He was born in Oke-Suna Street, Lagos to Emmanuel Akinola Martins a Clerk in the marine department of PWD, & his wife Madam Paula Idowu Soares, a trader and clothes launderer.
His mother, Madam Paula Soares highlighted, in a family photo with his father’s younger brother and three of his sisters, taken in the mid ‘20s while he was in England. His father had died at this time.
His paternal great-grandfather, a freed Brazilian slave returnee, was a wood seller who was said to have lived to the age of 120. Orlando knew him as a child & used to call him Papai.
Orlando Martins was actually born Emmanuel Alhamdu Martins. Alhamdu, a shortened form of Alhamdu-li-lai, ‘Thank God’ in Arabic, and a common phrase in Islamic culture, was probably a concession to his Moslem Nupe paternal grandmother.
He was admitted into Eko Boys High School in 1913. There he was given the nickname, Orlando Frigado, from where he got his adopted name, Orlando!
His father resented this name, and would often say he had no son called Orlando.
But it stuck, anyway.
He eventually dropped out after a few years and began to do some odd jobs.
At the end of WWI, he found his way to London between 1918 & 1919 as a deck-boy on a ship. With no job in London, he eventually got a job at the Lyceum Theater as a stage hand for three shillings a day.
By the 1930s he was beginning to get more significant roles and by 1935, got a role with Paul Robeson, the legendary black American actor, baritone and civil rights activist, in the film Sanders and the River, which also had Jomo Kenyatta founding father of the Kenyan nation.
By 1948, he had become something of a celebrity of Hollywood B movies.
In 1949, he played a bit part with Ronald Reagan, who was later to become 40th American president, in a film titled The Hasty Heart. The role was an unflattering typecast of a bumbling African, named Blossom.
He also starred in several stage plays including an adaptation of Alan Paton’s Cry The Beloved Country.
He returned home to Nigeria at the age of 60 in 1959 but he still got a few foreign roles in the ‘60s. In 1970, he featured in Wole Soyinka’s film, Kongi’s Harvest. His last film role was as Obierika in the film adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart in 1971.
In 1982, Pa Orlando received Nigeria’s national award of Membership of the Order of the Niger (MON). He was an advisory member of Lagos State Arts Council, till his death.
In all, he had more than 20 movie roles to his credit.
He died in 1985 at the age of 85, and his body lies buried in Ikoyi Cemetery.
*There’s a now rare biography of him published in 1983, written by Takiu Folami, titled, Orlando Martins, the Legend: an intimate biography of the first world acclaimed African film actor.
Just discovered a blog and Twitter handle dedicated to Pa Martins, providing full autobiographical information.
This is Amos Shackleford, 1887-1954, aka The Bread King of Lagos.
Amos Shackleford was a Jamaican. He first came to Lagos in 1913 to work for the Nigerian Railway, living at Ebute Metta.
He returned to Jamaica at the end of his three year contract with Nigerian Railway in 1916.
He returned to Nigeria two years later in 1918 and became head clerk for the Nigerian firm of S. Thomas and Co.
The firm S. Thomas & Co was owned by PJC Thomas one of the leading Nigerian businessman of his time, and the first president of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce.
Shackleflord with his wife later set up a bakery that produced bread under the brand Shackleford Bread.
It is from this that he earned his monicker, Bread King of Lagos.
Shackleford Bread became successful & soon expanded to other Nigerian cities & into the Gold Coast (Ghana).
In 1854 Chief Ogunbona, Balogun of Ikija, generalissimo of the Egba & patron of the Christian mission threw a European style dinner party for all the Europeans & missionaries in Abeokuta.
It was to settle some very difficult problems between Christians & traditionalists.
In 1854, Christianity was just about a decade among the Egba, so there was still issues.
The following are two accounts by two of the invitees, one focusing on the setting and the other Ogunbona’ speech.
As found in Religious Encounter & the Making of the Yoruba, By J.D.Y Peel.
1. Thirteen sat down to table, Ogunbona* being flanked by Chief Sagbua & Basorun Somoye** on one side, and Mrs Townsend, to carve the meat, on the other; and the meal was witnessed by thirteen friends and retainers of each chief.
He started as an Education Officer in the Colonial Service; his choice of posting was to Nigeria.
He landed Marina , Lagos, on the on the 4th September 1950.
His first posting was to the Provincial Education Office, Abeokuta, where he served under Mr. J.M.M.Osimosu.
By April 1951, he made his first appearance in Government College Ibadan, for one term on relief duties!
A major posting later came as Provincial Education Officer, Oyo, during which time he worked on the Universal Free Primary Education Policy of the Action Group Government.
In May 1959 he reported on promotion, as Principal of Government College Ibadan.
Yoruba Sango Priest’s Costume with Leather & Mirrors, circa 1850
length: 96.5cm, width: 54.5cm (approximately.)
This splendid & well preserved tunic was worn by a Shango priest.
Sango devotion is a very important part of traditional Yoruba spiritual tradition.
The double-sided tunic is of deep-red cotton cloth over-sewn with goat-leather panels in columns of double zig-zags & yellow cotton also in zig-zags.
The top panels are of unembellished goat leather, with shoulder pads on either side.
Each shoulder has a glass mirror insert.
Traditionally, red dye was obtained from bulrush millet and green was from copper and lime juice. Red is a colour that signifies the destructive rage of Sango in his role as the thunder deity.
The tunic is trimmed with printed cotton cloth & the interior is lined with hessian.
The Olu of Warri has gone to be with his ancestors; long live the Olu.
It was announced about a month ago that the 20th Oba or Olu of Iwere Kingdom (Warri) Ogiame Ikenwoli, joined his ancestors.
It happened 5 months earlier, on 20th December, 2020.
A successor was immediately chosen in Prince Tsola Emiko, 37 year old son of Ogiame Atuwatse II, 19th Olu of Warri. He’s also nephew of the deceased Olu.
The choice was made by the kingmakers & ratified by the Ifa Oracle, in accordance with Warri tradition.
The funeral rites for the late Olu commenced on Monday 10th of May 2021. A sober and joyous occasion, led by the Olu designate.
Sober because he had to accompany the late Olu, his uncle, on his final journey to be laid to rest with his ancestors at the royal cemetery in Ijalla.
The Ife Primary Education Research Project (1970-1983).
aka
The Ife 6-Year Primary Project.
In 1970, as the Director of the Institute of Education of the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife), later Dean Faculty of Education, Prof. Babs Fafunwa & his team embarked on one of the most groundbreaking research projects in education for Yorubaland.
The aim of the project was to test the hypothesis that the best instructional medium for good concept formation at a very tender age is the mother tongue.
This was bolstered by the observation that “of all the continents and peoples of the world, it is only in Africa…