I regret not being part of the epic drama series ‘Things fall Apart’- Soibifaa Dokubo
Soibifaa Dokubo is a master story teller, documentary photographer and a consumate thespian that have tasted both the stage and the screen. One thing he still regrets in his career is turning down a wonderful opportunity to feature in the adaptation of the book, “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe for Television. He speaks more in this exclusive interview with Samuel Onyekwere
You had an opportunity to be part of the famous epic soap opera ‘Things Fall Apart’ but you missed the opportunity. What happened?
Then I was with the River State Cultural Centre and that was the world for us and we did not see anything better than being the ones that governors will come and watch that was during the military era. So, every time information comes from government to us just one way apart from TV, radio and newspaper. Being an artist gave me the opportunity to use my acting to tell the government where they are not doing well and that gave me a different view of what should be.
So when the story of Things Fall Apart came, my cousin one of the best dance people Nigeria has ever produced that’s Amatu Braide, she asked me to come and audition. Adiele Onyedibia was there and he said come and audition and I said no that I was doing something great in the Cultural Centre and nothing can be greater. During the weekend Amatu will take me to Enugu where I was privileged to meet all the top stars that Africa had at that time.
The day came in Amaechi where they were shooting the scene where pounded yam was taller than human beings, the boy they gave the role, they did more than 20 takes and it wasn’t working. Adiele Nwadibia was mad and he told me everything possible that will make me prick my head. He told me, ‘look at you, everyone is saying change him, but I said, let me punish him, when I called for auditions you refuse to come, so let him see what he is missing’. He was so blunt with me because we were all their children at that time and even up till now I still revere them.
I said okay, this is a national programme and painfully they showed it on national TV. It was then I decided that going forward from today onwards, anytime I hear anything national programme I will do all it takes to audition and be part of it to be seen. That was why I also auditioned for the National Troupe of Nigeria
Did you regret not being part of Things Fall Apart?
Of course till today.
You never knew it was going to be big?
We knew it was big, we also had unique performances at the Cultural Centre but I will say that was my kindergarten stage and growing up. I accept it as my mistake which also inspired me to audition for the National Troupe of Nigeria against all odds.
We see little of you in movies, is it because your strength is basically in theatre?
I am still a documentary photography. I am still active there and my voice over business is still active. Again, films don’t get shown like it used to before when you will say go to Ebinpejo lane and buy like the ones I have been lucky to appear in. If you will recall Africa’s most watch, most loved and most successful TV series Riona, I am Chief Odueye Omeregho, the king’s right hand man. And also ‘ Asawana’, I will not mention the names but there are four very prominent movies I have featured in and when they come out you will know.
You are a cultural activist and also a dancer and you also featured in Omoru. Tell us about that aspect of your career?
The first thing Chief Hubert Ogunde will require of you is that you must be a fantastic dancer, which is what I was until I had a road accident that dismembered my leg in multiple places. Today, I limp with style and I swag with. That accident happened in 1990 after shooting Mr. Johnson with the American Crew. It happened on September 13 but it’s behind me now. God said I have more things to do for him because I am not living for anybody; I am because God has destined me to be.
What project are you working on now?
Presently, I am working on putting my stories together.
You are a story teller like Uncle Jimi Solanke, Mike Ejeagha and the rest. The present generation doesn’t seem to understand the importance of story telling
No, sometimes it’s dangerous to generalize because every Nigerian loves to hear stories whether they are folk tales or otherwise. It’s not completely correct that people don’t like to hear stories, they do if you tell them good stories, they will like to hear. Its programmes like Tales by Moonlight that now galvanized us into watching those movies. Those same stories we were told was what formed the basis for the Nollywood stories coming in different fashion. People still like to listen to stories.
What I mean is that we tilt more to foreign stories than our history, where we are coming from. Our children are so consumed about foreign culture than their own.
I will blame that to parenting, when parents will share their responsibility of transferring culture properly and it can be done through spiritual performances like marriages, installation, burials and birthdays etc. That’s one of the instruments through which culture is transferred from the older generation to the younger generation. Stories that were told under moonlight when we were young were those that formed the foundations of our morals, but today, I agree that so many parents don’t have the luxury of time to spend with their families or gather the young ones and tell them these stories.
Good stories of famous king’s, great deeds of notable men in the past, even the transfer of our indigenous cultural industries; all were lost and people are now paying children’s school fees to forget their language. To some extent, it’s the fault of the parents who did not teach the children their background. If the child does not know the background, he will believe whatever he or she sees and clings to it.
How did you get the name ‘Waka’?
I got the name when we were young boys without any responsibility or worries, at least; you know that school fees will be paid, clothes will be there and we grew up at a time when food was not a problem nor did we lack friends nor lack uncles, cousins or great grandfather to live with. Personally, I am not from a rich family, my father was a teacher and my mum a petty trader and those days we wanted to be like big boys.
Sometimes we are in Port Harcourt on holidays, if you know the distance between Diobu and Creek road market inside the town, it’s a long distance. Sometimes we too want to belong because we see the big men’s children drinking whiskey and those days whiskey has a bottle that has white horse and we also wanted to belong but we didn’t have the money to support our bad habits.
With novels tucked at the back of our jeans pocket and canvass with well ironed shirt, we have to trek long distances like a gazelle. You have to be mobile to go that distance and come back with a little quantity of gin or whatever you bought to share with your friends. That process of dynamism and achieving success in going and coming back fast earned me that name. So anytime they want somebody to trek that distance, they will say let ‘Waka 1, 2, or 3’ go because some of us are like gazelles, we can go and come back quickly. There were no motorcycles those days because they were highly prized personal property.
Some of our parents knew that we had the ability of Pheidippides, the Greek runner who runs miles to deliver messages. We heard all those things and we thought they could inspire us though we were not all equally endowed to do it. But few of us that could, someone might ask,” guy you fit Waka go this place” and eventually we adopted Waka as our nick name. Is it not deserving to be of such services to your peers and the elders as well to deliver a distant message and come back in time? This is what brought about the name, dynamism, it’s not just loafing around. It was purposeful dynamism and we were doing those things to achieve our aim.
Then when we get to that Creek by the waterside, the canoes that are parked there on the river will cover like 200 meters and do you know what they are carrying? ‘Abua 1st 11’, the original local made gin, nature’s gift to Africa. When you get to water side, 10-15 of us would have been able to save 15kobo which is not easy to come by those days and this is what we saved from our allowances or other gifts from elders that we ran errands for. When we get to the waterside, do you know what we do first? We will taste it, you will not just buy it like that without tasting, there’s this little long neck bottle tied to the container with robe, we move round these canoes tasting the gin to check the quality of the gins before we decide where to buy.
I am sure by the time you will go round all the canoes tasting, you will get drunk before you decide on the one to buy
That’s what we were doing as boys. We will taste and taste maybe 10- 15 places.
Then you don’t need to buy again?
Don’t be a bad judge because we were taking advantage of opportunities that was not wrong that time. We will then buy the 15kobo worth of gin and go back to our friends who maybe playing chess, draught, scrabble, table tennis or listening to music. We will get roasted fish and share and be happy like brothers even with those that were from far distance. So this was how the name ‘Waka’ came. When I got older, I now put uncle in front of it for people to respect. I forced my mates to call me Uncle Soibifaa. If you say ‘Waka’ I will not respond but when you say ‘Uncle Waka’, I will answer, yes boy!
Why did you truncate your ambition of becoming a policeman?
That was inspired by the quality of police men we had at that time because they were respected. Those days when you sight a policeman, you will look at yourself if you are well dressed, you will think backwards a week or two; if you swept your compound well when it was your turn but you know that you are a good boy and there’s no need to be afraid. Their presence instilled that awesome feeling of justice and fear of being a bad boy and I wanted to be a policeman so that I can catch the bad ones and most importantly, to be able to investigate corrupt politicians and put them in jail.
I thought I could do that and I was very sure that as a police man, you could be able to detect crime effectively because there is nothing they cannot find out. That took me to reading books of James Hadley Chase series just to get a glimpse of what it means to be a good policeman who can unearth crime, get the culprits punished but I failed.
You were under the tutelage of Chief Hubert Ogunde as part of the National Troupe of Nigeria but you later left what happened?
I didn’t leave. From being a core artiste, I later became a tenure staff and retired from the civil service when I turned 60. I am now 61+ but you have to address me properly as Soibifaa ‘Waka’ Dokubo (Senior Citizen of Nigeria)
Can you recollect some of the memorable events as a member of the National Troupe?
We had several although now there’s a dearth of it. We travelled extensively to Japan, both North and South Korea, Venezuela, America, where we had several unique performances. I recall in I992, when we went to Japan with the musical dance drama called ‘Song of the gods,’ we had a one month long stay in Japan, one of the best trips I have had in my life. Everything was so wonderful and I remembered one of their philosophers said what the National Troupe achieved in those 30 active days of performance tour in Japan is more significant than any other political achievements that the country has made. There are many things the National Troupe has done outside this country because that’s their primary assignment just being the nation’s cultural ambassador. By protocol and the establishment of the National Troupe that’s the official cultural ambassador of Nigeria. Presently, I don’t know if the government is looking that way but that’s what it was.
How do you think indiscipline in the industry among the young ones can be corrected?
There’s no aspect of human negativity than can be completely corrected but it can controlled to some extent. The bulk of them that call themselves artist are just journey men and women who have found the foundation laid by true artiste, dancers, choreography, director and others which now appears to be easy for them to make money from but they don’t know that stardom comes with pains because you have to work. The most important attribute of an artiste is your discipline.
Today that has been jettisoned and it seems to work for some people. Just like chaff those of them in it that is not discipline they will sieve themselves out. The way to go about it is when you have people in charge who knows that time is money, not keeping the time means disrespect for the others in so many ways financially and otherwise. You say call time is 8: am and by 8: everybody should be there ready to work. But when others are there and the supposed super star comes late, he doesn’t have respect for you because he knows that he will just come do his work and get paid and that is not his or her profession. For some it’s a means to prepare themselves and do the other things they do
National Theatre was like a home for those of you in the National Troupe of Nigeria. How do you feel seeing the theatre back on its feet?
Great! They did well to revamp the place but I must confess that the place may not be for the artists again but for those who have the money. Everywhere in the world, arts is supported by subvention but today what that place used to be, it was a home like a succor, a place that people came and got groomed and did what they wanted. That place will never be available for such things they call frivolities, It will be for those who can pay through their nose. That place is no longer going to be the home for the theatre, arts. I don’t think it’s for us again, it’s for events. It’s our home I agree but it’s not going to be and I want to be proven wrong.
How is going to affect theatre generally?
There will be some negative back lashes. Some of the plays you can put together and go to the National Theatre you may not be able to do that again. Of course, I will also like to agree that the National Theatre should only host the best of the best in terms of performance.
