I want to surpass my father’s achievements —Boy Sala

Emmanuel Adejumo is one of the sons of comedian and filmmaker, Moses Olaiya Adejumo (Baba Sala). The dancer, actor and musician with the National Troupe of Nigeria speaks on his childhood, training and career in this interview. Excerpts:

ARE you in the arts because of your father?

No, I am not in the arts because of my father; it is my God-given gift. I can say my father influenced us because theatre runs in our family; that’s what we grew up to meet our daddy doing and it’s only those of us interested that followed his path. I am not in the arts because of daddy; it is because of the passion I have for it.

Did you follow your dad to locations while growing up?

Yes, in fact I started performing with my daddy right from childhood. Most of us performed with him right from childhood because there was no way there would not be roles for children in a play so he always featured us once in a while and we went on tours with himWhen I was in primary six or so, I would follow him to rehearsals and he would give me a gong to beat along with whatever was being played. That was how I started with him.

And I remember that one of his staff members, Baba Legba who lives in Abeokuta used to show me how to beat the gong very well. Apart from playing major roles in my daddy’s play, Baba Legba used to play the drums. He is a very good drummer; in fact he was the master drummer in most of dad’s performance on stage. So Baba Legba would tutor me and since I was also interested in it, it took me to where I am today. Most of us - both my seniors and juniors - once you finish secondary school you must serve daddy before you proceed to the university because he had a vast empire in theatre.

He will put you where you fit into and you must serve him for one year. He will show you the things you need to know like he did for me in the area of music and dance. I served him for about two years when I finished secondary school before I proceeded to Lagos State University to study Theatre Arts.

When did you become a professional artist?

I will say I have been performing and collecting honorarium since 27 years ago but I joined the National Troupe of Nigeria around 2000, 2001 where my gift was further fine-tuned and developed by the directors we have here. They refined me as a dancer, actor and now as a musician.

You left the National Troupe at a point, what happened?

We were given two-years contracts back then and if you are good they retain you by renewing your contract for another two years. They let you go if you are not. I was retained for years such that I became the Dance Captain and Camp Commandant of the troupe but when my last contract ended in 2012, they said we should go till the time they will do another audition. So we did the audition and when they were calling the new artistes and people they will retain, they transferred me from being a core artiste to tenured staff. I am now on permanent employment with the troupe, I’m no longer a contract staff. The National Troupe does that once in a while to encourage the artistes. I wasn’t the only one, some of my seniors have also benefitted.

I am now Performing Officer in the Music Department.  I also play the keyboard, guitar and saxophone. I started with the Troupe as a dancer but when you are a dancer with the troupe, you will also feature in some productions.

 Have you released any music album?

I have released three music albums.  I released the first album, ‘Onigbagbo’ in 1997, ‘Egbega’ in 1999 and the third, ‘Let’s Dance’ in 2007. The track I sang yesterday [at the staging of ‘Spectacle’, the Easter production of the National Troupe] is off my forthcoming album, ‘Testimony’. What you saw yesterday was management giving me the opportunity to perform one of the tracks from the soon-to-be-released album. And that’s the way of the National Troupe; they encourage us to do so many things. They develop our gift, they work on us to develop our potential so that by the time you leave the National Troupe, you won’t remain the same.

Do you miss working with your dad?

There is no way I won’t miss working with my dad on stage because having grown up with him; it got to a point that I was directing him on stage till around 2000 when he started getting weak. He trained us; he showed us many tricks of the trade and more so he is the same way he is on stage in the house. He is a very funny man; takes life easy and even when he is serious, you will still see comedy in it but then we know when he is serious. He is old now, weak and I so much miss him. That’s why we are following in his footsteps, who knows whether we will be able to live up to his high standards.

How did you come by the name Boy Sala?

It’s my boss, Arnold Udoka [Director, Dance of the National Troupe] that gave me the name. Whenever he is training us, he will hear my colleagues calling me Baba Sala. One day, he just said why are they calling you Baba Sala, it’s your father that is Baba Sala. You will be called Boy Sala since you are a boy. That was how the name stuck.

How is life with the National Troupe?

Life is good in the National Troupe. We have good directors that work with us; that encourage us. They push us hard ; I used to wonder why they pushed us so hard back in the day but now we are beneficiaries of their tough love because we are also impacting what we learnt into the young ones. National Troupe is fine, no regrets. If you are a Nigerian artiste and have not been part of the National Troupe, you are missing. It’s the place to be  and when you leave, there is no way you will not excel because of many things you would have learnt.

Your father’s place in the history of Nigerian film is assured but given the mistake he made with Orun Moru and which cost him dear, how are you guiding against falling into the same trap?

The awareness about piracy then was not like now and having decided to follow in his steps, I know where he missed it and I will use his mistake to guide myself. He calls us, encourages us and tells us where he made mistakes and with my education and exposure with the Troupe, I won’t fall into that pit. And with God on my side, I am going to excel. It’s a family business I enjoy doing and I ‘m grateful to God that I’m gradually excelling though not like my daddy. My prayer is that any point my daddy has reached, I will get there and surpass it. I pray that we will be worthy legatees.