25th July, 2017
Another Yoruba actor, Olurotimi Ayinde, a.k.a Abu Olododo, has died in Abeookuta, Ogun State, on Sunday night at the age of 51.
His death came a few hours after the death of seasoned actor, poet and journalist, Adebayo Faleti, was announced.
A friend and colleague of Ayinde, Waheed Ijaduade, brought his departure to the attention of the public in a statement posted on Facebook on Monday.
Later, Ijaduade, in a telephone interview with the PUNCH, described Ayinde’s death as sudden. Claiming that he had a brief phone conversation with the deceased on Sunday night, he said, “We chatted for a while on that night. He even asked me about the outcome of a summit that I attended in Lagos. We talked about other things and we agreed to meet on Monday or Tuesday before I went to bed. I went to his residence to see him the following day (Monday) as agreed only to learn that he was dead.”
Possibly Ayinde’s relatives or co-tenants, Ijaduade implied in his account, had decided to open the door of his room when he failed to show up in the morning and found him in a sitting position and lifeless.
It was gathered that Ayinde did not complain of ill-health before he died. “He never told me that he was sick. He appeared to be quite healthy when I spoke with him on the phone. His death remains a mystery to me,” Ijaduade said.
The actor has since been buried according to Muslim rites.
He was aged 51 and married with four children.