By Adelagun EniObanke
Renowned Nigerian author and professor of English, Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso, popularly known as Kole Omotoso, has died in Cape Town, South Africa.
He was aged 80.
The prolific writer lived in Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa for many years.
A statement by the family says:
“Our beloved father and husband moved on from this plane on Wednesday 19th (July, 2023) late afternoon. We are sharing this with his close and much-loved community and will share more as we gather ourselves.”
It was gathered that Prof. Omotoso had been sick for a while.
Nigeria’s president, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has mourned the passing of the literary giant with a statement released on his behalf.
Scores of tributes are also being shared on social media by the Nigerian literary community in honour of this eminent intellectual.
In South Africa, Prof. Omotoso was well known for his works of fiction and as the “Yebo Gogo man” in adverts for the telecommunications company, Vodacom.
The renowned author was born on April 21, 1943, in Akurẹ, Ondo State, South West, Nigeria.
He attended the King’s College, Lagos, and the University of Ibadan and later undertook a doctoral thesis on the modern Arabic writer Ahmad Ba Kathir at the University of Edinburgh.
He returned to his alma mater, the University of Ibadan, to teach Arabic studies between 1972 and 1976 from where he moved to the University of Ifẹ to work in drama from 1976 to 1988.
Kole Ọmọtọsọ started writing for various magazines (including West Africa) in the 1970s.
He published nine novels, notably, “Fela Choice” and “Just Before Dawn” which got him into trouble with the government of Nigeria, ultimately forcing him to go on exile.
He also wrote five books of nonfiction, including “Woza Africa”.
From 1994, he became one of the most visible people reflecting the changing face of a “new South Africa” when he became the face of a long-running marketing campaign of Vodacom’s mobile phone division – christened Yebo Gogo!
Other books he authored include The Edifice and The Combat.
He became a visiting professor in English at the University of Stirling and the National University of Lesotho and had a spell at the Talawa Theatre Company, London.
Omotoso became a professor of English at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa after later a professor in the Drama Department at Stellenbosch University.
He was a renowned Professor of African Literature and celebrated as a master of multiple genres. His ‘Old Genesis’ beard gave him fame as one of the most prominent black faces on South African television.
