THE Olowu of Owu, Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu Amororo II (CON) has passed on at the age of 80 at his palace in Abeokuta, the capital city of Ogun state.
Reputed as one of the creative minds behind the legendary television drama, Village Headmasters, Oba Dosunmu, was said to have passed on after a brief illness.
The palace is however yet to officially announce the death, of the first class royal father, which comes same day as the passing of yet another first class Yoruba monarch, the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ajagungbade.
Oba Dosunmu ascended the throne of his fathers in 2005, succeeding Oba Olawale Adisa Odeleye, Lagbedu 1, who died June 2003 at 65.
Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu was born to Prince Benjamin Okelana Dosunmu (a member of the ruling family under the lineage of the late Adesunmbo Dosunmu, Amororo I, who reigned between 1918 and 1924).
Benjamin Okelana Dosunmu was the third son of the late Oba Adesunmbo Dosunmu, Amororo l. He attended the Owu Baptist Day School, Abeokuta for his Primary Education in 1941 and eventually joined the Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta, where he obtained the West African Senior School Certificate in 1950.
After he graduated from King’s College, Lagos in 1956, he was admitted into Hendon College of Technology in London to study Drama and Television Production in 1963. He proceeded to Landmark Baptist College Tennessee, USA in 1987 where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Theology.
Dosunmu joined the Nigerian Civil Service as a Clerk Grade II in 1956 at the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Ebute Metta, Lagos. After serving in that capacity for two years, he joined a broadcasting organisation where he rose to the position of Head of Drama Department.
Dosunmu later joined the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, NBC, in 1965 after he returned from studies in England. He rose to the position of Head of Drama Department. He was for many years, the producer of the popular Village Headmaster which ran on prime time for over 20 years.
He left the NBC in 1975 to establish a private film production outfit, Starline Films Limited under a production he wrote and directed the popular Nigerian movie, titled Dinner with the Devil. He was also part of Eye of Life, among other films.
He later joined politics and was elected Chairman of Abeokuta Local Government in 1976. On July 2005 he was appointed the Olowu of Owu Kingdom.
He was a patron of many art organisations, notably Nationla Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners, NANTAP, where he was confered with the title: Distinguished Fellow.
He received numerous awards and honour in recognition of his immense contributions to the development of the Owu kingdom and the nation. These included:
- Commander of the Order of Niger, CON awarded by late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
- Omolafe of Owu, a chieftaincy title awarded in 1968 by Oba Salami Gbadela Ajibola, Gbadela Ayoloye II.
- Omoluberin of Owu, a chieftaincy title awarded by Oba Adebowale Oyegbade, Akinjobi I in 1975
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