Moses Olaiya Adejumo, born on May 18, 1936, in Ilesha, Osun State, and known across Nigeria and beyond as Baba Sala, was a Nigerian comedian, actor, dramatist, musician, and filmmaker who is widely regarded as the father of modern Nigerian comedy.
He spent more than five decades making Nigerians laugh, cry, and think, building a career that moved from highlife music to travelling theatre to film and television with a fluidity that very few entertainers of his generation could match. He died on October 7, 2018, in Ilesha, at the age of 82, leaving behind a legacy that remains the reference point for every comedian who has ever stood on a Nigerian stage.
Baba Sala Profile
| Name | Baba Sala |
| Real Name | Moses Olaiya Adejumo |
| Date of Death | October 7, 2018 |
| State of Origin | Osun state |
| Tribe | Yoruba |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Occupation | Nigerian comedian and actor |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Net Worth | N/A |
| Copied from | content101.com |
Educational Background
Baba Sala grew up in the Northern provinces of colonial Nigeria, where his father worked as a teacher and later an accountant, moving the family frequently between cities including Jos and Kano. He attended school in these cities before eventually making his way to Lagos as a young man. His formal education is not available to the public beyond his early schooling, but the artistry he brought to comedy, music, costume, and dialogue reflected a man who educated himself deeply through observation, performance, and decades of understanding his audience.
Career
Baba Sala began his entertainment life as a musician in Lagos, forming the Federal Rhythm Dandies in 1964 before discovering that comedy was his true calling. It was in the Federal Rhythm Dandies that a young Sunny Ade served as lead guitarist, and Baba Sala is widely credited with mentoring the man who would become the King of Juju Music. When he transitioned from music to drama, he founded the Moses Olaiya International Alawada Theatre Limited, touring Nigerian cities with a performance style that blended slapstick, exaggerated costumes, witty dialogue, and sharp social satire.
His trademark props, a large bowtie, oversized spectacles, an alarm clock, and a pipe, made him instantly recognisable from a distance, and his character Baba Sala, a comical elderly man who was simultaneously naive, stubborn, talkative, and wise, became so beloved that Nigerians simply stopped calling him anything else.
He transitioned into film and television, producing some of the most commercially successful Yoruba films of the 1980s and early 1990s, including Orun Mooru in 1982, Aare Agbaye in 1983, Mosebolatan in 1985, and Agba Man in 1992. He was named Comedian of the Year by Best of Nollywood Magazine, and after his death, the magazine renamed the award the Moses Adejumo Comedy of the Year in his honour.
Controversies
Baba Sala’s most publicly discussed personal controversy came from the massive commercial failure of Mosebolatan, his most ambitious film production. The film, which starred him alongside his co-wife Silifatu Dupe, was extensively pirated before it could recoup its production costs, a financial blow from which he spent years recovering. He publicly blamed a younger brother of one of his wives for orchestrating the piracy.
The episode contributed to a period of significant personal and financial difficulty and became one of the most cited examples in the Nigerian entertainment industry of how piracy could destroy a creator’s livelihood. It also marked a painful turning point in his family life, with the public disclosure of the internal conflict adding a deeply personal dimension to what was already an industry-wide scandal.
Baba Sala Social Media Handle
Baba Sala does not have any official or publicly known social media handles.
Personal Life
Moses Olaiya Adejumo was born on May 18, 1936, in Ilesha, Osun State, where he also spent his final years and died. He was a polygamist who had several wives, some of whom featured in his productions as actresses. He was a devout Christian and his media aide confirmed that just two Sundays before his death, he had attended church and delivered the benediction himself, a final public act of faith that moved many who heard about it.
He is survived by his children, including his son Emmanuel Adejumo, also known as Boisala, who confirmed his death publicly. He passed away on October 7, 2018, and his remains were deposited at the Wesley Guild Hospital in Ilesa.
Baba Sala Net Worth
Baba Sala’s net worth at the time of his death was not available to the public.