Remembering Chief Oyin Adejobi, a father of Yoruba travelling theatre

Remembering Chief Oyin Adejobi, a father of Yoruba travelling theatre

In 1961, Chief Oyin Adejobi co-founded the Adejobi Theatre Group, a theatre troupe that was central to the growth of Yoruba stage drama and a training ground for emerging performers. The company, according to Archivi, staged enduring titles like Joseph and His Brothers, Orogun Adedigba, Moremi, and Ekuro Oloja, blending folklore, music, and moral clarity into theatrical form. It nurtured talents such as Kareem Adepoju, Dayo Akinpelu, Lere Paimo, Kola Oyewo, and Grace Adejobi.

Adejobi also gained wide acclaim for Kootu Asipa, his long-running NTA show where he played a mediator in family disputes.

Born in 1926, Chief Oyin Adejobi was one of the fathers of Yoruba travelling theatre. His name “Oyin” means “Honey”. He was celebrated dramatist, actor and playwright and was very popular across the Western Nigeria for his stage, TV and film productions.

Like many theatre pioneers, he started his career in the choir of a local Anglican Church parish in Osogbo. In 1953, he returned from Lagos and established the Oyin Adejobi Theatre Group in Osogbo, later co-founded as Adejobi Theatre Group in 1961 – a troupe central to the growth of Yoruba stage drama.

He was especially well known for his autobiographical movie Orogun Adedigba. Other classics include Iya Olobi, Ile Iwosan, Iyekan Soja, Ekuro Oloja / Okuro Oloja and Joseph and His Brothers. He also had a weekly, long-running TV show Kootu Asipa (Ashipa Court) on NTA Ibadan, where he played a wise mediator settling family disputes.

He was married to actress Grace Owoola Oyin-Adejobi, popularly known as Iya Osogbo, until his demise.

He passed away in 2000, but his plays still define Yoruba moral theatre.