Iconic singer Onyeka Onwenu slumps, dies after performance in Lagos

Onyeka Onwenu, the iconic Nigerian singer and actress, has passed away at the age of 72.

The ace songwriter was said to have died on Tuesday night at the Reddington Hospital in Lagos.

According to TheNiche, Onwenu had attended the 80th birthday party of Stella Okoli, the founder of Emzor pharmaceutical manufacturing company, in Lagos.

Often referred to as the ‘Elegant Stallion’, the singer was said to have slumped at the birthday party after she had performed.

“It is very sad. Onyeka Onwenu just performed at the birthday of Mrs. Stella Okoli today (Tuesday, July 30, 2024), and after performing, she slumped,” the news outlet quoted a source to have said.

Onwenu was born in Obosi, Anambra state, on January 31, 1952. She hailed from Arondizuogu, a small town in Ideato North, Imo state, southeastern but was raised in Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers state.

In the 70s, the singer attended Wellesley College, Massachusetts where she obtained a BA in International Relations and Communication. She also owned an MA in Media Studies from The New School for Social Research, New York.

She worked for the United Nations as a tour guide before returning to Nigeria in 1980 to complete her mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in Lagos.

She worked as a reporter at NTA. In 1984, she wrote and presented the internationally acclaimed BBC/NTA documentary ‘Nigeria: A Squandering of Riches’. Her piece was turned into a film about corruption in Nigeria, as well as the intractable Niger Delta agitation for resource control and campaign against environmental degradation in the oil-rich region of Nigeria.

Onwenu also worked as a TV presenter, hosting the shows ‘Contact’ (1988) and ‘Who’s On?’ (1993) both on the NTA Network.

She then ventured into the music industry. She began her recording career in 1981 while still with the NTA and released an album titled ‘For the Love of You’. Her sophomore album ‘Endless Life’ was produced by the late Sonny Okosun.

In 1986, she delivered her award-winning hit song ‘One Love’. Another of her hit songs ‘You and I’ was re-recorded for the 2001 film ‘Conspiracy’ starring actor Nkem Owoh and herself. She also released a plethora of projects like ‘Iyogogo’, ‘Falling in Love’, ‘Odenigbo’, ‘Ekwe’, ‘Alleluya’ and ‘Dancing in the Sun’.

Her first role in a movie was in Zik Zulu Okafor’s ‘Nightmare’. She played the character of a childless woman who adopted an abandoned baby. She also featured in numerous Nollywood movies, and in 2006, she won the Africa Movie Academy Award for ‘Best Actress in a Supporting Role’ for her performance in the film ‘Widow’s Cot’.

Onyeka was also nominated that same year for the Africa Movie Academy Award for ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role” in the movie ‘Rising Moon’.

She is survived by her two children — Tijani Charles and Abraham — and was always private about the identity of her ex-husband.

The music star earlier revealed how she got married to a Yoruba Muslim in 1984 and why she had to split from him.

Onwenu, whose 70th birthday was celebrated by former President Muhamadu Buhari in 2022, also stated that staying in her marriage would have claimed her life.

Listen to ‘One Love’ below: