My father is a no-nonsense person and very principled. Pa jame's son revealed

In an interview with Samuel a son of popularly known Nollywood comedy
actor, Kayode Olasehinde otherwise called Pa
James or Ajirebi,  He talks about his father’s life with GBENGA ADENIJI.

Tell us about yourself.
I am Samuel Olaoluwa Olasehinde; a fresh
graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University,
Ile-Ife, Osun State, where I studied law. My
parents are Mr. and Mrs. Kayode Olasehinde.

What are your recollections growing up with your father?
While I was young, I recall that my father was
not an extrovert. He was not the playing type
but nonetheless, he used to tell my two younger
brothers and I didactic tales. He also took us to
the zoo in the University of Ibadan. I nearly
misbehaved during the visit one day and I was
saved from putting my hand in the mouth of a
lion in its cage.

Your father cuts the picture of a hilarious person
especially as he plays comic roles. Is he also the
same at home?
My father is a no-nonsense person. He is also
very principled. Besides, the humorous part of
him is something the public knows but outside
this comic figure in movies is a calm, quiet and
straightforward person. He is almost a
complete opposite of what people see on the
outside.

Are you saying he does not portray his comic art
in movies at home?
Being an actor, he is expected to be a carrier of
several personalities. There are times he can
switch to a comical mood but trust me, those
moments are usually brief. One always enjoys
the moments because his humour is laced with
mature touch of comedy. But things shortly
return to normal after the short, humorous
moments. It is like in secondary school when a
bell is rung for the end of a break time.

Does he use cane to enforce discipline?
Oh my! He is a wonderful father. He does not
even use the cane to correct any erring child,
he uses blows. In all honesty, he hardly uses
corporal punishment to discipline us whenever
we offend. But if he resorts to that, then the
child must have really done something that,
beyond reasonable doubt, he or she deserves to
be punished. If he has to punish a child, then
that child is in for it.

What made you study law since you already have
an interest in acting?
It is a family choice. My father, mother and I
made the choice. The choice was probably an
enlightenment from my parents and not that I
was forced to do it. Normally, I would have
chosen theatre if the choice was left alone for
me to make. It would be a tool for my business
and to know what copyright is all about. It thus
became something I bought into and gave it a
try.

How many films did you feature in before going
to the university?
There are many and I cannot remember them.
Would you go into acting or practise law now
that you have completed your studies?
I am going into acting. It is the real deal for me
though I can add my law experience into it. At
OAU, I was always in the Dramatic Arts
department and partook in many plays there.
Whenever anybody was looking for me, the
person was sure to find me not in the Faculty
of Law but in the Dramatic Arts department.

Does your father’s name earn you preferential
treatment from lecturers and school mates?
I am not sure of preferential treatment but one
thing is that the name opens doors for me. It
opens doors that ordinarily would not have
opened if I were not the child of Pa James.
Sometimes, I could go to a place and be asked
to come back for what I went for. But someone
there could identify me as ‘Pa James’ son and
the response would be like, ‘Oh! You are his
son, come and let me attend to you. He is my
best actor.’

Did he visit you in school?
My father preferred to stay outside the school
gate and call me to meet him there. There was
a time he helped me to bring my load to school
when I was staying in Angola Hall as a
freshman. As we entered the room, some
friends who recognised him instantly started
calling others. One shouted, ‘People in blocks J
and K come and see Pa. James.’ As my father
saw that a crowd was gathering, he spent few
minutes and left. Since then, he decided to stay
somewhere around the entrance to the school
for me to meet him.

How does he relax?
It has not crossed my mind to observe how he
relaxes. But one thing that I have noticed is
that he prefers to stay indoors anytime he does
not have anything to do. It is a form of
relaxation. He enjoys listening to news on radio.
He also rarely attends parties. One would see
him at a party if he is a compere at the event.

There was a time he produced a movie but did
not reap well from it as a result of the antics of
those who reportedly marketed the work. Did he
tell you about it?
I figured most of what happened then through
observation. He did not sit me down to tell me.
But there was a time we were talking along a
similar line and I chipped in words of
encouragement that he could do it in certain
ways. He only said, ‘Okay.’ That is my father for
you.

What major piece of advice has he given you?
He had advised me in several ways. But the
one I would not forget was when he told me
that the way they did theatre when he started
had not generated economic boom. He said he
decided to give us the best education because
he was sure that if we dabbled into theatre, we
would do it better. He thereafter told me to
make sure that I learnt all I needed to so I
could do better. I am always conscious of that
advice. In as much as I am drama conscious, I
am also excellence driven because my father
has given me the nudge to go all the way and
excel. That has formed the bedrock of how I
think about my career.

Would you attribute his desire to ensure that his
children get quality education to his own inability
to receive university education?
I do not think it was because he stopped
education at primary level. I think it is because
of two things. Firstly, it is about the rurality of
where we come from in Kwara State. It is an
area that is not too urbanised.
Secondly, he has seen how well educated
people think outside the box and make great
things happen. Also, he has seen how people
without much education have to team up with
educated people before they can get things
done. Instead of allowing his children become
people who coax others before they can
achieve their aims, he would rather support
them to become people that make things
happen.

Did he tell you that he met his wife at a movie
location even though she was not an actress?
My father is a typical African father. A typical
African father hardly tells his children his
romance story.

How did you then hear about it?
I read it like you did. My mother told me.

Did she tell you what attracted her in your
father?
(Laughs).She did tell me some things but they
are things I consider classified.

What is his favourite food?
I know he likes pounded yam.

What is his favourite drink?
I have no idea but I know he likes pap. He also
likes tea but it must not be watery.

Does he do any exercises?
I told him that he needs to work out and he
asked me if he should be running about.

Does he have any preference for any music?
I am not sure of that.

Who are his friends?
I know him to be somebody without close or
intimate friendship, the type Yoruba call, ‘kori
kosun.’ However, I have seen him being close to
people. I have seen him being close to an actor
who is a neighbour, Big Abass (Ade Ajiboye). I
know my big daddy, Ajobiewe as a friend of my
father. There are others but I do not know the
depth of their relationship with him.

Your father has two popular nicknames, Ajirebi
and Pa James; he earned in the Papa Ajasco
comedy. Which of these stage names do you call
him?
I said earlier that my father is a typical African
father and one can hardly call African fathers
by their aliases. But sometimes if I want to play
I call him, ‘ Aji.’

How does he respond to it?
He would just say ‘ Hun.’

Did he tell you the story of how he started
acting?
I really cannot say I have a detailed story about
it. But I know that he was formerly working in a
multinational company in those days. At a
point, he combined acting with his work. One
day, he was fired because he overstayed at a
movie location and got to work late.

Your father has acted in many movies. Which one
do you like most and why?
I like all his roles in the Papa Ajasco comedy
series. In Papa Ajasco , he remains my best
character.

Recently he turned 60, how did he celebrate it
with his family members and what are your views
about his contributions to the nation’s movie
industry?
We did not celebrate his birthday the day he
turned 60. We intend to celebrate it on Sunday
(today) with a thanksgiving service. My view on
his contributions to the movie industry, even if I
were not his son, is that Kayode Olasehinde is
an enigmatic part of the Nigerian movie
industry. He has been a model to several actors
including myself. I have learnt from him how to
be good at what one does and be popular yet
conservative. He has made his art known to the
world yet not for showmanship. I will always
treasure that. A lot of people tell me about him
being their best actor. At 60 and going forward,
I wish for him to serve as a point of
consultation for younger artistes and to have
more than he has now even financially.

How has he been able to stay off scandals?
Like I said earlier, I observed most things about
him. He did not tell me. My father hates noise,
he is contented and does not talk too much.
For a person like that, one can hardly know
much about him. If not that he has a son who
acts, people would not know his family. Before
now, people used to ask me if I were the only
child. They did not know about my other
brothers even though those ones had featured
in movies at some points. My younger brother is
into Christian drama. He is a drama coordinator
in his school in Kwara State while the other is
the president of the drama group in a
secondary school he attends.

What are his views on Nollywood especially the
Yoruba genre?
He desires a change in the distribution of
advantages for all members. He is of the
opinion that the genre should be one that all
the practitioners would benefit from once you
have contributed to its growth. On the
technicality, he believes that the Yoruba genre
is growing and that there is room for
improvement.

What are his likes and dislikes?
He likes hard working and trustful people but
detests lies and dishonesty. If one lies to him,
one could lose him in trust. He also hates
wastages be it human, material or financial.

What are his regrets?
I think he will be in the best position to answer
that question if there is any.

How does he settle disagreements with his wife?
My father is someone who speaks his mind. He
has a way he does his things and get along well
with his wife. They have been married for over
20 years and weathered the storm together.

How does he manage his female fans?
Honestly, I have no idea because whenever they
meet him, I would not be there.