Wole Soyinka Returns to Ebrohimie Road
Random thoughts on the documentary “Ebrohimie Road: A Museum of Memory” in honour of Wole Soyinka’s 90th birthday
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw the invitation to attend the screening of Kola Tubosun’s documentary film “Ebrohimie Road: A Museum of Memory” but I knew I had to attend. Whilst it was clear that the documentary was done in honour of Wole Soyinka’s 90th birthday, I did wonder why the focus was on Ebrohimie Road.
For those who do not know, Ebrohimie Road (or Ebrohime Road as the street signage indicated) is situated in Nigeria’s greatest academic institution, the University of Ibadan. As a UI alumnus, Ebrohimie Road was not strange to me. In my uni days, I had some friends who lived in a boy’s quarters (BQ) somewhere on Ebrohime. I recall visiting them once, going through Barth Road, the wide road beside Queen’s Hall on the way to the main gate. Until I saw the documentary, I had no idea that Wole Soyinka had ever lived on the road but I did know that he had lectured in UI at some point.
The screening commenced promptly and the documentary lasted an hour and thirty minutes. An iconic picture of Wole Soyinka sitting on the steps of the house was the anchor for the documentary. The photograph was taken when he granted an interview after his release from prison. He had spent a little over 2 years there, locked up during the civil war. The picture, a black and white image, shows him sitting across the steps, in between two sculptures I assume were carved out of wood, looking to his left in a slightly irritated manner.
The documentary was filled with memories of many personal and national events of the day. It featured accounts of Wole Soyinka’s time at the University of Ibadan including his challenges with being promoted to Professorship and what he did when he was denied the promotion. His travails with the Nigerian government leading to his arrest, life as it was while he remained incarcerated, his highly anticipated return from prison and the welcome he received from family, friends, and well-wishers were also featured. Most importantly, the memories created in his house and diverse experiences shared by all who visited.
It was a journey through time, made richer by the various media references: old photos and videos, and newspaper clips. The quality of the subjects interviewed was also commendable. Prof Femi Euba, Prof Nelson Fashina, Prof Remi Raji, and Prof Dan Izevbaye were some of his professional colleagues who provided insight into their experiences with Wole Soyinka and the significance of his house on Ebrohimie Road. Some of his children: his sons Olaokun and Ilemakin, his daughters Moremi and Peyibomi, and his sister, Professor Folabo Soyinka-Ajayi formed the core of the family respondents. They shared personal and interesting anecdotes about their experiences living in the house. One subject I was delighted to see was his former wife, Chief Mrs Olayide Soyinka. I recall from a newspaper article I read many years ago that they were not on good terms after their divorce. I don’t know if that has changed now but I was happy that she agreed to participate as she was an important part of the memories associated with the house.
8 Ebrohimie Road was the address and Wole Soyinka lived there with his family from 1967 (when he was arrested) until 1972. His family continued staying in the house till sometime in the 1980s. The current occupant of the house was gracious enough to do a tour of not just the building but also the grounds. In Soyinka’s time, the house was noted for being filled with all types of artworks: sculptures and carvings especially which made the house look like a traditionalist’s shrine. The current occupant, a Professor of English, has a giant cross on the main door and a prayer altar with images of the Virgin Mary and candles. I couldn’t help wondering if that was to ward off the resident spirits from Soyinka’s time!
Wole Soyinka said that he chose the house because it was in a heavily wooded area and he begged, cajoled, fought, and beat people for the opportunity to live there! We all couldn’t help laughing at his determination. It was refreshing to discover that he prioritised living as close to nature as possible. He has maintained this choice in all of the houses he has lived in. It was equally sad that many trees and bushes around his old house had been cut down.
For me, it ended up being a documentary that gave equal footing to a few other themes and not just Wole Soyinka and his house. The more obvious themes for me were how we celebrate and maintain sites and artefacts related to our accomplished national figures, preserve and document our history for posterity, conserve our environment, fight for one’s rights and the rights of others, the importance of family, and living a life of conviction.
If you wondered what the significance of a house was compared to the story of the house owner, you are not alone. Kola Tubosun, the Producer mentioned that when he first broached the idea of the documentary, Wole Soyinka had insisted that he didn’t want it to be about his life. Some members of his family also shared the same sentiment. They were quite happy to get involved when they realised it would be about their memories of living on Ebrohimie Road.
Two things struck me. The first was about preserving the residence for posterity as has been done for notable global personalities such as William Shakespeare, Toni Morrison, William Faulkner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Mark Twain, all cited in the documentary. A sentimental location where people can interact with the author’s works and gain insight into his life. I can think of a few reasons why this may take some time to achieve with this house or never happen. Your guess is as good as mine.
Interestingly, Wole Soyinka declined to visit the house to reenact his iconic photograph. There’s the possibility that it doesn’t hold as much sentimental value for him as it does for many others for various reasons personal to him. The second thing that struck me about the documentary was that Ebrohimie (or more appropriately Ebrohimi) was an Itsekiri name! Don’t blame me if I didn’t know that before, I now have to do additional research on my Itsekiri culture.
Overall, it was time well spent and the documentary was well produced. The picture and sound quality were excellent, the editing was clear, and the direction was good judging from the angles and the responses provided by the subjects. The Producer mentioned that they had additional footage which didn’t make the cut as they wanted to keep the final work concise. A good decision I guess as he reported that all of the subjects interviewed, who had seen the documentary, had good feedback. Wole Soyinka had yet to see the documentary as of the time of this screening.
I would love to see more documentaries about people, places, and historical events that have shaped our nation. I don’t believe that we share, document, and tell our stories enough, and we can benefit greatly from doing so. The future belongs to the storyteller and we must tell our stories if we don’t want other people rewriting our history. This is the way I see things today.
You can get more information about future screenings in Nigeria and around the world at https://ebrohimie.olongoafrica.com/
