Popular Actor and screen brand, Papa Ajasco is dead.
Born Femi Ogunrombi, Papa Ajasco was a lead cast in
Wale Adenuga Productions, WAP TV, comedy series, Papa Ajasco and company.
Papa Ajasco and Company, formerly The Ajasco Family, is a Nigerian family television sitcom created by Wale Adenuga in 1996. The show is a spin-off of a feature film of the same title produced by Wale Adenuga in 1984, which in turn is based on the comic Ikebe Super. The story revolves around the Ajasco family and their comedic interpretations to major societal issues. The main characters include womanising patriarch Papa Ajasco, his long-suffering wife Mama Ajasco, their mischievous son Bobo Ajasco, local playboy Boy Alinco, promiscuous gold-digger Miss Pepeiye, and illiterate ne’er-do-wells Pa James and Pa Jimoh. At its prime, Papa Ajasco was widely considered to be Nigeria’s most watched comedy series, viewed weekly in twelve African countries.
Late Femi Ogunrombi took over the character, Papa Ajasco when the former character pulled out of the show and he carried the light very well while it lasted.
Papa Ajasco’s death was confirmed in a post by a lecturer, writer, and theatre practitioner, Dr Shaibu Husseini
Although the details given by Husseini is quite sketchy, he confirmed that the seasoned Thespian breathed his last on Saturday, January 14, 2023.
Dr. Shaibu wrote, “I have just been reliably informed that the ethnomusicologist, former Music Instructor with the National Troupe Of Nigeria and one time stand in for the ‘Papa Ajasco’ character on the popular WAP Comic Series ‘Papa Ajasco’ Mr. Femi Ogunrombi is DEAD”!
He added: “I am told that the actor, singer, highlife and trained Nurse whom we fondly called ‘Uncle Ogunrombo’ (not to his hearing though) passed on this evening”.
Papa Ajasco, apart from being the face of the TV family comedy, was an ethnic-musicologist with tutelage from masters like Dr. Ademola Adegbite and Pa Christopher Oyesiku, he has made his mark in creative activities in drama and music, spanning over 25 years.
The late Papa Ajasco was a recipient of many local and international awards, most notably in 1995 when he was awarded a gold plaque and a Diploma Certificate in Creative Composition in North Korea for performing a song in that language.
Before his death, the late Papa Ajasco actor was also the Founder and Director of the famous Ayoro Voices, a performing choral group at the University of Ife.