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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja and Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Veteran Nollywood actor, filmmaker and screenwriter, Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, was on Monday buried in his hometown of Ilaro, Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State, amid tears and tributes from colleagues, family members and sympathisers.
The 66-year-old actor, who died on Sunday after battling colon cancer, was buried according to Islamic rites following funeral prayers attended by prominent figures in the Nigerian film industry and members of his community.
Ogogo’s death attracted widespread condolences, with President Bola Tinubu describing his passing as a “major loss” to Nigeria’s creative industry and cultural heritage.
President Tinubu, in a condolence message issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the veteran actor’s decades-long career had contributed significantly to the growth of Yoruba-language theatre and Nigerian cinema.
He said Ogogo used his talent, distinctive acting style and powerful screen presence to entertain generations of Nigerians while showcasing the richness of Yoruba culture and the country’s diverse heritage.
“His passing is a great loss to his family, the Yoruba film industry, Nollywood and the entire Nigerian creative community,” the President said.
He added that Ogogo’s body of work would remain an important part of Nigeria’s cultural history, while his mentorship and influence on younger artistes had further cemented his legacy in the creative industry.
“Alhaji Taiwo Hassan was a gifted artiste who used his talent to tell Nigerian stories, preserve our cultural heritage and entertain audiences at home and abroad,” Tinubu said.
The President urged members of the creative industry and Nigerians to honour Ogogo’s memory by preserving and building on the cultural values and artistic traditions to which he devoted his life.
He extended the condolences of the Federal Government to Hassan’s family, colleagues, friends and millions of admirers, praying that Almighty Allah would grant the deceased eternal rest and give his loved ones the strength to bear the loss.
At the burial in Ilaro, the body of the actor was conveyed by mourners to the burial ground, where Muslim clerics offered prayers before his interment.
Among those who attended were veteran actors Jide Kosoko, Yinka Quadri, Faithia Balogun, Femi Adebayo, Mr Latin, Ireti Osayemi, Toyosi Adesanya and Bisi Omo Logbalogba, alongside members of the deceased’s family, residents and other sympathisers.
Ogogo’s close friend and colleague, Yinka Quadri, was visibly emotional and broke down in tears as mourners consoled him.
Also paying tribute, actor Bola Oyin-Adejobi prayed for the deceased to attain Al-Jannah Firdaus.
The Ogun State Government was represented at the funeral by the Commissioner for Sports, Wasiu Isiaka, who said Governor Dapo Abiodun had sent him to convey the government’s condolences to the deceased’s children and family.
Isiaka described Ogogo as an icon, family man and a personality whose life touched many people.
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“I am here today to join the family, friends, and indeed the whole of Nigeria in mourning, not just a person, but an icon, a true icon, a family man, and somebody whom, whenever you saw him, you felt, ‘Oh, this person could be my brother,’” he said.
The commissioner said Abiodun would have attended the funeral but was unable to do so because of a previously scheduled official engagement.
He urged Ogogo’s children and other members of the family to take solace in the life their father lived and trust in God.
“Nothing can happen without the knowledge of Allah. It has happened, though sadly and with great sorrow, but what else can we do? We cannot question God.
“Because of that, take solace in the fact that he lived a very good life,” Isiaka said.
He also thanked Ogogo’s colleagues and other sympathisers for turning out to honour the deceased.
On his part, the President of the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), Bolaji Amusan, popularly known as Mr Latin, described Ogogo as a complete gentleman and a man of impeccable character.
“He was a complete gentleman, a man of impeccable character. He was a man of the people. Everybody knew him, even people who were unknown to us,” Amusan said.
He urged the late actor’s children to preserve the values and legacy he left behind.
“Ogogo is dead, but his legacy should be kept alive,” he said.
Ogogo’s death came days after his daughters, Kaira and Lima Taiwo, appealed for medical assistance for their father, who had been battling stage-four cancer.
Kaira had disclosed that doctors treating the actor had informed the family that chemotherapy could no longer continue because of his deteriorating condition.
The family subsequently explored alternative treatment options in an effort to save the veteran actor.
Ogogo was one of the prominent figures in Yoruba-language cinema, with a career spanning several decades.
He began acting in 1981 while working as a mechanic with the Ogun State Water Corporation, where he spent about 13 years.
He eventually left the corporation in 1994 to pursue acting full-time and went on to establish himself as one of the respected veterans of the Nigerian film industry.
Through his distinctive acting style and appearances in numerous Yoruba films, Ogogo became a household name and contributed to the preservation and popularisation of Yoruba culture through Nigerian cinema.
