Dad didn’t let anyone cook for him — Olumide Bakare’s children share fond memories

 

Two of the children of the late veteran actor, Olumide Bakare, Mayowa and Oluwatofunmi, tell OLUFEMI ATOYEBI about their father’s life off the klieg lights.

What kind of a man was Olumide Bakare?

Mayowa: My father was a gentleman, a friend to his children, father to many children in the community, wonderful adviser to many people and highly generous. He did not discriminate and he was God fearing.

Oluwatofunmi: He was a rare kind of parent. He was the only parent I know that would call you to say he was sorry after an argument. He apologised to people a lot. He was nice to everybody and not only to his children. He was a loving father who played his role with real passion.

Outside being a family man, what can you say about him as an actor?

Mayowa: I was born while he was acting. For many years, he worked with the Nigerian Television Authority in multiple capacities. For about seven years, he played the role of Father Christmas every Christmas period. I watched Father Christmas show free with my siblings for all those years because he was the man behind the Santa suit. At the time, Christmas carol was our ticket to the show. One must know how to sing Christmas carol before he would allow you to visit Father Christmas and receive gifts. At home, we learnt Christmas carol because we always wanted to be at the show. Another thing was that we must watch the NTA Network News and summarise what we heard to him. One dared not miss the news.

He also played the lead role in Koko Close drama series on NTA which became a household name among viewers in the South-West throughout the 1980s. I also remember another drama series he featured in prominently, it was called Akpan Men. I never said him doing anything in his life except acting.

What prominence did he place on his children’s education?

Mayowa: I must thank him for making sure that all his children had the best education he could afford. He sacrificed his comfort to train us. He was always telling us that without education, it would be difficult to be someone in life.

There was a time our driver took me to school, St Catherine Primary School at Jericho, Ibadan, Oyo State, around 7am many years ago. As I walked towards my classroom, I looked up and saw my father with the school headmaster. I was shocked because I thought I left him at home. I thought to myself “what is this man doing here with my school headmaster?” I thought I had done something bad and probably he had come to report me to the school headmaster.

When I was at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, he did the same thing to me. I lived outside the campus in Bodija area. One day, around 6am, he came to my house with food but I was not at home. He then picked up my classmate and together they drove to the school. When he got to the school, he was told that I had left for a friend house. Again, he picked up one of my classmates and together they drove to my friend’s house.

Unfortunately, he arrived at the place as I left. Again, he picked my friend who owned the apartment and together they drove back to my flat in Bodija. This time, I was lucky. He got there just as I was walking down to home.

When he saw me, he was upset because he did not meet me at home when he came in the morning. He said that if I was not interested in staying at the apartment, I should go back to our house. He packed all my clothes and said he was taking me home. I was afraid to say anything so I entered the car.

After a few kilometres, the driver appealed on my behalf. He said since I only visited my friend because of an assignment, he should allow me to stay at the Bodija apartment. After several persuasions, he agreed to let me stay there but warned me that I should stop visiting friends. He said if there was any assignment we had to do together, they should come to my apartment.

He did this so that I would know that he was not only interested in paying my tuition and accommodation fees but also in knowing what I was doing and how I was fairing in my study.

Oluwatofunmi: I had a similar experience when I was preparing for an entrance examination into the university at the Education Advancement Centre at Bodija, Ibadan. I did not want my friends to know that I am the daughter of Olumide Bakare. One day, he offered to drop me at the school but before we got to the gate, I told the driver to stop for me somewhere before the gate but my father did not like the idea. He said he suspected that I was not going to the school and that was why I wanted to alight before the school gate.

He told the driver to drive straight to the school and park at the parking lot. He followed me into the classroom and spoke with my mathematics teacher, the school owner and even my friends. He asked them questions about me. I was embarrassed because all the candidates focused on me while the drama lasted. He then told me that he was now convinced that I was going to school regularly.

How religious was he?

Mayowa: He lived the life of a Christian. I never saw him calling on other names than the name of God and Jesus Christ. He was blunt and fearless when it came to addressing issues. When he was wrong, he would apologise. He hated lying about who he was.

If my father did something wrong and that thing affected someone, he would call that person and tell him what he had done and he would honestly apologise. Those who do that are rare but my father did that a lot. He loved to clear his conscience so that he could always move on. My father used to tell us to fear God in everything we do and it’s working for me.

Before he died, my father preached to the people in public. About a month ago, my father would wake up early in the morning and preach to the people in our area from the balcony of the top floor of our house. He told them to believe in God or risk going to hell. He told the people that they should not see him as the same person they had known but that God asked him to tell them what he was saying. People laughed over it and said that was Olumide Bakare acting.

I look back at some moments in his life and find it difficult that he was gone forever. I still can’t believe he is dead. A number of things made his demise difficult for us to bear. One of them is that his mother is still alive. He loved his mother.

Oluwatofunmi: I realised that before he died, he became closer to God. Whenever I called him and told him that I had a bad dream, he would calm me down and told me that he would go and see his pastor immediately.

Does being his children put pressure on you?

Mayowa: I have never been under any pressure because it’s a thing of pride that he is my father. I grew up around him and my nickname is Koko. That is what people call me till today and that was taken from the NTA drama series, Koko Close.

We have a lot of things in common. Through him, I met a lot of celebrities, politicians and many others.

Oluwatofunmi: I do not like to live a celebrity life; that is why I don’t want people to know that I am the daughter of a star actor. They ask a lot of questions about his character on stage that I cannot answer. I do not like the attention at all. My brother enjoys that a lot.

Would you say that his name opens doors for you?

Mayowa: It always opens doors for me. When I was working in the entertainment industry, I worked with DJ T Films and Productions. Because the owner is my father’s friend, he would tell people proudly that I am a son of his friend, Chief Koko. He called my father, Chief Koko.

When we went to shoot films on location, he would tell actors and actresses that I am Olumide Bakare’s son. The name is still working for me.

When my brother was going to the US, my father was with him. When he told some airport workers that his son was travelling, they broke protocol and accorded him VIP treatment.

The last time my father travelled before his death, I was not with him at the airport but people took his photographs and posted them on social media. I received many calls from people who wanted to know one thing or the other about the trip and the pictures.

Oluwatofunmi: Like I said, I don’t like telling people who I am. Two years ago, I posted his picture on social media when he had his birthday and people who did not know my relationship with him started asking me questions. But sincerely, the name opens doors for me when people realise that I am Olumide Bakare’s daughter. I was at Yaba College of Technology with him some years ago for an examination. Immediately they saw him with me, they accorded me VIP treatment.

What was his response when you introduced your spouse to him for the first time?

Mayowa: He was excited at the prospect of me getting married but joked over the meeting and asked why my wife had to choose me when there were millions of good men in town.

Oluwatofunmi: I am not married yet but often, he would ask me who my boyfriend was. He would joke that with my stature, someone must be going after me. I would just laugh over it. Then he would joke that if no one was going after me at this age, he would have to go and pray over it. That is how extremely funny he could be at home.

Where were you when he died and how did you react to the news?

Mayowa: I was in my house in Lagos. I worked late and was sleeping when my mobile telephone rang. My wife called me to pick the call but I was too tired to stand up. Then the telephone stopped ringing. Around 3.30am, the telephone rang again. I picked it and saw that it was Uncle Gbenga, my father’s closest friend. He told me that my father had died.

I asked him what he had said and he repeated the message. I quickly did a flashback of our meetings. Then I took my bathe and left Lagos early in the morning. I could not drive. I boarded a public transport. I was able to shed all the tears on the road.

At home, the atmosphere was cold. People started asking me what the next action would be. I tried to pull myself together. By 6.30am, the compound was filed with cars and people who came to pay condolences.  My sister came in later and together we did what we needed to do.

Oluwatofunmi: I woke up from a bad dream early that Saturday morning, then my mobile telephone rang and I saw that it was a call from my father’s phone line. I did not pick it because I thought I might have done something wrong for him to have called me early in the morning. After a while, my telephone rang again and this time, it was from Uncle Gbenga. He asked after my mother and told me that my father had died. I screamed and called my brother but he did not pick the call.

A lot of stories were going around about the cause of his death. He was discharged from the University College Hospital after receiving treatment in February. Did he suffer a relapse?

Mayowa: I visited him in Ibadan three weeks before his death and my wife spoke with him three days before he died. My mother spoke to him the night he died. On that same night, many people heard him speaking and he did not show a sign of suffering from a relapse.

He woke up around 1 am and came to the living room. He called the domestic staff to prepare food for him because he was hungry. The house help was still in the kitchen when he heard a sound. When he came to the living room, my father was gasping for breath. He called people for help. Uncle Gbenga who lived around also came and they tried to take him to the hospital but it was too late. He had gone.

Oluwatofunmi: He had been sick for a while and the kind of sickness does not just go away easily. He was being treated and was fine. What we heard was that three days before he died, he was not eating properly.

Which of his film excites you most?

Mayowa: I always call him Omo Obatala because of the role he played in Oduduwa. That is the movie that excites me most. It is so real. I still want to see it. But apart from that, I also love his role in Maami where he used seven bottles of perfume in one of the scenes. I also love Koko Close as a drama

Oluwatofunmi: I love the Oduduwa film too. It’s my favourite.

Have you ever thought of following in his footsteps?

Mayowa: I have acted in a few movies but not a major role. I acted in Osunfunke but it’s yet to be released.

Oluwatofunmi: I am a student and not an actor.

Your father played some controversial roles in some movies. Are there real life attitudes that corresponded with his attitude as an actor?

Mayowa: He would do what he had to do as an actor but he was different as a person. However, his loud voice in the films was exactly what he was in real life.

Oluwatofunmi: He was as emotional in real life as he was as an actor. When he was sick and admitted at the UCH, he cried when people visited him. It was a different kind of attention he was not used to.

How did he discipline you when you offended?

Mayowa: He was a disciplinarian. He would not tolerate nonsense from any of his children. We would never test his anger.

Oluwatofunmi: There was a day he met me at home when I should be in school. He beat me and sent me to the school. That showed how intolerant he was to unacceptable practices and behaviour.

Did he create time to play with the family?

Mayowa: He did that a lot. On his way from film locations, he would buy bush meat and all sorts of food stuff to cook for us at home. He loved cooking for the family and I took that from him and turned it to a job. I am caterer by profession today.

Oluwatofunmi: My father would never let you cook for him. If you do it for him, he would not appreciate it like the one he cooked.

What other things did he love doing at home?

Mayowa: He loved playing with kids in the neighbourhood. They were his best friends. He would call one and give him money to go and buy biscuit. By the time he returned, he would come with more kids and they would start playing.

Oluwatofunmi: He liked joking with serious issues. If you are not his child and you called him father, he would tell you he knows his children. He preferred people calling him Chief Koko or uncle instead of father. He had no secret too. Whatever he said behind you, he would repeat it in your presence.

Some people commented that your father liked women. How true is this?

Mayowa: People say what they like on the social media but what I know is that my father was a lucky man. I know what it takes to be famous and successful. Some of the comments are laughable. Some even said he was having surgery when he died.

Oluwatofunmi: I read a few of such comments on social media. But people should put themselves in our shoes. Our father just died and people were posting falsehood about him almost immediately. Someone even said his last girlfriend was under 20 years old but I laughed it off.

What was his favourite food?

Mayowa: He liked efo riro (vegetable) a lot. He would buy different kinds of vegetables and cooked them by himself.

Oluwatofunmi: He liked vegetable with rice. He liked them with a lot of meat cut into pieces. He hated big meat on his food.