Funke Egbemode on Taiwo Hassan Ogogo 

Years before GSM, Internet and social media, I went looking for him. I needed a good interview as a reporter for the entertainment pages of Sunday Punch.

When I finally met him at an event and asked him for an interview, he said he would come to my office to grant the interview. I didn’t believe him.

I brought out my reporters’ notebook and pleaded with him to speak with me even if for 30 minutes. He repeated his promise : e ma worry, ma gbe are mi wa si office yin.’ Meaning: don’t worry, I will drive to your office and grant the interview.

He did. I was pleasantly surprised when I was called from the gate on the newsroom intercom that I had guests. And it was Ogogo and his friend, Yinka Quadri. They came in a Peugeot 505.

‘I told you I will come.’ He smiled as we shook hands.

I interviewed both of them.

His humility, honest answers that day made a mark. His performance in Ibinu Elewon remains most unforgettable for me.

Now he’s gone the way of all mortals, never to be seen on earth, except in dreams, and of course on our screens.

Sunre o, Taiwo Hassan.
Journey well, Alhaji.