The Life and Death of Veteran Actress Bukky Ajayi who passed on at 82

By Shola Akinyele-The multi lamented artist, Bukky Ajayi has finally gave up the ghost this Wednesday morning. The veteran actress touched many hearts this year at the AMVCA after she got a standing ovation for her Industry Merit Award.

A peep into her life and caree depicts that Bukky Ajayi was born a Christian but converted to Islam in the early eighties and chose the name Zainab. Her love for the theatre started as a young girl when her father used to take her to the cinemas.

She used to tell her dad that one day she’s going to be like one of those actresses, but unfortunately he never lived to see her become an actress. When she was a very young girl, her interest for acting was so much that she used to do a cardboard sort of cinema for children, and used to charge them half a penny to come and watch.

Later, the opportunity came for her to study in England. She was abroad for six years, as a Federal government scholar. She left England and came back to Nigeria after her education in 1965 and started out working in Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) as a presentation assistant in 1966.

Afterwards, she became a presenter and then a news rea der. Bukky Ajayi and Yvonne Jegede She presented a couple of children’s programmes and ‘Nigerian’s Sketches,’ a programme which was all about Nigerian culture, and Diran Ajijedidun of blessed memory was her producer.

She was later transferred to Port Harcourt and later back to Lagos, and it was at that time she started her acting career. She started with the ‘Village Headmaster’ in the 70s, and she later got a role in Amaka Igwe’s ‘Checkmate.’Bukky Ajayi 1

She has featured in so many home videos that she has lost count. Shooting of international film ‘Critical Assignment’ in South Africa, is one of the events of her life that she will never forget. It gave her an opportunity to see how it is done elsewhere, other than Nigeria, where a movie is shot in five days.

Bukky Ajayi’s popular movies include Mother of George, Indecent Girl, Diamond Ring, Witches, and Thunderbolt among others. She’s Jazzman Olofin’s grandmother-In-law.Jazzman Olofin

One of her sons is Abounce (Olakunle Fawole), a veteran rapper. Abounce is one the founding fathers of the Nigerian Hip Hop culture. He is also a music producer and actor (a trait he got from his legendary mother, the sensational screen goddess Bukky Ajayi). Abounce has featured in films like Diamond Ring, Apostle Kasali, Cash Money among others.