Veteran Yoruba actor Adeoye Adewale, popularly known as Elesho, recently shared a surprising story about his birth and the emotional reaction of his mother at the hospital.
In a video posted on the official YouTube channel of Lagelu FM 96.7, Elesho revealed that his mother broke into tears after giving birth to him. The reason, he explained, was her uncertainty about his paternity due to his skin color—she wasn’t sure if his father or a white man was responsible for his conception.
In his statement, he said, “My mom told me that she started crying at the hospital when she gave birth to me because of my skin colour because my mom used to buy dishes from some white men. When I was born, my mom wasn’t sure if it was a white man or my dad that had sex with her. She was so scared of what my dad would say if he saw my skin colour, but to my mom’s surprise, my dad was very happy when he saw me, to the extent he carried me and started singing for me.”
How would you describe your childhood in Osun State?
I grew up in Oke-Ara which is under Ile Ife and I had a very wonderful childhood. My father was the Baale of the village. Today, that same village has a king instead of a Baale and they call their king Alara of Oke-Ara. My father had eight wives and numerous children but with the way we were raised, you would think we were all from the same mother and this made my childhood more fun. One thing our parents instilled in us was the fear of God. We were told to always tell the truth no matter the circumstance. I learnt about contentment from my parents and we were encouraged to always follow our passion. Till today, these virtues are a part of me.
Were you a quiet or a troublesome child?
I cannot say that I was a quiet child. I attended Local Authority Primary School and I remember when I got into trouble in primary three. While growing up, I used to hide my money in a cocoa sack in my father’s store for safe keeping. There was a day I was in class and I saw some of my father’s trucks transporting cocoa out of the village. I ran out of the class; although my teacher kept yelling at me to come back. I did not listen to her because I knew that if those offloading the cocoa should see my money where I stashed it, they would steal it and I worked very hard to get the money by helping my father in his business. I was able to retrieve the money and when I got back to school, I received the beating of my life but I was not bothered because I got my money.
Another incident that happened when I was in primary school was during a school play. Normally, we read about some parables in the bible and for that particular play, they chose the story of the prodigal son. I was chosen to act the part of the prodigal son but I refused because there was a part where they expected me to eat from a dirty bucket like pigs as it was recorded in the bible. The teacher tried to force me to play the part but I refused, so she beat me for three consecutive days.
The beating was so much that I could not sleep on my back for weeks but despite what was done to me, I refused to report her to my father because it would have put her in trouble. The teacher did not know why I refused to play that part but my reason was simple. My father was the ruler of the town and not only did he invite all his subjects from other villages to watch the school play, he also had a front row seat. I wondered how my father would feel to see me eating from a dirty bucket like a pig all in the name of a school play. So, I refused to play the part. Eventually, the teacher had to choose another passage from the bible and this time, she chose the story of Adam and Eve and I was asked to play the part of God which I happily agreed to do.
When my father came to watch the play, he was so proud of me that he kept boasting about me to his subjects. You can only imagine how he would have felt if I had accepted the first role they handed to me. Besides, I was very brilliant in my primary school days as I was one of the best pupils in the school. My least position all through was third. I would say I was a bit stubborn as a kid.