Onyeka Onwenu (January 31, 1952 – July 30, 2024) was a Nigerian singer/songwriter, actress, human rights and social activist, journalist, politician, and former X Factor series judge. Dubbed the “Elegant Stallion” due to her significant impact on African culture and entertainment, Onwenu was a former chairperson of the Imo State Council for Arts and Culture. In 2013, she was appointed the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre for Women Development.
Early life
Onwenu hailed from Arondizuogu, a big town in Ideato North, Imo State, southeastern Nigeria, but 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, leaving his widow, Hope, to raise five children alone after her husband’s family denied her access to his property.
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.
Career
Broadcasting
As an NTA employee, Onwenu made an impact as a newsreader and reporter. 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. A former member of the NTA board, she has also worked as a TV presenter, hosting the shows Contact (1988) and Who’s On? (1993) both on NTA Network.
Music
Originally a secular artist, Onwenu 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 coexistence, 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’s “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 who had previously contributed to Onwenu’s BBC documentary and subsequently sang back-up vocals on the album. In 1986, she released One Love which contained an updated version of the song “(In the) Morning Light from the previous album. Another song, “You and I”, was re-recorded for the 2001 film Conspiracy starring Nkem Owoh and Onwenu herself.
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” – centred 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.
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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.
On July 30, 2024, Onwenu passed out after performing at a friend’s birthday party in Lagos. She was immediately taken to Reddington Hospital where she was confirmed dead.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onyeka_Onwenu
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OTHER NOTABLE MUSICIANS’ DEATHS
Warning Signs of Suicide – National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or if you want to discuss, call the old numbers at 800-273-TALK or 800-273-8255 for English and 888-628-9454 for Spanish. Learn the signs of someone who may be contemplating suicide.
If you want to know more about any of the musicians we lost, please check them out at http://www.wikipedia.com
July 2024
31: DJ Randall, 54, British DJ and record producer; Arthur Miles, 74, American R&B and jazz musician.
30: Nona Asiah, 95–96, Malaysian singer; Hassan Abidur Reja Jewel, 56, Bangladeshi singer, producer, and television host, cancer; Onyeka Onwenu, 72, Nigerian singer, actress (Women’s Cot, Rising Moon, Half of a Yellow Sun), and human rights activist.
28: Chino XL, 50, American rapper (“Kreep”) and actor (Alex & Emma); Martin Phillipps, 61, New Zealand singer-songwriter (“Pink Frost”, “Kaleidoscope World”) and guitarist (The Chills); Mick Underwood, 78, English drummer (Quatermass, Strapps, Gillan).
27: Pat Collier, 72, English musician (The Vibrators) and record producer (“Walking on Sunshine”); DJ Polo, American DJ (Juice Crew) and record producer; Oldrich Janota, 74, Czech singer-songwriter; Mísia, 69, Portuguese fado singer, cancer; Wolfgang Rihm, 72, German composer (Jakob Lenz, Die Hamletmaschine, Dionysos).
26: Kelly Nelon Clark, 64, American gospel singer (The Nelons), plane crash; Tomáš Vendl, 52, Czech bassist (Master’s Hammer).
25: Pascal Danel, 80, French pop singer-songwriter (“Kilimandjaro”); Benjamin Luxon, 87, British baritone; Tadashi Yabe, 59, Japanese DJ and music producer (United Future Organization).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2024
Photo: Onyeka Onwenu | From her Facebook page
Onyeka Onwenu, Nigerian Singer/Songwriter, Actress, and Human Rights Activist, Dies // Other Notable Musicians’ Deaths
