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It is two days to her 70th birthday and Abiodun Duro Ladipo, better known by her famous stage roles as Oya or Moremi, is getting set for the big day. To share in Oya’s joy is her mother with whom she is working on a fly whisk in the living room.

“Mama, please go inside. We are about to have an interview and he will have to record,” she tells her still sprightly mother, who obliges.

We are in the Ladipo’s residence at Bode Wasinmi, near the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State, Bashorun, Ibadan. Oya and her late husband, famed dramatist Duro Ladipo, moved into the house in 1974, four years before his death in 1978, and she has remained there since.

Unique man

The saying, whoever wants to make an old woman smile should ask about her husband, holds true for Moremi. The indigene of Epe in Ijero local government area of Ekiti State, smiles and says, “Why are you people always interested in how we met?” when asked how she met the great artist.

She had no interest whatsoever in acting back then because, “people believed it is a lazy person that will wake up in the morning and start dancing.” Her parents were also against it.

“However, I loved singing. I moved to Osogbo to stay with my aunt when I wanted to write entrance examination into the School of Nursing. I noticed Duro trying to form a troupe at Mbari Mbayo in Popo area of Osogbo. I used to go there to while away time because once my aunt and her husband went to work, I was left alone at home.

“I had never seen a man as tall as that before. When I noticed he was taking more than a passing interest in my talent, I told him I am not here to dance or act and that I won’t stay long. He was deeply involved in cultural plays which didn’t allow any form of fashion but whenever I wanted to go, I would put on bangles and trendy shoes to discourage him. He never sent me away or lost his temper. That was how the issue of marriage arose. However, he didn’t find it easy to marry me.”

Beier intervenes

German scholar, Ulli Beier, would eventually play a role in persuading the adamant girl who initially wanted to be a nurse to marry Duro Ladipo.

“When [Beier] saw me, he told my husband, “Duro, if Asake goes away, you can’t make it.” They went behind my back to meet my parents, but my mother refused. My aunt also forbade me from going to rehearse with his troupe. She would give me a lot of household chores so that I won’t be able to go for rehearsals. Duro… shifted rehearsals to suit me.

“He could read my mood without having to tell him anything and I concluded that this is a trustworthy fellow. He had many gifts but when he continued pestering me to marry him, I asked why me? He was way older than me. I asked if he didn’t have a wife before and he said he had but that she wasn’t around. I told him she must have run away because he is a bad man.

“If my husband wants to tell you something important, he will take you to a memorable place. He told me his life history and I started crying by the time he finished. I told him not to worry, that I will assist him. That was how I agreed to marry him, but it wasn’t easy. My parents were adamant initially, but Ulli and my husband were also unrelenting. I later went to convince them because my father had promised that he won’t force me to marry any man.”

The marriage lasted until Ladipo’s death, 14 years later. And though he has been dead 33 years, Moremi didn’t remarry. She explains why.

“I had resolved from a young age that I won’t marry two husbands and that I won’t have children for two men. In fact, there is no man that can be like Duro because other men will be thinking I’m a supernatural woman and they will be acting that way. I decided to remain a widow so that no man will compound my problem.”

Fulfilled and unfulfilled dreams

Moremi still maintains contact with Beier, the ‘Alarina’ (matchmaker) between her and the late Duro. He was also instrumental in helping her achieve one of her long held dreams for her husband’s graveyard in Popo, close to Oja Oba in Osogbo, becoming a tourist site

“Ulli came here some years ago. He said he didn’t like where Duro was buried when we were talking, but I told him I didn’t know what to do. He said he will discuss with (the then Osun State governor), Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and that was how the place was adopted.

“I am grateful that UNESCO has taken over the place as a tourist site. They are just going to start the renovation because they took it over last year. I am happy because I had always desired for the place to be renovated and now it is happening.”

Though she is happy about her husband’s graveyard, Oya will be happiest if the same happens to the family residence at Bode Wasinmi, which “could do with some repairs.”

Pointing, she informed, “That part of the house fell because I didn’t have enough money to maintain the whole house. I have great plans for this house, how it can also become a tourist centre. People come here and say they want to see the house but I don’t feel there is anything to see yet. I wish I could get people to support me.”

One of the highlights of Oya’s 70th birthday was the premiere of ‘Moremi’, one of her husband’s plays she has turned into a video film. Why ‘Moremi’ of all the works?

“‘Moremi’ was the easiest for me to adopt during the 30th anniversary of his death. It’s a popular women’s story and we have to let women know that they have a role to play in Nigeria, because Moremi rescued Ife. I want women to participate more actively in all spheres of life, they shouldn’t rely on men. I am happy it is premiering now because it is a call to women to get involved in affairs in the country.”

Ultimately, her dream is to turn all the works, including ‘Ajagun Nla’, ‘Beyiose’ and ‘Aro Meta’ amongst others into video films – but there are challenges.

“They are expensive plays, not parlour plays. I spent millions on ‘Moremi’ because it involved three communities. If I had millions, I will start recording them all because I want people to see the plays. I had to reproduce ‘Oba Koso’ seven years after Duro’s death because people were coming up with different interpretations.”

Sango‘ll fight back

‘Oba Koso’, one of Duro Ladipo’s most popular plays, has been interpreted differently by other filmmakers. There is Obafemi Lasode’s ‘Sango’ and ‘Ose Sango’ by A-Productions, but Oya is not bothered.

“When Lasode wanted to make his ‘Sango’, I wrote in the papers that they shouldn’t trespass. There are many deities in Yoruba land that you can portray, not one that someone has laboured over. They told me it’s not his property; that it is Yoruba history. I didn’t say anything, only that they are lazy and thieves.

“Those that made ‘Ose Sango’ said they were only treating the object. Ose (axe) is Sango’s symbol; you can’t divorce Ose from Sango. I know Sango won’t sleep in heaven. Whoever finds his trouble, he will fight back. Sango can defend himself; I don’t have to fight on his behalf.”

Revisiting the stage

Though video films are the rave in Nigeria now, Mama is not ready to abandon the stage. She says, “Stage plays shouldn’t be allowed to die. Abroad, it is the in-thing. Whites prefer interacting with the cast and crew after seeing a play. The bad economy and insecurity have turned Nigerians away from stage plays. By God’s grace, I will endeavour to work in both mediums.”

Oya’s desire at 70, she discloses, is to turn all her husband’s works into movies to preserve them. “They contain a lot of morals and I want children to also benefit from them. There are lessons in the plays that we will all find useful,” she reiterates. It has not been plain sailing and Mama reveals how she has been coping.

“I have received grace and persevered. I have not spoilt myself with men since my husband’s demise; they would have used and dumped me. But it wasn’t easy. I kept falling sick repeatedly at a time and went to see the doctor. He asked if I won’t be offended by his suggestion and I told him to go ahead. He said I should go look for a man who will make me happy… because what’s wrong with me is not an illness. That I am young and that it is nature, that I can’t cheat nature.

“He explained that he is not asking me to go remarry but I should look for a man with whom I will at least exchange words and joke with. I started laughing and asked him where I will find such a man. I kept persevering and God has assisted me till today.”