Reported by Simon Daniel Yusuph l Journalist at Weng Global
Veteran Yoruba actor and filmmaker Lere Paimo has challenged the timeline surrounding veteran actor Pete Edochie’s acting career, with accounts of Paimo’s professional theatre journey placing his entry into the profession in 1958, four years before Edochie’s stated stage debut in 1962.
The development has drawn fresh attention to the long and complex history of Nigerian theatre, particularly the careers of performers who established themselves decades before the emergence of Nollywood.
Edochie recently said his acting career began in 1962 when he was 15 years old, recalling his participation in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice while speaking on comedian Isbae U’s online programme, Curiosity Made Me Ask. The veteran actor used the account while discussing seniority within Nigeria’s acting profession.
Paimo’s Acting Career Dates Back to 1958
Available biographical accounts identify 1958 as the beginning of Paimo’s acting career, when he joined the Oyin Adejobi Theatre Group, one of the important theatre organisations in the development of Yoruba dramatic performance.
Paimo later became associated with the renowned Duro Ladipo Theatre Group, further establishing himself within Nigeria’s travelling theatre tradition.
However, historical accounts are not completely uniform on the precise year of Paimo’s formal entry into the Oyin Adejobi group.
The DAWN Commission, in a biographical profile of the veteran actor, places his association with the Oyin Adejobi company at around 1960, while other published biographies and profiles identify 1958 as the beginning of his acting career.
This distinction is important because the phrase “started acting” can refer to different stages of a performer’s development, including school performances, joining a professional theatre company, first professional stage appearance or entry into film.
What is not in serious dispute is that Paimo belongs to the earliest generation of Nigerian theatre practitioners and had established links with Yoruba travelling theatre before Edochie’s 1962 stage experience.
Edochie Says He Began Acting in 1962
Edochie recently revisited his own career history while responding to questions surrounding seniority in the Nigerian acting profession.
Speaking on Curiosity Made Me Ask, Edochie said he first appeared on stage in 1962, when he was 15.
He recalled taking part in a production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and explained that acting in Nigeria at the time was largely centred on theatre rather than the modern film industry.
Edochie has repeatedly maintained that his acting career predates Nollywood by several decades.
His account was reported by TheCable Lifestyle, which quoted him as saying that when he performed The Merchant of Venice in 1962, “there was nothing like film” and acting was primarily conducted on stage.
Adom Online also reported the actor’s account, noting that Edochie connected his early theatre experience to a period long before Nollywood became associated with Nigeria’s home-video film industry.
Why Paimo’s Timeline Is Significant
The difference between 1958 and 1962 may appear small, but it is significant within the history of Nigerian theatre.
If the 1958 date is used, Paimo entered professional theatre approximately four years before Edochie’s stated first stage performance.
That does not diminish Edochie’s decades-long contribution to Nigerian entertainment. Rather, it places both actors within different stages of a much larger theatrical history.
Paimo’s career is particularly connected to the development of Yoruba travelling theatre, while Edochie emerged from a different theatrical and cultural background before becoming one of Nigeria’s most recognisable actors.
The discussion therefore goes beyond a question of personal seniority.
It highlights the fact that Nigeria had an established theatre culture long before the industry popularly known today as Nollywood emerged.
The Theatre Tradition Before Nollywood
Nollywood’s emergence in the 1990s transformed Nigerian filmmaking, but it did not mark the beginning of acting in Nigeria.
Travelling theatre companies had been entertaining audiences across the country for decades.
Among the influential names associated with the development of Nigerian theatre were Oyin Adejobi, Duro Ladipo and Hubert Ogunde, alongside numerous other performers, writers, directors and theatre practitioners.
These pioneers developed theatrical traditions that combined indigenous languages, folklore, history, music, dance and dramatic storytelling.
Paimo became part of that tradition during its formative period.
His association with Oyin Adejobi and later Duro Ladipo placed him within a theatrical movement that helped create the foundation for Yoruba-language drama on stage and, eventually, on screen.
Paimo and the Duro Ladipo Theatre
Paimo’s association with Duro Ladipo was particularly important to his career.
According to historical accounts, he later joined Ladipo’s theatre group and participated in stage productions including Obamoro.
Paimo also became closely associated with the character Eda, from a Yoruba adaptation of Everyman. His performance helped give rise to the name by which he became widely known — Eda Onile Ola.
In an interview published by City People Magazine, Paimo recalled how he joined Duro Ladipo after first working with Oyin Adejobi.
The Tribune Online has also published an interview with Paimo discussing his experiences with Adejobi and the travelling theatre tradition.
These accounts provide important historical context because they show that Paimo’s career was rooted in professional theatre rather than beginning with the modern Nigerian film industry.
From Theatre to Film
Paimo later expanded his work into film and became an important figure in Yoruba cinema.
He gained wider recognition for his role in the Yoruba epic film Ogbori Elemosho, while continuing to work as an actor, filmmaker, producer and director.
His career subsequently covered several decades and different phases of Nigerian entertainment.
He was also recognised by the Nigerian government with the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2005 for his contributions to the country.
His longevity has made him one of the important links between Nigeria’s early travelling theatre tradition and contemporary Nigerian cinema.
Edochie’s Place in Nigerian Acting History
While Paimo’s earlier theatre history is significant, Edochie’s contribution to Nigerian acting is also firmly established.
His career eventually extended beyond stage theatre into broadcasting, television and film.
One of his most celebrated roles came through the television adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, in which he portrayed Okonkwo.
Edochie has said he featured in the production in the 1980s, well before the term Nollywood became widely associated with Nigeria’s home-video industry.
According to TheCable Lifestyle, Edochie has argued that his acting career was already established before Nollywood emerged.
His career therefore represents another important chapter in the development of Nigerian screen acting.
The Question of Who Is Senior
The latest discussion also raises a broader question about what constitutes seniority in Nigerian acting.
Seniority can be measured in several ways.
It could mean the year an actor first performed on stage, the year the actor joined a professional theatre company, the number of years spent in the profession, the year the actor entered film, or the period when the actor achieved national prominence.
These different measurements can produce different answers.
For Paimo, the historical record includes his early association with Yoruba travelling theatre.
For Edochie, the record includes his stated 1962 stage debut and decades of work across broadcasting, television and film.
Consequently, determining who is “senior” cannot responsibly depend on one date alone without defining what form of seniority is being discussed.
A Debate That Reflects Nigeria’s Rich Entertainment History
Rather than simply viewing the issue as a disagreement between two veteran actors, the discussion offers an opportunity to revisit Nigeria’s entertainment history.
The careers of Paimo and Edochie demonstrate how Nigerian acting developed across generations and different performance traditions.
Paimo’s work is strongly associated with Yoruba theatre and indigenous cinema, while Edochie’s career became particularly prominent through English-language theatre, broadcasting, television and film.
Both careers developed before the modern Nollywood industry took its present form.
That history is important because younger audiences may associate Nigerian acting almost exclusively with contemporary Nollywood, overlooking the theatre practitioners who established the country’s dramatic traditions decades earlier.
What the Available Records Show
Based on available published biographical accounts, Paimo’s professional theatre career is commonly dated to 1958, although some historical accounts place his joining of the Oyin Adejobi theatre organisation around 1960.
Edochie has consistently stated that his first stage performance was in 1962, when he was 15 and participated in The Merchant of Venice.
Therefore, using the commonly cited 1958 date for Paimo’s professional theatre career, his entry into acting predates Edochie’s stated debut by approximately four years.
However, the differing dates in published accounts mean the timeline should be presented carefully rather than as an unquestionable conclusion.
What remains clear is that both men belong to generations of Nigerian performers whose careers began before the rise of modern Nollywood.
What Readers Should Know Next
The discussion is likely to generate further interest in the careers of Nigeria’s surviving theatre pioneers and veteran actors.
More detailed archival research, interviews with the actors themselves and records from historical theatre organisations could help establish clearer timelines for the careers of Nigeria’s earliest professional performers.
For now, the available evidence places Lere Paimo among the country’s earliest prominent theatre practitioners, with several sources tracing his professional journey to 1958, while Pete Edochie has stated that his own stage career began in 1962.
The debate ultimately serves as a reminder that Nigerian cinema did not emerge in isolation. It grew from decades of theatre, television, literature, indigenous storytelling and performance traditions developed by generations of Nigerian artists.
Weng Global – Stories beyond borders
Sources:
- TheCable Lifestyle — Report on Pete Edochie’s claim that his acting career began in 1962.
- Pulse Nigeria — Report on Edochie’s comments about his acting career and seniority in the industry.
- Adom Online — Report on Edochie’s account of his 1962 stage debut.
- City People Magazine — Biographical and interview material on Lere Paimo’s theatre career.
- DAWN Commission — Historical profile documenting Paimo’s early association with Oyin Adejobi’s theatre company.
- Tribune Online — Interview material concerning Paimo’s early theatre experiences and relationship with Oyin Adejobi.
- Radarr Africa — Report on Edochie’s claim that his acting career predates Nollywood.
