”
According to him,
Isola has already written about many of the experiences he might have
spoken about. He, however, said, whatever remained to be said he would
leave for another occasion. Announcing performances for the evening,
Ogunyemi said, “Everything we do today is for the progress of our
culture.”
An Elesa Egungun
performed a praise-song for Isola hailing his genius with the Yoruba
language and his role in developing Yoruba culture. The MC was however
pained at the absence of students at the event which he called an
opportunity to learn about Yoruba culture.
Kola Bata and his ensemble from the Ayan Agalu Soungobi Foundation were up next with a Bata dance and music sequence.
Strong women characters
Next was the
performance of an excerpt from ‘Belly Bellows’, a new play by Isola.
Telling the story of how Oya leaves Ogun for Sango, the play emphasised
the need for men to care for women and not make slaves or subjects out
of them. According to Sango in the drama, “Olodumare did not create
women to be beaten by men.”
Nicknamed ‘the
honest man’ by friends, Isola is renowned for celebrating the strength
of womanhood in such plays as ‘Efunsetan Aniwura’ and ‘Madam Tinubu:
The Terror of Lagos.’
The highlight of
the drama, however was when the mischievous Esu pointed a finger
directly at the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, saying, “Esu!”
The governor pointed back at the actor repeating “Esu!” The governor
would not accept he was a troublemaker like the prankster-god.
Fashola, however, paid homage to all the actors including ‘Esu’ when he went on stage for his address.
‘Eko o ni baje’
Delivering a paper
titled, ‘The role of Language and Culture in Yoruba Politics,’ the
governor abandoned his prepared English script for a speech in Yoruba,
the event’s lingua franca. Opprobrious shouts of ‘Eko o ni baje’ and
loud applause nearly drowned out the governor’s speech.
Begging leave of
the elders in the house to replace politics with governance, the
governor emphasised the need for fair hearing in governance, hence its
presence in the constitution. Reacting to the drama, Fashola said Ogun,
Sango and Oya had been summoned before the council so that all sides
would be heard and a decision reached that would ensure peace.
“Balanced judgments help maintain family and national ties,” Fashola
said.
“We have dropped
that which is ours and embraced a foreign culture, which is hard to
understand.” Tossing in a Yoruba proverb for good measure, he said, “A
river that forgets its source soon dries up. We’ll discover all we need
to overcome certain problems once we decide to go back to our roots.”
Fashola said the
country would progress if people allow language and culture to play an
important role in governance. He prayed long life for Isola and Faleti
and thanked them for staying true to their roots and for showing others
the right path to follow.
Overseeing the
special book launch of Isola’s ‘Saworo Ide,’ Fashola said, “There is no
language or culture that is the same as the Yoruba’s. All genres of
English literature – poetry, prose and drama- rate behind that of the
Yoruba.” He bought one thousand copies for the state’s schools and
libraries.
Also gathered to
wish Isola more fulfilling years were founder of the Oodua Peoples
Congress Frederick Fasheun; Ovation publisher Dele Momodu; Muyiwa Ige,
son of slain politician Bola Ige; Senior Special Adviser to Governor to
the Lagos State governor Tunji Adebiyi, and the Dean of the Faculty of
Arts Duro Oni representing the Vice Chancellor of the University of
Lagos. All bought copies of the book while celebrating their
relationship with the honest man of letters.
The celebrant said nothing
Like Faleti had predicted, the audience had to wait till another occasion to hear what more was left to be said of Isola.
When the governor
left the venue with his entourage, he took Isola and Faleti along,
bringing to an abrupt end what was building up to be a worthwhile
event.
Not even Doctor
Tirimisiyu and his snail-shell band from Gbongan could make up for the
celebrant’s much-expected speech that never was.
Maybe like J.P.
Clark said of himself a week earlier at the same venue, all Isola had
to say, he had said through his drama and his teaching.
Before his
retirement from the African Languages department of the Obafemi Awolowo
University in Ife, Isola had taught across primary and secondary levels
as well. Described as always having been a culture buff, Isola’s love
for the Yoruba culture was shaped by fraternising with the likes of
Wole Soyinka, Ola Rotimi and Femi Euba when he was at the university in
Ife.
Apart from being a
renowned playwright, he is also an actor and screenwriter. Under his
collaborative effort with film director Tunde Kelani’s Mainframe
Productions, his works like ‘O Le ku’, ‘Koseegbe’ and ‘Saworo Ide’ have
been made into films. He also wrote the script for Mainframe’s ‘Campus
Queen’.
Thanking all present at the ‘end’ of the event, the foundation’s
director, Morakinyo Daramola, said of Isola, “He is an honest man, a
gentleman, a quiet man, a simple man, a cultured Yoruba man, an icon
and a great father to us all.”
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