THE NATION THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2013
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NEWS JUSTUS ESIRI (1942-2013) 1984 The Village Headmaster in which veteran Femi Robinson was the headmaster was rested by the management of the NTA, paving the way for the late Esiri to emerge as his replacement in the new Village Headmaster.
1985 Veteran actor and producer Dejumo Lewis, who was the traditional ruler in the rested series, cast the late Esiri as the headmaster in the new Village Headmaster, with Tade Ogidan as director.
1989 The late Esiri’s reign as the village headmaster in the new Village Headmaster came to an end as NTA finally rested it and efforts to bring it back since then has never produced any meaningful result.
2007 The late Esiri was awarded a national honour of the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) by the Federal Government for his contributions to the development of the country’s movie industry.
2013 He died February 19 at a time the movie industry was yet to recover from the death of talented actors, such as the late Enebeli Elebuwa, Pete Eneh, Akin Ogungbe and Bisi Komolafe.
Their stars dimmed before his Few days before Justus Esiri’s death, two of his colleagues, Collins Ifeanyi and Lugard Onoyemu, died, increasing the population of Nollywood stars who have passed on, write MERCY MICHAEL and AHMED BOULOR
Bisi Komolafe
•The late Olusola
She would have made it into the new year, but death snatched her away on December 31, making hers the last of the many deaths which hit the entertainment industry last year. The late Bisi Komolafe died in Ibadan, throwing the film industry into mourning. The thespian, who was engaged to be married to her Canada-based fiancé, died at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, after several weeks of complications, arising from a miscarriage. The late actress was said to be six months pregnant when the complications arose. She had been living in Lagos with her fiancé, Mr. Ijaduola, after their engagement. She suddenly took ill three months ago and was admitted at the UCH. The late Komolafe, who became popular for her roles in flicks like Igboro ti Daru and Eja Tutu, was a member of the Odunfa caucus of the Yoruba film industry. A second child, the late thespian was said to be the bread-winner of her family.
Pete Eneh
Veteran actor Pete Eneh died on November 15 , few days after he had one of his legs amputated due to an infection , at Park Lane Hospital in Enugu. His health was said to have deteriorated after the amputation. The infection, according to reports, started in 2011, after he sustained an injury. His case worsened due to lack of proper medical attention. The actor was said to have been amputated to stop the infection from spreading to other parts of his body. Eneh was said to be diabetic. He spent three months at the hospital before he was advised to get the leg amputated to reduce the risk of the infection spreading to other parts of his body. The amputation took place after efforts to save the leg was unsuccessful. Until his death, the actor, who was often cast as Patience Ozokwor (Mama Gee’s stage husband in movies), was then said to be taking the situation in its stride. Eneh featured in hit Nollywood movies, such as; Naomi, Not Your Wealth, Lonely Life (2006), Divided Kingdom (2005), Price of Ignorance (2005), Heavy Rain (2004), Arrows (2003) and By His Grace (2003) among others.
Enebeli Elebuwa
•The late Olayemi
Enebeli Elebuwa was a prolific actor who had over 130 movies to his credit. The Delta State-born actor, who was born on February 14, was one of the most acknowledged and respected faces in the entertainment industry and on the African continent. Elebuwa, who died at 65, was fondly referred to by friends as ‘Andrew’ because of his role in a Federal Government public service advertisement in 1984. He shot into prominence with the advertisement in which he advised Nigerians against travelling abroad but to find ways of making the country a better place to live in. The late actor, whose first movie role was in Sanya Dosunmu’s 1974 celluloid film, Dinner with the Devil, was hit by a strange ailment, resulting in stroke. The deceased was one of the pathfinders of the Nigerian movie industry, with about 125 movies to his credit.
James Iroha (Gringory)
Veteran actor and member of the rested soap, New Masquerade, James Iroha (aka Gringory Akabogu) died at 69 on Tuesday, February 28, 2012. The series was immensely popular in the 1970s and 1980s and was a family delight. Before his death, Gringory was living in abject poverty. He cried out in vain for rehabilitation. He was said to be suffering from an eye ailment. Gringory retired from active public life at a traditional ceremony in December 2011 known as Igboto mma in Amokwe Item, Abia State.
Lekinson
•The late Elebuwa
the tested hands and notable figures left in frustration. When I was called upon to produce the new Village Headmaster series, I put in my very best, brought in Tade Ogidan as one of the producers/directors and cast Justice Esiri as the new village headmaster from Femi Robinson.” He produced it between 1985 and 1989 when the the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) suspended it. Till today, it remains a talking point. No wonder, the NTA attempted to remake it, under the name the new Village Headmaster. Apart from the impression the soap made on people, the men who made it tick also made impressions with their personal lives. At a point, some of its cast members became traditional rulers of their places of birth. The late Funsho Adeolu, who played the role of Chief Eleyinmi, was the Alaaye of Ode-Remo, Ogun State. So
was Oba Wole Amele, Oba Wole Amele, who acted as ‘Counsellor Balogun’ in the rested Village Headmaster. He was the Alara of Aramoko, in Ekiti State. Then, at a point, the concern was that the Village Headmaster clan was being depleted by death. The death two days ago of Justus Esiri, who was the headmaster in the soap, brought up the concern once again. Last year, Enebeli Elebuwa, who played the role of a police officer in the now rested popular soap, died. Its creator and producer, Chief Segun Olusola, died last year too. His wife, Elsie Olusola, a.k.a Sisi Clara, died earlier. Barely two months after the death of Segun Olusola, actor Albert Kosemani Olayemi, who played the role of Gorimapa, also passed away. The actor, who was in his late seventies, died on Friday, August 24,
2012, after battling an undisclosed illness. Olayemi was a foundation member of the late Ojo Ladipo’s group, Awada Kerikeri, where he sharpened his acting talent before his foray into the acting world. Amele died in 2008, after a brief illness. In addition to Village Headmaster, Amele also acted in Kosegbe alongside Jide Kosoko and Kola Oyewo. He again took part in Ayo Ni Mofe, Oleku, and Toluwanile. Amele’s last production before he became a king was in Coming to Africa, a movie he made to tell the story of his struggle to the throne. Joe Layode, who acted the part of a teacher and answered the name Garuba, is dead too. Chief Leke Ajao, alias Kokonsari, died in January 2009. Ajao, who played the role of the Ifa priest of the Oja Village, died in his home town, Iwo, Osun State. He was in his 60s.
Lekan Oladipupo, better known as Gorgio Lekinson, died in January last year in Osogbo, Osun State of heart-related disease. Lekinson was a hugely talented Yoruba actor renowned more for his role in Koto Aye, a classic Yoruba movie, featuring A-class Yoruba actors.
Dento
Star actor Hammed Odunla, popularly known as Dento, lost the battle to stroke on August 6, 2012. He was in intensive medical care for months before he died. He was buried according to Islamic rites on the following day at about 10am. Besides being off stage for about five years, he was unfit to practise tailoring, his first job to which he returned.
David Ihezie
David Ihezie, 70, died January last year after a protracted battle with illness. The Enugu-based thespian was one of the most respected elders in the motion picture industry, and he would be missed, not just for his acting prowess, but for the fatherly role he played among actors during his life time.
Akin Ogungbe
Akin Ogungbe, 80, popularly known as Baba Ibeji, died in November, last year. In the seventies, the late Ogungbe acted the role of Baba Ibeji in a Yoruba photo play magazine, Atoka. Ogungbe was a household name, ranking among the likes of the late Hubert Ogunde, Moses Adejumo (Baba Sala), the late Duro Ladipo, Baba Ajimajasan, the late Baba Mero, the late Oyin Adejobi, and the late Ade Love. He, alongside others, pioneered the Nigerian stage performance artistes, who ventured into celluloid film production before the advent of home videos. -Taiwo Bello A producer and director, Taiwo Bello died in Lagos on February 14 last year, exactly a month after his last birthday anniversary. Bello collaborated with some of the big names in the Yoruba movie industry, including star actress Funke Akindele, on some movie projects. He co-wrote the hit movie - Jenifa - with Akindele and worked with her on his 2010 movie, Omije Mi. Bello was bed-ridden for months with cancer.