JAB Adu: Exit of a theatre icon

Tributes have continued to pour in from fans and former colleagues of Jab Adu, famous for his role as Bassey Okon in ‘The Village Headmaster.’ Weekend Magazine takes a look at his life and the impact he had on Nigerian stage and screen. ‘Please Titus wake up and finish your role Oga.’ These were the […]

Tributes have continued to pour in from fans and former colleagues of Jab Adu, famous for his role as Bassey Okon in ‘The Village Headmaster.’ Weekend Magazine takes a look at his life and the impact he had on Nigerian stage and screen.
‘Please Titus wake up and finish your role Oga.’ These were the words of a sad fan of Oga Titus played by the late Joseph Abiodun Babatunde, popularly known as Jab Adu on the radio drama series, ‘Story, Story.’
The dramatist was famous for his role as ‘Bassey Okon’ the doctor, dispenser and pharmacist of Oja village in the popular Nigerian Television Authority, NTA drama series, ‘The Village Headmaster.’
Adu was a trained banker working at the Central Bank of Nigeria before settling fully into acting, writing and production in 1970. He had a fruitful career on stage, television and film production spanning 46 years.
While working as a banker, he made time out for rehearsals and drama while also working as a writer and featuring in the ‘The Village Headmaster’ series.
As a producer and actor, Adu had a line of credits under his belt including ‘Bisi, Daughter of the River,’ ‘Cool Red’ and ‘Adio’s Family,’ a series which he co-produced with the NTA. There were also ‘Kongi’s Harvest’ and ‘Things Fall Apart’ among others.
The ‘Story, Story’ family posted a tribute to him on their Facebook page. Excerpts of the post chronicled the life of the veteran actor.
“Uncle Jab as we fondly called him can be suitably described as one of the founding fathers of cinema and theatre in Nigeria. Born in Calabar on December 28, 1932, he attended the famous St. Gregory’s College, Obalende, Lagos, between 1941 and 1946 then proceeded to enrol at Morley College of Drama, South London, where he studied Drama.”
His colleagues described him as an “an all-rounder hence his illustrious career on stage, television and film but above all he is renowned for his role as the upright ‘Bassey Okon’.
“Though celebrated for his performance on screen, his creative pedigree transcended just acting. He wrote, produced and directed a number of films, plays and radio dramas.”
The tribute read: “His long association with the BBC Media Action yielded a bountiful harvest including, writing and starring in Story Story from inception some eleven years ago as well as the HIV/AIDS national TV drama series ‘Wetin Dey’. He was an exemplary gentleman on and off the screen/microphone and he proves the point, one can age gracefully.
“He is survived by a large family and will be missed by the cast and crew of his other family he left behind,” the post read.
Salihu Bappa, a lecturer of the Department of Theatre Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, commented on the professionalism of the late Adu.
He said: “Jab Adu was one of the pioneers along with others in the ‘Village Headmaster’ series which predated TV drama.
“His acting showed his ability to cut across Nigeria in terms of portraying other cultures from across the country. Acting as a skill enables you reach out to other parts of the country and helps you portray their cultures. This was something Jab Adu did very well,” Bappa said.
Explaining further, the theatre artist said: “When you look at Ambassador Olusola and that calibre of actors who were pioneers in their own time, if we had emulated their discipline and seriousness in acting, we would have gone a lot farther than where we are today as far as acting is concerned. It is unfortunate that we didn’t learn from them as masters, and now have to deal with the total lack of seriousness actors display nowadays which demeans the profession today.”
Adu passed away last Sunday at the age of 83 in his Abeokuta home.