The National Theatre management on Wednesday held a commendation service for their late General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Stella Oyedepo, to kick-start her funeral rites.
NAN reports that Mrs Oyedepo died on April 22, in an auto crash on the Shagamu/Benin expressway.
Sunday Baba, the Acting General Manager, National Theatre, said that it was sad for him and the entire staff to refer to Oyedepo as `late’.
He said, “We were like family. The brief period she was with us, I always joked with her; even before she went on that fateful trip, I did that but I never knew that would be the very last time.
“When I heard the news of her demise, I cried like a baby; it was shocking but it is one of the things of the world.
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“I thank everyone that has come out to honour her; she was a great woman; she worked tirelessly to see the National Theatre come alive again,’’ he said.
Abiodun Abe, Chief Executive Officer, Business Development and Events Management, National Theatre, said that the late GM came in 2018 when the National Theatre was not functioning, “but her coming gave us respite’’.
“With her, we experienced peace both inside and outside. She wanted the National Theatre to bubble again; I feel pained with her death; a lot of us feel empty.
“She was a woman of peace, justice and love; she was a very nice person; we wanted to increase our rent to generate more money but she refused.’’
Abe recalled that the late Oyedepo was a down-to-earth person, because in 1992, when the National Theatre had a theatre festival, she led her theater group from Ilorin to Lagos.
“She decided to sleep with her artistes in the theatre hall, instead of going to a hotel, even as a chief executive officer of her group.
“When salaries are paid; she will not touch her own salary when she was with us until the casual workers are paid,’’ he said.
In his own contribution, Israel Ebo, President, National Association Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), said “we are celebrating a lady who came in and touched lives’’.
He said that she was a chief executive officer that humbled everyone, and listened to complaints and she handled them with ease.
She asked for artistes to be brought back into the theatre because according to her, the National Theatre needs to be alive, “bring those that do not have money to pay, let us talk.
“She encouraged artistes to bring their performances and films to be showcased; she sacrificed herself for artistes, for her workers; she was extremely good,’’ he said.
Mrs Ndidi Aimienwauu, Acting Director, the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), said Oyedepo’s demise was shocking to her.
“I was with her a day before she died; she was a great woman, very unassuming. May she Rest in Peace,’’ she said.
Mrs Bridget Yerima, Lagos Director, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), said that the late GM was a lady of peace.
“It is unfortunate that she did not last to see the National Theatre transformed to what she wanted it to be,’’ she said.
A representative of the Oyedepo family, Mr Simioluwa Oyedepo, said that the late Mrs Oyedepo was a peaceful and loving person and had never disagreed with her husband.
“ She was always bringing people together. In spite of her being married and engaged in family matters round-the-clock, it did not stop her from pursuing her education, even with many people in her house.
“She produced two doctors and two computer giants in the family; she was kind, respectful and tolerant; you will never see her raise her voice at anyone.
“She was committed to her family, her work and humanity,’’ he said.
In his homily, Pastor Olaniyi Olufemi, of the New Stage Christian Chapel, Lagos, said that many are good outside, but something else at home.
He said that many opportunities abound in people but some do not use it to better others, some stagnate with opportunities given to them.
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“Making decisions are very vital in life; Mrs Oyedepo was determined to pursue what she believed in, family, work and helping humanity and she stuck to it, she was dedicated to her God.
“She was a complete person, because a lot of people have spoken about her and they all commended her life and her work,’’ he said.
“Death is inevitable, we all will die but what will people say about us after we must have gone. Good or Bad? We should all search ourselves,’’ he said.
NAN reports that Oyedepo had written over 300 plays in her lifetime but only 30 were published.
Prior to her tenure at the National Theatre, Oyedepo, a 69-year-old Linguist, was the Executive Director of the Kwara State Council for Arts and Culture, for eight years.
Mrs Oyedepo had also served as a Senior Principal Lecturer at the Kwara State College of Education.
She is survived by her husband, Dr Hezekiah Oyedepo, five children and 11 grandchildren. (NAN)
