Oluwatosin Enesi
Veteran Nollywood actor Razaq Olayiwola, popularly known as Ojopagogo, has opened up about the painful experience of losing his first wife, Funmilayo, while he was away on a movie set.
Speaking in a recent interview, the actor revealed that the tragic incident occurred in 2000 while he was in Abeokuta filming Osuwon, a production directed by fellow actor Ebun Oloyede, also known as Olaiya Igwe.
Olayiwola said Funmilayo had shown no signs of illness before his departure and even supported his decision to take the role. She had helped him prepare for the journey the night before, going as far as borrowing an umbrella so he could leave despite heavy rainfall.
“It’s not something I like to remember,” Ojopagogo said. “I lost someone who was like my backbone, the mother of my children.”
He recounted how unsettling he felt on set and how he was eventually told to return home without being given any details. A relative was sent to meet him in Abeokuta.
“As I was travelling, I remembered that my wife and I had planned she would go to Oyo town to buy yam flour. Suddenly, I felt a strange breeze in the bus,” he said.
Upon arriving in Oyo, he was met by his father and a crowd of mourners, confirming the devastating news. “I was in shock. I kept thinking there was a mistake, that nothing was wrong with her. It didn’t feel real until much later,” he added.
The emotional revelation underscores the personal sacrifices and heartbreaks often endured by actors behind the scenes of their craft.
Our Reporter
