“Action Pọ̀ Bi Ogogo”: Remembering the Life and Times of Taiwo “Ogogo” Hassan

As a child who didn’t grow up watching many movies, certain names in the film industry were inescapable. No matter how little exposure you had to films, your friends in the neighbourhood would share the names or pictures of actors who dominated Nigerian screens, either by the popularity of their characters or by the names they had become known for. Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, was one of them. Anytime I had the chance to watch a film at a neighbour’s house, I would always ask, “Can we watch an Ogogo film?” It didn’t matter what role he played, as long as he was in it.

Memory doesn’t serve me as well as it used to, so I can no longer remember the roles he played in many of the films I watched. But his charisma, and the image he carried with him, remain permanently sealed in the house of memories. There was Ogogo the boxer. Ogogo the handsome man. Ogogo the friend of Yinka Quadri. And, of course, Ogogo the actor.

The Nigerian film industry has been in mourning since the news broke that Taiwo Hassan had passed away. Once again, the industry has lost one of its most decorated legends — an actor whose presence helped make Nigerian films appealing to generations of viewers.

To explore the life, times and legacy of this Nollywood icon, I invited people who knew and admired him to share their memories of Taiwo Hassan.

‘Yemi Ajala

Taiwo Hassan did not merely act in the Yoruba film tradition. He carried its ghosts, stagecraft, humour and immense populist imagination across generations. For many of us, he arrived not just as a name or even a face, but as a force that showed the very ethos of Omoluabi, especially restraint of physical prowess in the face of multiple alternatives. When Ogogo entered a scene, something happened to the air. A gathering of the brows. A voice that could turn an ordinary Yoruba sentence into a warning from the ancestors. Villain, patriarch, wounded man, fearsome presence, he understood something beyond fame.

He understood presence.

And that is his place in the story of Yoruba cinema. Ogogo belonged to the generation that helped carry a great tradition from the travelling theatre to television, celluloid, VHS, VCD, YouTube and streaming. He stood in a river that began long before him, with the great Yoruba theatre pioneers, but he became one of its strongest currents.

He was also a product of the Odunfa Caucus, that influential creative fraternity that nurtured actors and helped turn Yoruba popular theatre into a modern screen industry. We like to celebrate individual genius. We often forget the rehearsal rooms, friendships and communities that made the genius possible.

But we knew Ogogo. He became part of our cultural furniture. His voice, expressions and archetypes travelled into music, comedy, memes and everyday language. This is why Burna Boy, and perhaps even Toni Braxton, should cut his family a cheque. It is a cultural invoice. That we must do right by all even when we can get away with doing wrong. This was Ogogo’s character’s main driving force, and even himself in real life.

It comes from a perfect understanding that death, after all, is the ultimate breakfast.

Rest well, legend.

‘Dami Ajayi

Yoruba actor Taiwo Hassan has passed away. Aged 66, he was a pioneer of the travelling theatre, a bona fide member of the Odufa Caucus, whose work contributed to the transition to home videos, which reached peak popularity in the 90s and 00s.

Renowned in his earlier career for poetic recitals, he entered our lives through TV as a fine boy actor, Ogogo, with a dapper dress sense and stoic manners. In every film, about five minutes was reserved for him to lose his temper. His best role, in my opinion, was as the adult protagonist/antihero in Tade Ogidan’s 90s masterpiece Owo Blow. Something of a Robin Hood character, Owolabi remains legible in the Nigerian collective imagination. Check out Olamide’s 2016 song, Owo Blow, and Burna Boy’s Last Last, which playfully extrapolate those words from one of Ogogo’s characters. God rest his soul and comfort his family and colleagues.

Murtala B. Fuad

This news still feels like an absolute dream. Before all these new-school Nollywood actors came on the scene, Ogogo was one of the biggest fan favourites in the early 2000s. And I was one of his biggest fans.

The first Ogogo film I watched was Egbin Ara in 2009. I loved the movie so much that I literally crammed most of his lines. My siblings and I would recreate scenes from the movie during our playtime. We would act like Ogogo and the other characters, repeating the lines and trying to copy his mannerisms. That was how much we loved Ogogo in my house.

As the years went by, Ogogo became one of those actors you could never ignore. He had a way of making his characters feel real. His acting, his voice, his presence and even the way he delivered his lines made him stand out. As Olamide said in one of his songs, “Action pọ̀ bi Ogogo.” And honestly, that line says a lot. Ogogo always brought serious action.

He also gave us the famous “Last Last Breakfast” slang, which became so popular that even Burna Boy used “Last Last” as the title of one of his biggest songs.

But beyond all these, Ogogo was a hero to me. His movies were part of my childhood. His lines became part of our playtime. His work created memories that I will always remember. Hearing the news was really painful.

Ogogo, thank you for the memories. Thank you for giving us characters and moments we will never forget. May Allah SWT forgive your shortcomings and grant you Al-Jannatul Firdaus. May Allah also give your family, friends, colleagues and everyone who loved you the strength to bear this loss.

Rest well, Ogogo.