Celebrating Jimi Odumosu, the icon of broadcasting at 73, by Simbo Olorunfemi

Today is our Boss, Mr Jimi Odumosu’s birthday. He is 73 today. He is an icon and an accomplished professional who has mentored and inspired some of today’s brightest minds in Film and Television production.

Ordinarily, we should be rolling out the drums to celebrate him and thank him for all he has done, but seeing his post before setting out today, I am conflicted how to approach it.

While thanking God for his life and all he has enabled him to accomplish, it is difficult to roll over the incident of only 3 months back, which he made reference to, in his post.

There was the fatal gas explosion by the infamous Otedola bridge in Lagos in March. Sad and painful as it was, it was a distant occurrence for most of us far from the scene.

I did not know, until some weeks after that Uncle Jim, who I had seen only a few weeks before then, was a victim of that accident. Though he had once mentioned the office in Magodo and considered us meeting there, my mind did not go to it when I heard about the accident involving the gas tanker.

Uncle Jim’s house, which he used as Office, Film Studio and School (the LagCity Film Academy) was completely lost to the fire. The first thought for many would be the loss of the building, but I would think that more devastating for Uncle Jim would be the loss of equipment that can never be found again, the destruction of rare-to-find tapes, exclusive recordings, sets, mementoes etc. that were consumed by the fire.

I can only imagine the magnitude of the loss and pain that comes with it. My heart goes to him and his wife for their loss. Even though that thought got to him this morning, I pray that he continues to find the strength and comfort to forge ahead.

He is a man of great strength and character. I marvel at his quality of mind and industry at his age. There is a project of his I have the privilege of working on at the moment and I am still in awe at the time, energy and depth of work he has invested in it.

So even as the event of March is there, it shouldn’t take away the joy. As he has testified, God has been good to him and his family. We thank God for that.

My Birthday message of 2023, reproduced below, captures for me the essence of our Boss, Teacher and Mentor:

Happy Birthday, Uncle Jim

Exactly a year ago, Uncle Jim, as we call him, Jimi Odumosu as he is officially and professionally known, turned 70. I didn’t get to know about it until late in the night, and it was rather too late to string words together to celebrate this legend. I would promise myself to do that in the future before his next birthday. How time flies! I didn’t get to do that. It’s one year already. Uncle Jim is 71 today!

I joined Lagos Television (LTV) as a young man, a rookie in the trade, just after its golden era in which the station had redefined Television through its marathon weekend broadcast (Lagos Weekend Television). But most of the giants who put in the shift that caught NTA napping were still there.

The brain behind the concept, fondly known as Uncle Jim was there as Manager, Programmes. You wouldn’t know what a powerhouse of creativity he is by his ever calm demeanour, but one word from him and you will be amazed at the depth of his knowledge and span of his creative mind. His presence, silence and just a few words had a way of shaping creative direction in a way other Directors might struggle to achieve even with a more.

Mr Jimi Odumosu had joined NTA for the NYSC scheme on his return in 1977. He would go on to write for and produce/ direct some of the iconic Drama programmes of the time, including the Series – “For Better for Worse”. But it is his work at LTV, starting with the LWT project that will define his rich career.

His iconic 1983 horror movie, “Evil Encounter” would not only grab the attention of the Nigerian (Lagos) audience, making it unforgettable, such was the level of acceptance of the work that, in a strange way, it would accidentally herald what would subsequently become the Nollywood industry, as ‘pirates’ produced VHS copies of the work and sold to the public, a model that Nollywood would eventually adopt/adapt.

Uncle Jim once shared how he had fixed shooting of a scene in that movie for 12 midnight at the Yaba Cemetery. Not a surprise that not many members of the crew dared show up. He recalls, “Myself the writer, producer-director, Mr. Steve Omuero the director of photography, and a young actress, Miss. Tina Adewunmi who was about thirteen years old at the time…I think.
We shot the iconic scene where the teenage girl’s corpse suddenly resurrected and rose up from the bowels of a deep “unknown grave” which was filled with a lot of “dry bones” from long dead corpses.

This downright scary scenario was shot at exactly 2am in the dark, eerily quiet and unguarded graveyard along the road to the University of Lagos.
Thank God the recording went without incident!
Now, some people may describe what we did back in the day as “the stupidity of youth” but I call it “the COURAGE and UNCOMMON PASSION for OUR ART” That’s how we worked in those days.”

It was that courage and uncommon passion that we saw in Uncle Jim, who was already an icon back then, that spurred us, rookies, to dig deep, aim high and dream big. I would disregard the artificial barrier between the ‘News’ and ‘Programmes’ to seek advice from him back then. Some of the tips he shared with me then still ring in my ears, many years after.

Mr Odumosu would later on produce and direct ‘Fiery Force’, and in subsequent years ‘Head of State’ as well as ‘Mourning After’, which featured Bimbo Akintola as a widow despite burdened by inhuman traditional practices. These were production credits he has in spite of his heavy administrative schedule, being at different times at the head of 2 TV Stations. He was also, at a time, Director of the MNET TV Series, ‘Doctors’ Quarters’. He would eventually retire as Permanent Secretary at LTV. He has since devoted his attention to training of new generation of filmmakers through Lagcity Film Academy, Lagos, having invested 5 decades to the profession.

There is no doubt that Mr Odumosu has made a huge mark in the industry and his body of work shall continue to serve as inspiration and reference material for practitioners in the future.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Jim.