I’M AS POOR AS CHURCH RAT – VETERAN ACTOR, TAJUDEEN OYEWOLE AKA ABIJA

His fame cuts across local and international boundaries. Tajudeen Oyewole aka Abija is an actor but eight years ago he almost lost his life in an auto crash. Since then, he tells us, in this interview that he has been living from hand to mouth

You probably do not know, but Chief Tajudeen Oyewole, popularly known as Abija in the Yoruba movies genre now limps. This much The Nation found out during a chance encounter with the renowned actor recently. Also, you almost wouldn’t recognise him, as the usually vibrant defender of the oppressed, who is always quick to take the battle to the witches and wizards and other negative spirit forces in the movies, now cuts a pitiable sight no thanks to a ghastly auto-crash he was involved in sometimes in 2007.

But like a leopard who can never change its spots, the actor’s countenance changed right after the initial introduction, and with raised voice and eyes bulging, he began chanting incantations and gesticulating, as if in a trance or on stage, acting. How he got the stage name- Abija Oyewole said he derived his stage name, Abija from an engineer. “There was a construction company called Abija Construction in Oshogbo; the company was owned by a respectable old man and when we wanted to do a13-week play, we deliberated on what they should call me and the name of the construction company came to my mind, and I said ‘Abija’. We had 25 episodes in the play and I was asked to use the name – Abijawara Bi Ekun. Later, we simply called it Abija. “Before that time, I had been using other stage names, but none earned me popularity as when we used the name ‘Abija ‘ in the series ‘Opa Aje’. The name also became my trademark and shot me into limelight. Today, only a few people know my real name.”

Opa Aje, facts behind the story Said Abija, ‘Opa Aje’ was shot long time before it debuted on TV and it was a surprise to the entire crew that it became so popular. He said “the story line is about three villages and the ‘Opa Aje’ (prosperity staff). The mysterious staff was owned by Lasigun Village (his mother’s village) and it was agreed that it should be rotated round the other two villages: Bilagun and Telude, but Lasigun refused until Bilagun took it by trick and it resulted into a war; Telude also had to resort to force by waging war against Bilagun, to collect the staff from her. Abija a powerful juju man and warrior was asked to rescue it, thus it rotated among the three villages.” Interestingly, he said it wasn’t until recently that they found out that the story was indirectly referring to the Nigerian nation’s battle for power and resource control.

 How rich is Abija? Despite all his fame, Abija revealed that it hasn’t translated to money. “I am not rich; I don’t have a roof over my head, which is part of measuring one’s wealth in this part of the world; I don’t even have a land. And it’s not because I am not serious or that I’m a prodigal son; the money realised from acting is just not much, or even enough, as people out there or our fans think. I am prudent and I have only one wife. But having said that, I cannot say that I am not a rich man, because I have children higher institutions, although I may not be rich in cash.” Asked why some male artistes tend to keep a harem of wives, Abija said “it is because of the perception of fans and the general public that female artistes are wayward; so the male artistes prefer to marry them and use them as actresses in their works. If you look at it, this is even economical for them, as they may not have to pay them exorbitant fees they’d have had to pay for independent actresses.”

For full interview, please visit MY SOURCE