By Yinka Akanbi
Popular 1980s Nigerian actor, Chief Sunday Akanbi Akinola, professionally known as Baba Feyikogbon, is dead.
The veteran actor died on Monday at the age of 80.
Sulaimon Aremu, a Yoruba singer and poet popularly known as Ajobiewe, announced the demise of the actor in an Instagram post.
The elder statesman and thespian became popular in the 1980s and 1990s with his popular weekly sitcom, the Feyikogbon series which was considered one of the country’s longest-running Yoruba language television series.
The series aired on NTA Channel 7 Lagos for over 15 years.
Although the cause of his death was not disclosed, Akinola suffered kidney failure for years and sought help from the public in 2019.
He solicited for the sum of ₦30m to travel abroad to treat kidney failure and hypertension in his public plea. In 2014, during an interview, he explained that his famous play only gave him fame and did not bring wealth.
‘Feyikogbon’ was a Nigerian television program that first aired on NTA Channel 7, Lagos. The show aired on Sundays on a few NTA channels in Southwestern Nigeria in the 1980s.
A revamped Feyikogbon produced by Yinka Ogundaisi began airing on one of DStv’s Africa Magic channels in 2014.
It was a Yoruba series that used a Storytelling format similar to another popular Nigerian TV show, Tales by Moonlight, and ends with ethical advice to the audience.
