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I Can Still Dance On Broken Bottles – Jimoh Aliu

Channels Television’s weekend breakfast programme, Sunrise plays host to a Nigerian Legend of Performing Arts, Jimoh Aliu, popularly known as Aworo from his character in … Continue reading I Can Still Dance On Broken Bottles – Jimoh Aliu


Channels Television’s weekend breakfast programme, Sunrise plays host to a Nigerian Legend of Performing Arts, Jimoh Aliu, popularly known as Aworo from his character in the popular Nigerian TV drama of the 1980s and 90s, Arelu.

Speaking on a special broadcast of the programme from Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, he stated that the most heart warming gift his over 50 year old career has given him was the opportunity to promote Nigeria, the Yoruba culture, and his home town Oke Imesi in Ekiti State.

Jimoh Aliu who spoke the English language appreciably well, noted that he has had only 6 years of education all his life. He left his hometown Oke Imesi for Lagos in 1946 having never had a teacher to guide him from the most elementary level of education.

He learnt his art of performance by joining the legendary Ogunde Theatre Group as an apprentice who could only help to carry equipment in Mushin, Lagos in 1955.

Also unknown to many of his fans, Jimoh Aliu was once in the Nigerian Army during the Nigerian Civil War in 1967, where he worked with some of Nigeria’s most celebrated Generals and war veterans like Theophilus Danjuma and former President, Olusegun Obasanjo.

The twist however, is that he was not a combatant at war, but a performer who travelled all over different regions to entertain the soldiers during the war.

Asked about his main strength in Performing Arts, the 76 year old boasted that he had mastered his trade in dancing, singing and acting. He also claimed to have been among the first generation of dancers who did magical tricks to delight audiences.

Jimoh Aliu, who has been appointed as one of the 16 Cultural Ambassadors of Ekiti State, lauded the State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, for bringing the culture and tourism sector in Ekiti State back to life.

He also spoke on the general belief that there is a lot of black majic known as ‘juju’ in Yoruba films, explaining that there is a difference between practising Juju and appreciating the values of Ifa, a legendary deity of Yoruba land and promoting its legacy of providing direction. He said that people are simply unaware of the differences.

Jimoh Aliu is mostly remembered as the only powerful man who could confront the notorious wicked character on Nigerian Television in the 1990s, Fadeyi Oloro.

Enjoy this exciting interview with the 76 year old man who boasted that he could still dance on broken bottles, as Sunrise celebrates one of Nigeria’s finest legends of Performing Arts.