Lagos — Sometimes nature or circumstances throw things your way and you run with it.

What you make of it defines your person. With Prof. Ahmed Yerima, his father's police career made him a man at ease in many cultures. He can be said to be Yoruba, you would not be far wrong, but you could also argue that this man of letters is so well versed in Igbo, Bini, Niger Delta long to be a born indigene. But he is. A truly detribalised Nigeria who sees himself as a cultural officer first and one who does not remember who his people are because to his mind, he belongs to all cultures and people.

He is the ultimate all-Nigerian man, in more ways than one. And he shows this propensity in various ways. Through his writing and directorial skills, Professor Ahmed Parker Yerima has earned a reputation that goes far ahead of him. True, his name points to his definite roots from the northern part of the country; Borno State, to be sure, but his heart journeys through the length and breadth of Nigeria, as a perpetual sojourner who has made the entire country his home.

This colourful identity was conferred by the circumstances of his father, a retired commissioner of police whose frequent postings around the country in the course of duty, meant he had to move along with his family. Born in Ikeja, Lagos, Yerima, attended school at St Benedette Private School Abeokuta, Baptist Academy, Lagos and the University of Ife. There is an interesting ring to his middle name (which is not uncommon with Africans and their penchant for tying their children's name to the circumstance of their birth). On the day, Yerima was born 51 years ago, his father was being honoured for a heroic deed in the police. His reward was a Parker pen from the Inspector General of Police. It was such a landmark for the young police officer that he signposted it in his annals forever by naming his son, Parker.

But it is not every person who was born in Yorubaland that has imbibed the culture of the people so well. His understanding of the Yoruba is borne out of a robust interaction and admiration of the people from childhood. It was an infantile fad, at first, but as his career path broadened and his convictions deepened at the university, he polished up his Yoruba. And the result is there for everyone to see. Apart from socialising, his knowledge of Yoruba has been a mighty help to his writing career; as author of books with an incontrovertible Yoruba background and also in his work as a director, interpreting chapters of history in manners that earn respect.

Many socio-cultural organisations that promote the Yoruba world view have no problems with embracing Yerima as one of their own. Their reason for this tie is cogent. A man who understands the Yoruba so well as to write commendable thesis on Yoruba pantheons, can't be said to be an outsider. Take, for instance, his play, 'Yemoja'. Yerima was humbled by the acceptance, even among knowledgeable Yorubas. "I didn't even know that I understand the Yoruba gods so well, until I heard from people who had either read the book or seen the play. There also the play, 'Ade Ire'. I used two plays to tell two stories that are down-to-earth and cultural about the Yoruba people and I am happy that the people accept them as relevant materials for discourse."

Don't try to ask Yerima who his people are. The artiste in him has torn every ethnic garb. "I can't even remember who my people are anymore. I see myself first and foremost as a cultural officer. I use that as a guiding principle to detribalise myself. I write plays and use the stories that emerge from it to project the different peoples. I explore Nigeria as a wonderful conglomeration of tribes. You find me writing plays on Igbos. My Igbo plays include 'Idemili', 'Otailo' and 'Akwabata'. I have written Hausa plays like 'Attahiru' and 'Tafida'. You even catch me writing one on the Middle Belt like 'Ameh Oboni The Great'-the late Attah of Igala, his wife is from the Middle Belt, Plateau state) or the 'Trials of Oba Ovonrawen' about the Edo People. There is also 'The Sick People' and 'Hardground' which is about the Niger Delta."

A cursory view of Yerima's works reveal his penchant for de-constructing historical characters. Whether it is a contemporary figure like General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, the late Tafida Katsina or Ovonrawen, he enters a studious engagement that exposes a lesser known side of these personalities. "I like to study the inner minds of these characters. I like to know why a King like Ameh Oboni would commit suicide. I like to understand why a man like Ovonrawen, who was compared to God, felt so insecure or why Attahiru was forced to fight a war he was not prepared for.

One of the reasons is that I use the historical to show the problems leaders encounter or to comment on the problems of leadership. I also try to place myself in the position of these leaders. I try to ask if we have grown beyond these problems as a society. Sometimes I find answers which are mine because the heroes are dead and they can't speak for themselves. Sometimes I allow the playwright in me to create reasons".

As a commentator on time, Yerima is amazed at the truth of the axiom that history often repeats itself. "Many of our leaders refuse to learn from the past. My new work 'Mojagbe' based on the Oyo Empire, exploits the theme of excessive power. It shows how power corrupts man to the point that he confronts death and thinks he is beyond dying. I think that death is the only thing our leaders fear. I think that is why God put it there. The fear of death is the only reason man is slightly sane, knowing that the only thing greater than him is death."

If a playwright is too conscious of public perception, where is the artistic imput, where is the commentary, would it not subtract from his poetic licence? "History is made of facts and the major problem I have is that there are too many facts available. Each time I write a historical play, the owners of the history are helpers. I do not have the luxury of putting a lot of fiction in it. I know, for instance, that this meeting happened in the palace. I create the dialogue but the incident is there. I do not distort history because I want to achieve a specific purpose which may be controversial.

The good thing is that most times, I don't belong to the society I write for; so that I am not controversial. The people who own the history must be able to accept it or they would not learn from it. The 'Ameh Oboni' play was used for convocation at the Kogi State University which means the Igala people accept the play even though it is a negative act of a great king. What the historical plays do is to tease out further materials and truths about the characters, rather than, create a controversy that throws me and my play out of the society."

Yerima was particularly happy that the current Bini monarch sat down to see his 'Trials of Oba Overawen' without much criticism. "For me, at that point, the society had given a positive nod to my little effort and that is good for me. The society must accept your work for a playwright to be relevant. These days a playwright cannot create art for art sake. You must have a purpose for writing and when you deal with a sensitive material like history, you must write a balanced story so that society can say I can find a little bit of us in this play. It is not always easy when everybody wants his uncle, his father to be portrayed as a great man, then who was the bad man in the story?"

What personal lessons has Yerima gone home with from these plays? "They have influenced my leadership style. You must believe in what you write to be able to portray them very well. Through these works I am always reminded that I am human; that power is transcient. That it is not how long you stay in power but what you do with it that matters. I am reminded that all men must die. These lessons help me to extend respect and fairness to everyone that I come across. These are my guiding principles in leading other people. On second thought, I think the best judge would be those who watch me lead."

Yerima is blessed with a gift to write different types of plays. Sometimes, they come as fiction- pure stories from the head. Some are historical, that allows him to take materials and give them his own interpretation. He is also influenced by foreign films that he turns to Nigerian plays. "I remember seeing a film about a lottery ticket. It was too serious. They killed too many people. I did my Nigerian version as a play, bringing many of the witty lottery elements that we are familiar with. Only one person was killed."

Although his name has become synonymous with the National Theatre and the National Troupe of Nigeria, Yerima started his working career at the University of Ife, where he served for one year, before moving on the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He landed the National Theatre job in 1991. In the Year 2000, he started teaching as a part time lecturer at the University of Lagos. It was at University of Lagos that he became an adjunct Professor.

Yerima agrees that the National Theatre is the fulcrum of his career. "What the National Theatre did to me is that it created a number of avenues. It inspired me to write. I met great actors like Olu and Joke Jacobs, Kunle Bamtefa. Great directors like Bayo Oduneye and Femi Osofisan. That challenged me. It was like a finishing school for me. All these training one had received in school, it was at the National Theatre that I was given the privilege to practice. It is like my life school. I was able to build a career. Even my administrative skills that a lot of people now know was tested at the national Theatre. I had a whole company- the National Troupe of Nigeria to work with. I had people like Prof Duro Oni to test my lighting skills".

The National Theater may serve as testing grand, but it is the 2006 NLNG Prize for Literature that is the highpoint of his public acclaim. "By the time I wrote the winning play-Hardground-I was matured which is now a problem for me. I wrote it based on my fears of the Niger Delta. I envisaged the kind of problems I think we would have. Now you have to be careful. You must write one that is better. I feel sorry for the recipients of the NLNG Prize because it puts pressure on you to outdo yourself. There are quite a lot of great writers out there. The pressure is even more so for me because that same year, the play won the ANA Award. Now I have nothing to aspire for in Nigeria."

There are a few persons Yerima would like to acknowledge for helping him to reach this height. They include, "my teacher Prof. Wole Soyinka, Aig-Imoukude, late Steve Rhodes, Bayo Oduneye; Jahman Anikulapo and Toyin Akinosho-the two of them for their energy, for their brilliance, Femi Osofisan, Ambassador Segun Olusola, who sees me as his son, Rasheed Gbadamosi and Olu Obafemi. Again, most of them are Yorubas. I am a Yoruba man. I am humbled to know that I have given a little back to a society that gave me life.. Originally I am from Borno state, but my mother is from Auchi in Edo state and I am an adopted son of the Yoruba people.

Wide acceptance of his works come without a burden. The attention has been overwhelming. Almost all universities in Nigeria study his works. This privilege confers a pressing responsibility to offer the right guidance to a whole generation who are vicarious participants of his experience. "I can't afford to do anything that will mislead our youths in the universities."

Yerima is not in doubt about which of his skills serves him better today. The writer in him gains the upper hand for the simple reason that, he can sit down anywhere with a laptop and pour down his thoughts on pages, whereas, he doesn't have the luxury of time required for the prodigious job of a director. Incidentally, his global acclaim and the accolades with which he has been decorated have been the result of the scores of books in his name.

With a couple of his books (as recommended texts) selling in hundreds of thousands every year, Yerima still doesn't see himself as a rich man in the pecuniary sense. In fact, the USD20,000 for the 2006 NLNG Nigerian Prize for Literature is the biggest monetary gain of his distinguished career. He is more at home with the popularity of the works. "It has made me very rich in terms of being well known. The beautiful thing is that I am able to play a trick on my readers.

Many people don't know whether I am tall, short, thin or fat. My publishers always say there are lots of requests from readers who want to meet me. I am satisfied to live in the minds of generations of students that I have helped in one way or another to get a PhD or Masters. When it comes to physical cash, I am not that rich. But I do earn some money from the books. I can tell you, for instance that the NLNG prize money was not enough for what I wanted. I wanted a house and a car, but it was not enough. So I put it in a bank. I don't know if it is earning some interest. I have to ask them. I put the money away for my retirement."

Today, Yerima can look at some of the people, particularly his father, who expressed reservations at his choice of career with a grin of triumph. His father wanted him to be a lawyer. His refusal to do the old man's bidding created some anxiety in the family. How are you going to feed your family? "That was his fear. I was a coward also because I didn't want to be a freelance artiste. I kept telling him that I would study up to the PhD, so I could have a steady job. But I have since earned my father's respect with the accomplishment's that have come my way."

Yerima's first son, a medical doctor is already showing interest in writing. He is into writing prose. But some of his other children are more interested in having him dedicate his works to their names.

His current assignment as overseer of the Abuja Carnival is one he cherishes for adding to his national profile. "I get to meet with all the directors of culture in the state. What I am learning from the carnival I may not use what I have learnt it now. I am in the middle of a show and I am just picking up experiences. "Nigeria, from the beginning wanted a cultural carnival that can sell her to the world as a culturally diversified destination.

A Carnival that would allow Americans and Brazilians who had their roots here to be able to return and find their roots and we are also aware of the limitations of our religion and our culture against the carnival of body exposure like in Brazil. The country was sceptical, especially the religious bodies like CAN and SCIAN. But with the first show, they saw it wasn't sexual or ritualistic and they embraced it. The world watched the first one in 2005. This year, we are having participation from Egypt, Indian, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana and Niger. With them taking part, it means we have achieved the initial goal of trying to find the intra-cultural links with our brothers. If this year is successful, it will open up the Abuja Carnival as an international event".