The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade 1, has described late Taiwo Hassan (a.k.a Ogogo)’s life as a “Fallen great tree whose roots and fruits would nourish generations to come”.

According to the revered monarch, the world has lost a giant whose spirit lives on in every life inspired: “The drumbeat of late Hassan‘s life has hushed; the rhythm of his wisdom and art will echo through time forever”.

The veteran Nollywood actor passed on at the age of 66 on Sunday, August 23rd. According to his family’s account, Ogogo died on Sunday after he lost the battle with Stage-Four cancer.

In a condolence message through his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, Alaafin said a true custodian of our heritage has gone to rest, while the light of a single, brilliant flame has faded out, yet its glow remains in our collective history.

According to him, “the world has lost a giant, whose spirit lives on in every life he inspired. An irreplaceable voice has gone quiet, but the echo of his art will ring through generations. You carried our history and our pride with grace. A single light has gone out, yet its brilliance will continue to guide us”.

Oba Owoade noted that through his remarkable career, the late Hassan entertained generations while showcasing and preserving the rich cultural values of the Yoruba people on stage and screen,” she said.

The Royal Father noted that late Hassan’s commitment to theatre, Yoruba culture and the broader entertainment industry had left an enduring mark on the creative landscape of Lagos State and Nigeria, stressing poetically that “anything you lose comes round in another form. Let the waters settle, and you will see the moon and the stars.

The wound is the place where the Light enters you. Only from the heart can you touch the sky. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.

“For nothing is fixed, forever, forever, forever. It is not fixed;
the earth is always shifting,
the light is always changing,
the sea does not cease to grind down rock”.

While commiserating with the bereaved families for the loss of their beloved one, Alaafin said thus, “we mourn the loss of a rare cultural pillar, yet we celebrate an immortal legacy that will forever shape our identity”.

Oba Owoade also sympathised with the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) over the death of one of their notable members, describing it as a “painful loss”.

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