Veteran Yoruba actor Lere Paimo has disputed fellow veteran actor Pete Edochie’s claim about when his acting career began, saying he started acting in 1958, four years before Edochie.

The 86-year-old actor made the claim during an interview with actor Kunle Afod, which was shared on YouTube on Monday.

Paimo said he was already involved in acting when Edochie began his career in 1962, the year Edochie recently cited as the beginning of his acting journey.

The debate over seniority among Nigeria’s veteran actors resurfaced after Edochie challenged actors who claimed to have started acting before him to come forward and provide evidence.

“I started acting in 1958. I met Hubert Ogunde, who was senior to me and others, and there were big movies produced back then,” Paimo said.

Edochie had previously referenced his performance in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in 1962 as evidence of his early involvement in acting.

However, Paimo argued that the history of Nigerian theatre goes further back, particularly through the Yoruba travelling-theatre tradition pioneered by the late theatre legend Hubert Ogunde.

According to him, Yoruba-language theatre existed before English-language film production became prominent in Nigeria.

Paimo acknowledged that he could not confirm whether another theatre practitioner, Baba Olumegbon, started acting before Ogunde.

“I don’t know if Baba Olumegbon started before Ogunde, but all I know is that Ogunde was the person I knew who started acting first,” he said.

Paimo began his career in the Yoruba travelling-theatre tradition and later worked with the Oyin Adejobi Theatre Group. He subsequently joined Duro Ladipo’s Theatre Group, where he became known for his role as Chief Basa in the stage production Obamoro.

He later established himself as one of the prominent figures in Yoruba theatre and film, gaining widespread recognition for portraying Soun Ogunola in the epic Ogbori Elemosho.