Onyeka Onwenu has kissed the dust. She departed the world at the age of 72. In Nigeria, the life expectancy of a citizen is 54. It simply means that the celebrated songwriter defied the calculations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and spent an additional 18 years to fulfill her dreams.
However, Onwenu is not the kind of soul you would want to lose. Her demise is a great loss to the Nigerian entertainment industry, the country, and every individual she has helped or whose soul she has comforted through her music. As simple as her lifestyle was, she still wanted to be buried in a simple way. For Onwenu, simplicity is the key, and it means a lot.
Onwenu, who started music as a secular artist, later transitioned into gospel and recorded many soul-lifting songs. She was a woman of many parts. She was a Nigerian singer, songwriter, actress, journalist, activist, and politician. She excelled in every path she chose. She was an award-winning Nigerian singer and actress, a celebrated journalist, and a nationally acknowledged activist.
The greatest joy lies in the appreciable fact that she did not die in vain. Looking at her exploits and achievements in life, one would conclude that she did not leave any crumb in her plate of destiny. She ate it all. She was a Nigerian singer, songwriter, actress, journalist, activist, and politician.
When the news of her sad demise went viral, I thought she had died after a prolonged disease. The epitome of excellence died after performing in an event. She died for her passion, music. She abandoned her sterling career in journalism to pursue music, and she did not fail. When you lose your life for what you believe in, you do not die; you only transit to another world.
Sadly, Onwenu died as a Christian. She believes in eternity, not incarnation. This must have propelled her decision to dump secular music for gospel. Gladly, she won souls for her creator. For Onyeka Onwenu, winning a soul is our greatest achievement on earth.
EARLY LIFE
Onwenu, born 31st of January, 1952 in Ideato North, Imo State, Nigeria. She was raised in Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State, Nigeria. She was the youngest daughter of Nigerian educationist and politician D. K. Onwenu, who died when she was four years old in an autocrash a week before his appointment as Minister for Education (Wikipedia).
EDUCATION
Onwenu possessed a BA in International Relations and Communication from Wellesley College, Massachusetts, and 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, Nigeria (Wikipedia).
POLITICS
Onwenu was a member of the People’s Democratic Party. She contested twice to become the Local Council Chairman of her local government, Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, and lost at both attempts, but was appointed Chairperson of the Imo State Council for Arts and Culture by former governor Ikedi Ohakim. On 16 September 2013, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan appointed her the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre for Women Development (Wikipedia).
ACTIVISM
In 2000, Onwenu protested against her former employer NTA over their refusal to pay royalties on her songs (NTA 2 Channel 5 had used “Iyogogo”, a track from the Onyeka! album, in station idents without asking her permission). After then-director general Ben Murray-Bruce blacklisted her from transmission, she embarked on a hunger strike outside the station’s premises.
Onwenu’s activism attracted widespread support from various artists, including Charly Boy, who lambasted Nigeria’s reluctance to pay royalties when songs are broadcast on television and radio. NTA resolved to settle the issue amicably but denied barring Onwenu from appearing on their channels. The protest was called off after six days when Onwenu and NTA came to an arrangement regarding royalties.
MARITAL LIFE
Onwenu notably kept her personal life private and often refused to disclose private information regarding her ex-husband, a Yoruba Muslim. She was the mother of two children – Tijani Charles and Abraham.
CAREER
Onwenu started her career with Nigeria Television Authority (NTA). She began as a reporter and newsreader. In 1984, she wrote and presented the internationally acclaimed BBC/NTA documentary Nigeria: A Squandering of Riches which became the definitive 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. She also worked as a TV presenter and hosted the shows Contact (1988) and Who’s On? (1993) both on NTA Network.
Onwenu as an actor first appeared in Zik Zulu Okafor’s Nightmare. She acted as Joke, a childless woman who adopts an abandoned baby. She has since 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 movie “Widow’s Cot”. She was also nominated that same year for the Africa Movie Academy Award for “Best Actress in a Leading Role” in the movie “Rising Moon”. In 2014 she was Heart (2018).
Onwenu as a secular artist made the transition to gospel music in the 90s, and most of her songs are self-penned. She wrote and sang about issues such as health (HIV/AIDS), peace and mutual co-existence, respect for women’s rights, and the plight of children. She began her recording career in 1981 while still with the NTA, releasing the album For the Love of You, a pop album which featured an orchestral cover of Johnny Nash “Hold Me Tight”, produced by Berkley Jones. Her second album was Endless Life, produced by Sonny Okosun, and included another cover – the Everley Brothers’ “Walk Right Back”. Both records were released under the EMI label.
Onwenu’s first album with Polygram, In The Morning Light, was released in 1984. Recorded in London, it featured the track “Masterplan” written by close friend Tyna Onwudiwe. In 1986, she released One Love which contained an updated version of the song “(In the) Morning Light from the previous album.
For the 1988 album Dancing In The Sun, Onwenu adopted a more Afrocentric sound and collaborated with veteran jùjú artist Sunny Ade on the track “Madawolohun (Let Them Say)”. This was the first of three songs the pair worked on together; the other two – “Choices” and “Wait For Me” – centered on family planning, and were endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria who used “Choices” in their PSA. Dancing In The Sun, Onwenu’s final release on Polygram, was dedicated to Winnie Mandela, the subject of a song of the same name which Onwenu performed live when Nelson Mandela and his wife visited Nigeria in 1990 following his release from prison.
Onwenu diverted to Benson and Hedges Music in 1992 and released the self-titled Onyeka!, her only album with the label, after which she made the transition to Christian/gospel music. Her latest collection, “Inspiration for Change,” focused on the need for an attitudinal change in Nigeria.
She was in partnership with Paris-based La Cave Musik, headed by a Nigerian cultural entrepreneur, Onyeka Nwelue and a UK-based Jungle Entertainment Ventures, headed by musicologist David Evans-Uhegbu. La Cave Musik is set to release her collection titled “Rebirth of a Legend”. In recognition of her contribution to music and arts in Nigeria, she has been celebrated by professionals like Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Laolu Akins, Charles O’Tudor, and former PMAN president Tony Okoroji among others in the arts industry in Nigeria.
In 2013, Onwenu served as one of the three judges on X Factor Nigeria (Wikipedia sources).