RMD credits mother, Soyinka and J.P. Clark for his discipline

Veteran actor Richard Mofe-Damijo, popularly known as RMD, has described the family and professional influences that shaped his approach to responsibility and discipline. Speaking at a recent event, Damijo said his mother repeatedly reminded him not to forget his origins and the responsibilities attached to representing his family, institutions and country. He said that lesson had remained central throughout his life.

He also credited the schools he attended and colleagues he worked with for teaching him punctuality, discipline and responsibility. In particular, he recalled encounters with playwright J.P. Clark and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka.

Damijo said that when someone asks another person to arrive at 8am, he believes the person should be there by 7:30am. He described Soyinka as an example of that standard, saying the writer would already be present if he had named a 4pm meeting time. The actor said he hoped people who encountered him would similarly recognise lessons they could carry forward.

He added that, at different stages of life, people represent something larger than themselves. Damijo also discussed his eight years in government. He said government had significant potential to improve people’s lives, but warned that institutions could absorb people whose values were not firmly rooted.

He said his experience had taught him that people who cannot change a system may need to leave and build elsewhere. His comments connected personal discipline with the broader question of how individuals behave when they represent public institutions.