Lere Paimo says he started acting before Pete Edochie

Veteran Yoruba actor Lere Paimo has responded to Pete Edochie’s claim about being older in Nigeria’s acting scene. Paimo says he began acting four years before the star of "Things Fall Apart."

The 86-year-old actor stated he started acting in 1958. Edochie recently said his career began in 1962 when he was just 15 years old. The debate over who started acting first has popped up again among Nigeria’s veteran actors. Edochie recently called out anyone claiming to have started before him to come forward with proof.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that during a show called "Curiosity Made Me Ask," Edochie mentioned his role in William Shakespeare’s "The Merchant of Venice" in 1962 as proof of his long career. The 79-year-old said he began on stage years before Nollywood became popular. He challenged anyone who claims to be his senior.

Paimo has now replied, saying he kicked off his career in 1958, which is four years before Edochie's start in 1962.

'I started acting in 1958'

In a recent interview with actor Kunle Afod, shared on YouTube on Monday, Paimo said he was already acting when Edochie began his career. "I started acting in 1958, and it was in 1962 that Pete Edochie started acting. I met Hubert Ogunde, who was senior to me and others, and there were big movies produced back then," he said.

Paimo also challenged the idea that Edochie is part of the earliest group of Nigerian actors. He pointed to the late theatre legend Hubert Ogunde and the Yoruba performance tradition that came before both men.

He explained, "I heard from history that when he (Hubert Ogunde) started in the ’40s, there was nobody before him, and we never heard from history that the English industry, or any movie done in the English language, started before him."

Paimo believes the Yoruba industry began first. He said, "There was nothing like English-speaking movie production then; Ogunde started by producing movies in the Yoruba language, which he used to educate everyone who watched those movies back then. We never heard about English-speaking movies until now, when, with civilisation, we started hearing and seeing that there are English-speaking movies."

Ogunde's place

The actor from "Ogbori Elemosho" also talked about whether other theatre practitioners came before Ogunde. He said he could not confirm if Baba Olumegbon acted before Ogunde but insisted that Ogunde was already a well-known figure by the time he started acting.

"I don’t know if Baba Olumegbon started before Ogunde, but all I know is that Ogunde was the person I knew who started acting first. Although I have been hearing about him for a long time, I can’t say he was senior to Ogunde," Paimo said.

Paimo began his career in the Yoruba travelling theatre, working with the Oyin Adejobi Theatre Group, which was founded by veteran practitioner Oyin Adejobi. He later joined Duro Ladipo’s Theatre Group, where he played Chief Basa in the stage production "Obamoro."

He became one of the well-known figures in Yoruba theatre and film, gaining fame for his role as Soun Ogunola in the epic "Ogbori Elemosho." Paimo's comments add to the ongoing discussion about seniority among Nigeria’s veteran actors, especially as the careers being compared cover travelling theatre, stage, television, and later film.