Veteran Nollywood actress Iya Rainbow has revealed that it was late theatre legend Hubert Ogunde who inspired her to quit her nursing career and dedicate herself fully to acting.
Speaking in an interview with Feel Right News TV, the 83-year-old said she successfully balanced her job in the health sector with performing for the Osumare Theatre Group until Ogunde urged her to choose theatre as a full-time career.
She recalled working at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos General Hospital and other healthcare facilities while pursuing her passion for the stage.
According to Iya Rainbow, the turning point came after Ogunde watched her performance in the Rabiatu Dance Drama at the Glover Memorial Hall in Lagos.
Recalling the moment, she said Ogunde praised her performance and encouraged her to resign from nursing, telling her she had a bright future in theatre.
She said, “When we wanted to perform the Rabiatu Dance Drama. Everybody knows he was the one who did dance drama, but before my husband (Augustine Ayanfemi Philips) died, he had taught us. We performed the drama in Lagos, and Baba Ogunde and his three wives came to see it. When we were done, he said, ‘Wasn’t that Idowu who performed Rabiatu?
“Wasn’t it Idowu who performed so well just now? And she said she didn’t want to leave nursing? Go and resign from nursing and take up theatre fully. You’re good at it.’ His wives greeted me, and that was all. In 1986, I wrote and submitted my resignation letter to the hospital.”
The actress also spoke about the role Ogunde played in her life after the death of her husband, Augustine “Baba Osumare” Philips, founder of the Osumare Theatre Group, in 1984.
She revealed that Ogunde comforted her during the difficult period, advised her to stop wearing mourning clothes and continued supporting both her and the theatre group her husband left behind.
Iya Rainbow further disclosed that resigning from nursing was an emotional experience because many of her patients pleaded with her to stay.
She said, “The patients I was taking care of refused; they said they would not allow me to resign. They said that even when they did something wrong, I would scold them but still take care of them.
“There are a lot of patients whose treatment in the hospital I paid for with my own money.”
