Why I Have Continued To Remain Relevant @ 75

• Iya Awero Talks About Her 60Yrs On Stage

At 74, Nigerian veteran actress, Iya Awero, remains a cherished figure in the entertainment industry with over 60 years of experience as an actress. Known for her roles in both Yoruba and English films, she shares with City People Magazine team how her career has stood the test of time. In this exclusive interview, she opens up about her journey, how she got into her thriving acting career and the life lessons she has applied.

What keeps you going that even at 60, you still go to locations?

Everything we are doing is by the power of God. It is God that gives the power and strength to do it. In life there is no way that aging will not come, anyone that says he still has a lot of power to go everywhere, a time will come he will not be able to because the body will question you. Notwithstanding the lord is still blessing me and still allows me to go. Whenever they call me, I will go, whatever my power can carry I will do, I still go to location once in a while as you see me in some movies. It’s mostly  yoruba movies, but now the English movies that they ask me to act, you will see me there. And you see me in Tinsel, I still do the one that God gave me the strength and power to do. So I thank God for everything.

How many years now have you been acting?

It’s been long since I started this work. I started when I was 14 years old, as far back as 1964 that’s when I started and till date it’s still what I do. I did not learn anything else.

It is now that I stay at home more that I am considering something else, because I don’t like being indoor too much, I am used to always traveling around. So I am considering where I can just be going to for the time being and when there is work, I will go for work and when there is no work I will stay in the place, so that is what my children are planning now.

I never had any other job aside from acting and that was what I used to train my children. I thank God.

Way back then what made you decide that this is the kind of work you want to do?

I liked it and when we were doing it then, we didn’t know it would be like this. You know whatever one desires to do, there are no challenges the person will not overcome.

Those times when I was with the woman that trained me, late Mrs Olayemi Orishasegboniku Bentley. When I was in school she was the headmistress. Also I came from a polygamous home so she was my guardian. She would say why am I going around with those drummers and I will say it is what I like that’s why. She would say no I can’t do it, I said she should let me do it. But God in his love for me that said this job that I am doing, is what I will do, is what made it back then when I was in St. Peter Virgin school Fagele.. My boss then was Oduroladipo, at Christ Cathedral School. So it was a time when Prof Wole Soyinka was doing those poems that he loves doing. He spoke to us that anybody that can read this poem for 6 months straight will go to the university. So we were all happy and I went to school of drama and we started acting like play and when I said that my guardian did not agree, I told Prof Wole Soyinka, so he was the one that gave me a letter and told me not to worry, he asked for my address and sent the letter. The postman delivered the letter and when my Mama saw it she said so the work you people are doing has gotten to this level. I was first scared, I was like what does she mean, she now said it’s Prof Wole Soyinka that wrote a letter to her to allow me to come for drama. We were many then that were doing it in Christ Cathedral School every weekend. Mr Olude was our principal then.

So that’s how we started and whenever we have work, we will all pack ourselves to the place, whatever we were taught we will act it in front of those elderly men back then. That was where I knew Toyin Oni, that’s where I learnt how they use puppet and other things. And God added blessings to it. But our own is “Alarinjoye” theatre from one place to another. That’s what made ours different, some other people were not like that. Ours we were Alarinjoye, I don’t think there is any land that I have not been to. I’m Nigeria as a whole, there is no state I have not been to. Even in Hausa land, that was when the country was good and secure not like now, there was no time we could not move. We loved what we were doing then and everything we saw we were satisfied with it. When someone has contentment and has focus everything will fall in place for the person. Don’t be looking at another person’s own, focus on yours and work. Whatever you have be satisfied with it and once someone is contented God will be blessing the person. That is it.

What role do you like to play the most in movies?

There is no role they give to me that i will not play, if it is a young girl role I will act, it’s just that now you can’t ask someone like me to act a young lady role, you will know that it can’t be real, but then there was no role they give me that I will not act well expecially, if our director is a good person.

How did you establish Awada Kerikeri and what year?

It has been long right from when my boss died in 1978. That’s when we established it and what made us establish it then was when my boss died, we just thought we should continue something meaningful. So we came together in unity and we gave the play a name Awada Kerikeri organization. And while Baba Mero was alive, Oduroladipo Baba Mero Theatre Group, later we turned it to Awada Kerikeri organization till everyone of us grew up and could stand on our own. Just as the saying goes 20 boys can not play for 20 years. There is no way we could all be together forever, at a point everybody will be in their own and that’s how it is now everyone is on their own. And as it is now whenever anyone of us call that there is something on ground we will all reply yes and we will come together again.

When you named it Awada Kerikeri did you think that the name would imply that you will only be making people laugh?

Most of our work we make people laugh and as we are making them laugh they are learning some lessons from it. We don’t just make people laugh, a moral lesson must be in it so that when children watch it at home they will learn, even if an elderly person watches, he will also learn.

Which movie can you say brought you to the limelight?

There was no role that did not bring me out, the only thing I saw was that when we acted movies like Efunsetan Aniwura, then it was the Oluyole Club that was doing something in their club then in Ibadan and Dinrun Adejedidun he was the director of the play then, I can say it was those ones that we started doing that made people recognize us and we too then we had some Yoruba movies like “Ogbon Gbemiga”, “Baye Bayeni” and others, those traditional movies that we acted before we started going into the ones of making people laugh like “The Madam”, “Asewo To Re Mecca”, and so on.

– Promise Babatunde