Izuchukwu OkosiOne of Nigeria’s favourite comic actors, Femi Ogunrombi, better known as ‘Papa Ajasco’ is dead
The legendary Nollywood actor was popular for his role in the Wale Adenuga comedy series, Papa Ajasco.
Papa Ajasco is shown on the WAP (Wale Adenuga Production) TV, Silverbird Television, BISCOM Television and the network service of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).
The demise of the actor was confirmed by his colleague in the entertainment industry, Shaibu Husseini, who is a member of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP).
Without a detailed information of the death of the veteran actor, Husseini according to his social media posts indicated that his friend died on Saturday, 14 January, 2023.
“I have just been reliably informed that the ethnomusicologist, former Music Instructor with the National Troupe of Nigeria and one-time stand-in for the ‘Papa Ajasco’ character on the popular WAP Comic Series ‘Papa Ajasco’ Mr Femi Ogunrombi is DEAD.
“I am told that the actor, singer and trained Nurse whom we fondly called ‘Uncle Ogurombo’ (not to his hearing though) passed on this evening,” he wrote on his social media pages.
Papa Ajasco and Company (formerly The Ajasco Family) is a Nigerian family television sitcom created by Wale Adenuga in 1996.
The show is a spin-off of a feature film of the same title produced by Wale Adenuga in 1984, which in turn is based on the comic Ikebe Super.
The story revolves around the Ajasco family and their comedic interpretations to major societal issues.
The main characters include womanising patriarch Papa Ajasco, his long-suffering wife Mama Ajasco, their mischievous son Bobo Ajasco, local playboy Boy Alinco, promiscuous gold-digger Miss Pepeiye, and illiterate ne’er-do-wells Pa James and Pa Jimoh.
Ogunrombi was casted by Executive Producer, Adenuga, for the character, Papa Ajasco when the former character, Abiodun Ayoyinka, pulled out of the show
Ogunrombi, popularly known for his bald head, was the Director of Studies at the Pencil Film and Television Institute, Lagos. He has over three-decade experience as a musicologist.
He studied at Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, after his secondary school at Adventist Grammar School, Ede, Nigeria
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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