Prince Dan Olaitan Dada, Convener, Sanity Multi-Efforts Forum (SMEF) has expressed shock over the demise of Professor Adekola Akangbe Gabriel Oyewo, popularly known as Kola Oyewo, on 12 June 2026 at the age of 80.
Prince Dan in a statement explained that the Forum received the news of his passing with grief and rude shock.
The Sanity Multi-Efforts Forum, SMEF, receives with deep grief the news of the passing of Professor Adekola Akangbe Gabriel Oyewo, popularly known as Kola Oyewo, on 12 June 2026 at the age of 80.
SMEF, under the leadership of Prince Dan Olaitan Dada, Convener, stands with the Nigerian people, the Yoruba nation, the theatre community, and the academic world to mourn the loss of a man who spent 6 decades teaching Nigeria through drama, scholarship, and character.
WHO WAS KOLA OYEWO TO NIGERIA?
Prof. Kola Oyewo was not just a Nollywood legend. He was a national institution.
Born 27 March 1946 in Oba-Ile, Osun State, he began acting in 1964 with Oyin Adejobi Theatre Group and rose to become one of the most respected figures in Yoruba theatre and Nigerian cinema.
His portrayal of Odewale in Ola Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not to Blame and Oba Lapite in Tunde Kelani’s Saworoide became national reference points for justice, leadership, and consequence. His roles in Sango, Koseegbe, Super Story shaped the moral imagination of generations.
Beyond stage and screen, he earned a PhD in Drama, University of Ibadan and served as lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University for 15 years, Head of Dept at Redeemer’s University, and Performing Arts lecturer at Elizade University. He trained and mentored generations of actors, playwrights, and scholars.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at his 80th birthday described him as a “national treasure and worthy ambassador of Yoruba theatre and Nigerian storytelling.” The Ooni of Ife called him “pride of Yorubaland, a cultural ambassador who brought honour to the Yoruba race.*
WHY SMEF MUST FEEL THIS LOSS
SMEF exists to promote Sanity, Morality, Culture, Education, and Consistency in Nigerian society. Prof. Kola Oyewo’s life embodied all 5 pillars:
1. Sanity & Morality: He lived with discipline. He rejected polygamy despite theatre business norms because of his Catholic faith. That is Sanity Must Be It – principle over convenience.
2. Cultural Preservation: He dedicated his life to promoting Yoruba heritage and Nigerian stories. He bridged traditional travelling theatre, modern cinema, and academia to preserve identity.
3. Education & Mentorship: He turned classrooms into practical theatres. He taught that art is a tool for education, national identity, and social cohesion. SMEF shares this conviction.
4. Consistency: 60 years on stage, screen, and classroom. He remained relevant with quiet authority and respect for craft. This is the Consistency Covenant SMEF preaches to Nigerians.
5. Legacy of Values: His family said he left behind legacy of hard work, commitment to family, service to humanity. SMEF is also building legacy beyond individuals and elections.
SMEF POSITION
Sir, when a man who used drama to teach sanity, discipline, and culture bows out, SMEF cannot be silent. Nigeria is losing custodians of character faster than we are producing them.
SMEF therefore calls on:
1. Government: To deliberately preserve and fund theatre, arts education, and mentorship institutions that produced men like Kola Oyewo.
2. Young Nigerians: To study his life. He combined scholarship with performance, humility with excellence. Men of his stature are becoming rare.
3. SMEF Key Movement: To rededicate ourselves to the work of sanity. One man’s consistency can shape a nation’s conscience.
We commiserate with: his immediate family, Obafemi Awolowo University, Redeemer’s University, Elizade University, the Oyin Adejobi Theatre family, Nollywood, and all Nigerians whose lives he touched.
May his soul rest in peace. May his works continue to teach us.
