Mama Ajasco: Unsolved Puzzle of a Thespian's Demise

This Article Was First Published in Daily Independent Newspaper edition of Wednesday, February 18, 2009
By the same author under the same headline

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On Wednesday, January 28, 2009, the Nigerian entertainment community woke up to an unsettling 'rumour', possibly emanating from the pits of hell, or one dropping from the pen-tips of some press boys who would never mind their own businesses, only to poke nose into the affairs and lives of others and writing "all sorts of bad things against known people".

Many within and outside the entertainment circle obviously anticipated the 'evil rumour' to fizzle out, as soon as possible, but alas, the rumour remained and dumbfounded every interested individual.

It however took the SMS efforts of Prince Jide Kosoko, the National President of the Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP), to convince doubting Thomases, that indeed, Iyabo Momoh, a 53-year-old actress, who until recently had consistently and impressively played the role of Mama Ajasco in the popular Papa Ajasco and Company, a television comedy series, had passed on.

The momentous but unusually profound grief, which beclouded the entire industry and the initial disbelief, was understandable. Earlier on, in the New Year, three different cases of entertainers' death had been reported in the country. On Wednesday, January 21, 2009, a foremost actor in the now rested Village Headmaster, Chief Adeleke Ajao, popularly known as Kokonsari, died in very mysterious circumstances in his hometown, Iwo, Osun State. Also, Iyabo Alake, a female fuji musician with the stage name, Iyabo Osanle, died in Ibadan, Oyo State, of an ailment suspected to be tuberculosis. Further still, barely a month to his 84th birthday, Pa Benjamin Aderonmu, a music veteran popularly called Kokoro died in Lagos. These consecutive calamities undoubtedly made music lovers apprehensive when the news filtered in that Mama Ajasco had joined the three others on a journey across the sea. The literal reaction to the eventual reality could be captured thus: "Not again, within just a month!"

Momoh, who was fondly called Abeni Aworuru by her fans reportedly, gave up the ghost at a private hospital in Lagos the previous day, Tuesday, before the news started flying around the following morning. Although, she had since been buried at her Ikorodu residence in accordance with Islamic rites, what caused the death of the highly talented actress has come to constitute an unresolved puzzle to many observers, as different versions of stories have been emanating from different quarters, as regards what actually caused her death. From insinuations of elephantiasis, cancer to shock, the jigsaw puzzle could not yet carve out a unitary picture.

In an unconfirmed report, it was alleged that Mama Ajasco died from complications arising from a swollen leg disease suspected to be elephantiasis, which in medical interpretation, entails a gross enlargement of the arms, legs, or genitals to a very big, bogus size. According to the information, the late Momoh had been complaining of swollen legs shortly before her death. On the account of this, she was intermittently hospitalized between 2008 and early this year, until she breathed her last.

It was said that this health complication kept her away from the limelight for over a year before she finally died. Close associates and family members of the deceased, it was gathered, had made frantic efforts to bring her back to her acting career only for the recurring ailment to relapse recently and in the process of finding a lasting medical solution to it, Aworuru bid the world a painful farewell.

Yet another version of the story claimed that the actress actually ultimately succumbed to the cold hands of death after a protracted battle with unnamed type of cancer. This version was supported by one of her children, Fatimo, who disclosed that her late mother was recommended for surgery after some inexplicable lump was noticed in her tummy.

Fatimo said: "Because some inexplicable mole was noticed in her tummy, she was recommended for surgery. Within a period of five months, she was taken to the Military Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, and was later transferred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Lagos, from where she was also transferred to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State. The problem became a little complicated and was regarded as having spiritual undertone."

Peter Haruna, her son, corroborated what Fatimo said by admitting that their mother had been ill since August last year but the nature of her ailment was not specifically stated by the doctors.

"When the illness started in August 2008, I was in church when my younger brother called to inform me that he had taken her to the hospital. She was there for about five days and the doctors ran series of tests on her but could not tell us in clear terms what was wrong with her. They only said we had to treat her. The doctors said it was an attack. That was all they said. We spent about N500, 000 and they eventually gave us a letter to Idi-Araba. She was there for a while and she was later transferred to UCH in Ibadan. We still had to take her away from UCH to another private hospital in Lagos where she gave up the ghost," Peter narrated.

The failure of the physicians to categorically indicate the kind of disease which Momoh suffered, evidently gave rise to the perspective of likelihood of the ailment having "spiritual undertone."

The third account of Mama Ajasco's demise, however was more appalling than the other two. According to some sources close to the deceased, Momoh's death was wrought by the shock of betrayal from one of her former colleagues in the Papa Ajasco and Company series.

It was gathered that the recall of Abiodun Ayoyinka, the actor who played the role of Mama Ajasco alongside Momoh, by the creator and producer of the popular comedy series, Wale Adenuga (MFR), to continue with the title character and his (Ayoyinka's) subsequent acceptance, was said to be too shocking for Momoh's health. The shock, arising from this news of betrayal, according to a source, had a tremendous effect on Momoh and that aggravated her illness.

It would be recalled that the trio of Abiodun Ayoyinka, Iyabo Momoh and Bayo Bankole Boy Alinco were sacked by Wale Adenuga (MFR) sometimes in 2008 over what Adenuga termed "a breach of contract." The three actors had, without the prior knowledge and approval of Adenuga, made use of their trademark characters in a stage performance in Benin City, Edo State. The action fetched them the wrath of their boss, who was not ready for any explanation whatsoever from the trio. Adenuga's action had precedence. The three actors had been earlier forgiven for the same offence and warned against a repeat.

Actors who replaced them had not been as endearing to the audience of the self-styled No.1 comedy on Nigerian TV as the sacked actors. This possibly triggered a consideration of the readmission of Ayoyinka and others. However, in an attempt to pay Adenuga in his own coin, the trio decided not to honour any recall in whatsoever form, at least, for some time. They were said to have argued that even if such reconciliatory gesture from Adenuga was to be considered at all, it had to be an all-inclusive arrangement. None of them would return, it was agreed, except all of them were recalled.

However, recently, Ayoyinka reportedly threw the existing bond to the winds and considered a return to Papa Ajasco and Company. This, according to a source, came as a total shock to Momoh, who already was not thoroughly healthy.

Meanwhile, top of Iyabo's unfulfilled dreams has been identified to be her inability to complete her personal house, which she was, until her death, putting up in Ikorodu area of Lagos. She was buried on the site housing the building.

According to Mrs. Funmi Ojikutu, a neighbour of the deceased who claimed to have helped Mama Ajasco purchase the land, the late Momoh did not live up to 48 hours in the uncompleted building until she passed to the great beyond.

According to Ojikutu, "I encouraged her to buy a land here. In fact, I helped her in the purchase of the land and also secured the papers for her. When she was contemplating on how to go about the foundation, I advised her on what to do and even donated some materials towards it. But see what death has done. I don't think Mama Ibrahim lived up to two nights in this house. Oh, what a cruel death!" she said, pathetically.