Nigeria’s music legend, Onyeka Onwenu, popularly dubbed as the ‘Elegant Stallion’ has died.
She was 72.
Onwenu reportedly collapsed after performing at the 80th birthday party of Stella Okolie, Emzor Pharmaceuticals CEO, on Tuesday.
She was said to have been rushed to Reddington Hospital, where she reportedly passed away.
A source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, “It is very sad. Onyeka Onwenu just performed at the birthday of Mrs. Stella Okoli of Emzor Pharmaceuticals tonight. After performing, she slumped. She was taken to Reddington Hospital but couldn’t make it.”
Onwenu was born in 1952 in Obosi, Anambra.
She began her music career in the 1980s and released her debut album, ‘For the Love of You’, in 1981.
She was famous for her hit songs like ‘One Love’, ‘Ekwe’, ‘You and I’ and ‘Bia Nulu’.
Onwenu acted in several Nollywood movies and won numerous awards for her contributions to music and film.
She starred in movies like ‘Mothers-in-Law’, ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’, and ‘The Tyrant’.
Onwenu studied in the U.S., earning a degree in International Relations and Communication from Wellesley College, Massachusetts, a master’s in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research in New York City.
She joined the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in the early 1980s as a news correspondent and went on to produce and present ‘The Onyeka Onwenu Show’.
In addition to her entertainment career, Onwenu was involved in politics.
She was appointed as the chairperson of the Imo State Council for Arts and Culture in 2013 and later became the director-general of the National Centre for Women Development in 2016.
She was awarded the National Honours of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2011.