Thousands of years after Yoruba heroine Queen Moremi Ajasoro saved her race from extinction, she has become a beacon of women liberation and strength. To immortalise her, the play Queen Moremi The Musical will hit the stage next month from the stables of the Oduduwa Foundation. But to the custodian of the Yoruba culture, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, it is more than theatre. In this interview with EVELYN OSAGIE, he speaks on the historic relevance of the queen, the play and more
Moremi’s story of heroism
I can go on and on about the story of Moremi. Today we are spread all over Cuba, Brazil and the world and have kept expanding. But without Moremi, there would never be a race of Yoruba people. She volunteered several thousands of years ago when the whole world as it were, at that time, was turning against the Ife nation. We were all in one location at the time as Ife people: there was nothing like the Yoruba nation then.
Moremi helped to solve an unsolved mystery behind the attacks at the time when even the people we were together with were coming to dislodge everybody. So, it was difficult for one to know who the real enemies were, because they were of one’s blood. And even through oracle, they could not check it because of that same reason. Moremi volunteered and everyone said, “You? A woman: what good can come out of you?” But she surprised everybody. Moremi’s story is the story of today’s world.
Till date, the world looks down on the woman – in the place of work and the home. They call them all sorts of names, saying that they belong to a particular room. It shouldn’t be.
Moremi: The strength of a woman
“Moremi” reflects the strength of womanhood. What a man can do, a woman can do better. In fact, I do not like calling women, the weaker sex because they are not. They are stronger than men. They are very strong. Everything they do is timed – they are very cautious of what they do and are very sensitive.
And just as it is in humanity, female animals as little as chicken also depict the strength of a woman. They go out to hunt, protect and provide for the children and reproduce.
Women are multipliers. Give a woman anything; she would reproduce it for you, provided she is happy. Microcredits the world over prefer to give women credits without collateral than men because they would pay back. Anywhere in the world, people that pay their loans mostly are women. They are always very committed in anything they do. That’s the story of Moremi. I’ve just given you a general caption of whom and what Moremi is and stands for but it’s better for you to come watch the play, Queen Moremi The Musical for you to have a full grasp of her persona. Seeing is believing (Laughs).
Moremi as musical theatre
We have had a history of women who have played heroic roles, but the choice of Moremi as heroic figure to take to the stage was motivated by the fact that she was the pioneer – she was the liberty heroine. She was the first in history to do what she did. We have several of others in Yoruba history but they all came after her.
When I watched “Queen Moremi, the Musical” on stage, I felt very touched, almost to tears. It’s a very touchy story. I looked to my left and right and saw that people were touched to tears by the selflessness and strength of a woman – what a woman can do to actually save her race.
And that really stuck to my head and got me really motivated to speak more for women. Moremi is a source inspiration to womenfolk and the Girl-child. And so, I decided to give thoughts to women empowerment and leadership because of Moremi’s story. And by virtue of my being the custodian and progenitor of the entire Yoruba race as the Arole Oduduwa, I decided I’d go all the way, give it all the support and take it all over the world. I’d like the world to see what is called leadership, and empowerment for women. I was determined to use stories like this in form theatre, movies and manpower training and development to encourage and show the Girl-child and young females from a very tender age what is called the strength of a woman.
Moremi beyond theatre
Moremi’s story is one that would continue to resonate. To me, it’s not just a theatre; in the long term, it’s going to become a very strong movement. And that is why we are doing a reloaded version of the “Moremi” theatre.
Moremi is a movement to encourage the Girl-child globally and particularly in Africa because it is where you have the plight of Girl-child is a major issue. They are the most oppressed both in the south and north of Nigeria. They are always afraid to speak or act. It is the girls that would be told to dress in a particular way. You barely hear the voices of women. How many voices of women can you hear compared to the men – you can’t count 200 in Nigeria. I can give you that test, you journalists, count 100. Okay, I want to help you further, count 50. It’s difficult to get 50.
But still, there are a lot of women doing well – we have a lot of women CEOs. When I see women doing well as CEOs and chairpersons of big organisations, I’m always very proud, but it started from when they were girls. And that’s why we have to start now to reorientate their minds: that “Moremi did it; they can also, These would give them the courage that “Moremi was bold; I can be bold in the society. What men are doing, I can do it better.”
Nigeria as a nation has never had women as its major leaders.
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Moremi Reloaded and
traditional elements
It has always been in the plan to make the Moremitheatre, an exportable product – a proudly Nigerian one to be taken all over the world. We are out to promote what belongs to us and for the world to see and accept us for who we are. And we are set to make Queen Moremi The Musical a marketable export. More than ever before, it is very important to bring more of our tradition into the show. And one of the ways we are going about it is that this time around, the reloaded version would be spiced with more traditional element like music. And it is being refined to blend tradition and modernity.
Based on experience, when I go abroad I realise that they are used to our contemporary music, but anytime our traditional music is played, they are always very happy. Yoruba would say one’s worth is oftentimes celebrated and valued abroad than it is at home. It is very important that we imbibe and promote our culture. If you look at Lion King”, the soundtracks are driven by South Africans – South African native languages were there.
Moremi Reloaded: tours
and December show
Our “Moremi” on stage experience last year was explosive. It was very successful in that regard. And we want to keep the brand and goodwill. A lot of people came out to watch, and in fact, when we stopped, they were asking for more. And we had to bring it out in April and still had a good success story then too. They are still asking for it again. And we are set to bring the reloaded version of Queen Moremi, the Musical back to the Lagos stage.
After a wide range of consultations and discussions, under the platform of Oduduwa Foundation, we have gotten to the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, Cuba and Brazil. And they are willing for us to bring it on board.
But charity begins at home, that is why we still want to keep it here. And all those very influential foreigners where we have been can now come and see the show. That’s our strategy. We have done the stage play and launched the book in Ife. The reloaded version will definitely go back to Ife because Ife is the custodian of it; and move worldwide.
Financial implication
of Moremi
Theatre is not very strong in Nigeria too. It is capital intensive nature compared to movies. It is a long term thing. You don’t make money or get anything done at the initial stage. To really break even, it has to be in the theatre for minimum six months. But to have eight days of theatre, forget it. How do you want to get it done? There are so much expenses and intellectual capacity that go into it. But for movies, it’s a one-off thing – you act it once and keep playing it. But in the theatre, you must act it every time. And every scene and every appearance is like doing a fresh play. But for us, we are not looking at money, but an initiative, a content that would eventually dovetail into movement. That is why we are committed to it.
‘It has always been in the plan to make the Moremi theatre, an exportable product – a proudly Nigerian one to be taken all over the world… We are set to make Queen Moremi The Musical a marketable export. More than ever before, it is very important to bring more of our tradition into the show’
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