Papa Ajasco, real name Femi Ogunrombi, was a Nigerian comic actor popular for his portrayal of the eponymous ‘Papa Ajasco’ in Wale Adenuga’s television series.
Abiodun Ayoyinka initially played the role of Ajasco, a portly wealthy man with funny mannerisms – but Ogunrombi took over the role after he pulled out of the show.
Biography
Femi Ogunrombi was a popular Nigerian comic actor who played the role of Papa Ajasco in Wale Adenuga’s popular television series.
Aside being an actor, Ogunrombi was an accomplished singer, highlifist and trained nurse who was fondly called ‘Uncle Ogurombo’.
His biography on the photo-sharing app Instagram read: “Femi Ogunrombi is a composer, songwriter, an actor, and a Music Teacher. An award-winning film producer and a music producer. A professional Nurse,”
He was born in Ille-Ife although he hails from Abeokuta in Ogun State. Ogunrombi was raised in Ile-Ife and moved to Lagos in the early 70s. He is married with three beautiful daughters.
Ogunrombi trained in Medical nursing and practised at the General Hospital in Ikeja, Lagos. He later left to pursue his real passion of arts.
Femi Ogunrombi was for about a decade the Music Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria. He was also the Director of Studies at the Pencil Film and Television Institute, Lagos. He has an over three-decade experience as a musicologist.
Death
Veteran Nollywood actor, Femi Ogunrombi died late on Saturday, January 14th 2023.
His death was confirmed by a theatre practitioner, Husseini Shaibu, via his Twitter handle on Sunday.
He wrote, “I have just been reliably informed that the ethnomusicologist, former Music Instructor with #NATIONALTROUPE and one time stand in for the ‘Papa Ajasco’ character on the popular #waleadenugaprod comic series ‘Papa Ajasco’ Mr. Femi Ogunrombi is dead.
“I am told that the actor, singer, highlifist and trained nurse whom we fondly called ‘Uncle Ogurombo’ (not to his hearing though) passed on this evening (Saturday)”
Papa Ajasco
Papa Ajasco and Company (formerly The Ajasco Family) is a Nigerian family television sitcom created by Wale Adenuga in 1996.
The show is a spin-off of a feature film of the same title produced by Wale Adenuga in 1984, which in turn is based on the comic Ikebe Super.
The story revolves around the Ajasco family and their comedic interpretations to major societal issues.
The main characters include womanising patriarch Papa Ajasco, his long-suffering wife Mama Ajasco, their mischievous son Bobo Ajasco, local playboy Boy Alinco, promiscuous gold-digger Miss Pepeiye, and illiterate ne’er-do-wells Pa James and Pa Jimoh.
At its prime, Papa Ajasco was widely considered to be Nigeria’s most watched comedy series, viewed weekly in twelve African countries.
Richard Abiodun Ayoyinka played Papa Ajasco for years but left the show at a point, during which Femi Ogunrombi took over.
Femi left the role in December 2008.
Age
Femi Ogunrombi’s age is not readily available online but he was over 60 years old. He pegged his age at ‘over 50’ during an interview in 2009, making him ‘over 60’ now.