Foremost film actor, dramatist, folk singer, poet and playwright, Pa Jimi Solanke, is dead.
He died at the age of 81 in his home state, Ogun, following illness related to old age.
The late song writer reportedly breathed his last while he was being taken to Babcock Hospital, Ilishan-Remo, for medical treatment.
Mostly remembered by many for his television programme ‘Story land’, on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Solanke reportedly died on Monday morning after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife, Toyin, children and grandchildren.
Meanwhile, reactions have continued to trail the demise of the veteran thespian, as eminent Nigerians and other stakeholders described Solanke’s passage as a big loss to the entertainment and creative industry.
He was a bastion of our cherished cultural heritage —Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu has expressed sadness over the news of Solanke’s death, saying he was one of the finest Nigeria’s creative artists and a bastion of cultural heritage.
A statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), said the president mourned Solanke, who was an actor, dramatist, folk singer, poet and playwright.
The statement reads: “Tinubu described the literary and cultural virtuoso as one of the finest of Nigeria’s creative artists and bastion of our cherished mores and cultural heritage. The president condoled with the Solanke family and all those who mourn this painful loss while praying for the peaceful repose of the beloved departed.
He is a worthy ambassador —Abiodun
Reacting to the incident, the Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, described the death of renowned African culture ambassador as a colossal loss to the theatre community and Ogun State.
The governor also condoled with the family of the veteran poet dramatist and the people of Ipara-Remo in Remo North Local Government Area of the State.
In a statement, Abiodun said the late Solanke had “consistently put the name of the state in the limelight for very good reasons, especially in the arts right from his days at the University of Ibadan School of Drama.”
The governor urged relatives and other admirers of the deceased to celebrate his life and ensure that the many legacies he left behind are preserved even for generations yet unborn.
The statement reads: “Renowned for his tireless dedication to the arts, Baba Agba as he was widely known by his numerous fans across the country was a great ambassador of our dear state. He promoted the culture and tradition of the Yoruba race on the global stage with his drama, music, poetry and other works of art.
“In 1961, he emerged as one of the pioneer members of the Orisun Theatre Group founded by Professor Wole Soyinka. He went on to put in several decades of diverse exposures and experiences into the global entertainment industry across several broadcast stations, countries and festivals, impacting on the sector greatly.
“Many of his admirers still recall with nostalgia, his epic performances at the Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), Ibadan in the 1960s, his unforgettable stagecraft at the World Festival of Negro Arts in Senegal and the amazing skills he exhibited at the Pan-African Cultural Festival in Algeria, all in the 1970s.
“Also to his credit are brilliant performances in epics like Death and the King’s Horseman, Kurunmi, Kongi’s Harvest, The Divorce and Ovaramwen Nogbaisi. These performances and his numerous talents turned him into a global icon of the arts.
“He was at different times described by the Oxford Times and the New York Times as a ‘Skilled Nigerian Actor’ and an ‘Excellent Troupe’ respectively, owing to his performance of Wole Soyinka’s Kongi’s Harvest, during a tour of Europe.
“He sang with Highlife music Legends like Roy Chicago, Eddy Okonta and Chris Ajilo. He also worked with many global musicians, including Chubby Checker of Twist fame and Millicent Small of Rock Steady. He was with Ralph MacDonald, the lead voice in the chartbuster, Ona La, The Path,” the statement said.
Recalling Solanke’s sonorous voice, impressive gesticulations, near perfect mimicry and electrifying dances while reeling out folklores with ease, the statement added that the late poet will be greatly missed by all and sundry.
Africa has lost its greatest naturalist actor —TAFTA
Similarly, the president of Tola Adeniyi Foundation for Theatre and the Arts (TAFTA), Chief Tola Adeniyi, has said Africa has lost its greatest naturalist actor, saying the death of Solanke was big loss to the continent.
In a statement forwarded to the Nigerian Tribune, Adeniyi, who is also a veteran journalist stated: “The news of the demise of Africa’s greatest and best stage actor of all time splashed on my face this morning ruined my breakfast.
“Thespian, folk singer, poet, playwright, dramatist, producer, director, choreographer, theatre teacher, painter, sculptor and guitarist etcetera. Bundle of talents. Africa has lost her greatest naturalist actor in the tradition of legendary Stanislavski. May his outstandingly creative soul march on in the Continuum.”
His life and times
After his education at the University of Ibadan, where he obtained a diploma certificate in drama, Solanke moved to Los Angeles, California, United States, where, with his drama group called The Africa Review, he established himself as a master story teller, promoting Yoruba culture, and staging performances in black African schools. Thereafter, Solanke returned to Nigeria with some members of his troupe and took up a role at NTA. He ran popular children’s shows between the 1980s and the 1990s. He took part in the movies Sango (1997) and Shadow Parties (2020), an exploration of the sponsorship of inter-ethnic clashes by warmongering business elite.
Last December, Solanke performed Tunji Oyelana’s ‘Eniyan bi Apaaro’ at the folk singer Beautiful Nubia’s Emufest. Solanke’s love for folk music was remarkable: he described it as the source of his sound health. Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos in December 2021, Solanke indicated that he was carrying out a project involving training Nigerians as folklore musicians in Ibudo Asa, a centre set up in his home town, Ipara-Remo, to enliven that genre of music.
He had said: “I am not going to be here forever. So, I want to leave a part of me behind. Part of the curriculum is to train children as early as five years to express themselves through folklore so that we can have plenty of Jimi Solankes.” Those who have watched his performance of the folk song, O ru ladugbo, will have seen Solanke at his artistic best: measured, slow-paced, yet phenomenal.
His 80th birthday anniversary was marked by a series of event that kicked off on July 1, 2022 with a virtual conference on his life and times, followed by the launch of his biography titled, ‘Jimi Solanke: The Indestructible’, written by Oluwatoyin Sutton; the premiere of a short film titled, ‘Jimmy Show’ and produced by Ayo Adewunmi; a choral music fiesta tagged, ‘A Festival of Praise, among other events.
Addressing students at Living Icon: Live drawing, one of the events on Friday, September 8, 2022 at Freedom Park, Lagos, his wife of many decades, Mrs Toyin, described him as a hardworking artiste who never joked with his work.
