Veteran actor Kola Olaiya has criticised fellow actor Pete Edochie over the ongoing debate about seniority in the Nigerian acting industry, describing him as proud and accusing him of failing to acknowledge the contributions of earlier theatre practitioners.
Olaiya made the remarks in a recent episode of Oyinmomo TV, uploaded on Friday, amid renewed debate over who qualifies as a pioneer in Nigerian acting following comments by Edochie and Yoruba theatre veteran Lere Paimo.
In the interview, Olaiya argued that the history of Nigerian acting extended far beyond the careers of actors who became prominent in the English-language film industry, insisting that earlier theatre practitioners had established themselves decades before Edochie began acting.
“Pete Edochie is a proud human being. I have known him for long. Pride is in his blood. That is why he cannot respect elders,” Olaiya said.
The actor cited the late theatre pioneer Hubert Ogunde, whose theatrical career began in 1944 after he resigned from the police, arguing that his contributions predated Edochie’s emergence in acting.
“Before they gave birth to Pete Edochie, Ogunde had been acting. That is why he cannot admit that some people started before him. Ogunde started theatre in 1944, when he resigned as a police officer,” he said.
Olaiya also referenced other prominent figures in the development of Nigerian theatre, including Oyin Adejobi, Duro Ladipo and Kola Ogunmola, questioning Edochie’s place in the industry’s history if seniority was being measured by when actors began their careers.
“Ogunde produced a lot of movies and made records before Edochie was born. After that, people like our fathers, including Oyin Adejobi, Duro Ladipo and Kola Ogunmola, joined the industry. Where was Pete then?” he asked.
He further argued that Edochie’s prominence in his region should not automatically translate into a claim of seniority over actors from other parts of the country.
“I do not know if he is the first in his region and has no superior; that is fine. But in the whole of Nigeria? No,” Olaiya added.
The comments come amid a wider conversation about the distinction between the history of Nigerian theatre, early stage acting and the emergence of Nollywood as a modern film industry.
The debate gained renewed attention after Edochie, in an appearance on the Curiosity Made Me Ask podcast hosted by comedian Isbae U, said he began acting in 1962, when he was 15 years old.
Edochie cited his performance in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice as part of his early acting experience. His comments drew attention to the question of how the beginning of an acting career should be defined, particularly when comparing stage performances with careers in film.
In September, Paimo, in an interview with filmmaker Kunle Afod, said he began acting in 1958 and had met Ogunde, whom he described as senior to him and other performers.
“I started acting in 1958. I met Hubert Ogunde, who was senior to me and others, and there were big movies produced back then,” Paimo said.
His remarks reinforced the argument that the history of Nigerian acting cannot be determined solely by the emergence of Nollywood, which gained prominence in the early 1990s.
Edochie, however, has maintained that his acting career began with stage performances in 1962, before the emergence of the modern Nigerian film industry. He also cited his portrayal of Okonkwo in the 1985 television adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart as a significant milestone in his career.
The disagreement has brought renewed attention to the contributions of earlier Nigerian theatre practitioners, particularly those who worked in Yoruba travelling theatre and established performance traditions long before Nollywood became widely recognised.
Ogunde, widely regarded as a pioneer of modern Yoruba theatre, began his professional theatrical work in the 1940s.