Its a lasting line for many millenials “Action po bi ogogo”. A line used to describe anyone who seems larger than life or too animated.
That versed line is tied to.Veteran Yoruba actor Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, who died at the age of 66, leaving behind a four-decade legacy that helped shape Nigeria’s Yoruba-language film industry.
The actor was pronounced dead at about 3pm on Sunday after battling stage-four cancer, which was reportedly diagnosed only a few weeks before his death and had affected his abdomen.
With his death, Nollywood has lost one of its most recognisable faces and voices, an actor whose towering physique, distinctive voice, charisma and commanding screen presence made him a household name across generations.
Ogogo was born on October 31, 1959, in Ilaro, Ogun State, into a family deeply rooted in Yoruba traditional culture, including chanting and masquerade performance.
He was the last of his mother’s 13 children and reportedly the only surviving twin among four sets of twins born by his mother. Only three of the 13 children survived beyond early childhood.
His mother, according to Ogogo, was repeatedly told that he was a “glorious child” and prayed that he would achieve what his deceased siblings could not.
Those prayers appeared to take shape in an acting career that eventually spanned more than four decades and over 200 films.
From Mechanic Shop To The Big Screen
Although Ogogo participated in a theatrical production as far back as 1974, when he was 15, he regarded 1981 as the beginning of his professional acting journey.
Before committing fully to entertainment, however, he trained and worked as an automobile mechanic and later became an employee of the Lagos State Water Corporation.
His civil service job limited his participation in theatre productions, forcing him to act mostly during weekends and annual leave.
That changed in 1994 when he resigned from his job to pursue acting full-time.
His early years in the industry were marked particularly by his powerful chanting voice. Drawing from the traditional Yoruba culture he grew up in, he became known as “Olohun Iyo”, meaning “the one with the sweet voice.”
His ability to perform ewi, oriki and traditional chants quickly made him a favourite among producers. One of his breakthrough roles came in Owo Blow, the 1996 crime trilogy directed by Tade Ogidan, in which he played the adult version of the title character.
Ogogo’s dedication to the role was such that he reportedly insisted on leaving hospital, where he was being treated for typhoid, to shoot the film.
He later became a regular presence in Yoruba-language productions, featuring in movies including Arowolo, Ibinu Elewon and Omo Olomo, among many others.
The man behind ‘Action po bi Ogogo’
Ogogo’s influence extended beyond his acting roles. His physical presence and energetic performances helped create the popular expression “Action po bi Ogogo”, loosely interpreted as “abundant action like Ogogo.”
His memorable expressions and mannerisms also became part of Nigerian popular culture, with one of his sayings reportedly inspiring the title and theme of Burna Boy’s hit song “Last Last.”
His appeal was not limited to his male admirers. Actress Toyosi Adesanya, one of his protégés, once recalled that several women reportedly ventured into acting because they were attracted to Ogogo.
Building the next generation
Beyond his work in front of the camera, Ogogo played a major role in nurturing younger talents through the Odunfa Caucus, a theatre training group that became one of the important foundations of Yoruba Nollywood.
The caucus was founded around Odunfa Street in Ebute Metta, Lagos, with figures including Yinka Quadri, Abbey Lanre, Kaka Odunfa and Rasaq Ajao among its notable members.
The group helped transition traditional Yoruba travelling theatre into the emerging home-video and film era. Several successful actors, including Funke Akindele, Iyabo Ojo, Faithia Balogun, Saheed Balogun and Toyosi Adesanya, have been associated with its training tradition.
Ogogo once proudly declared that those who trained under the group eventually found success.
Ogogo’s final years were marked by serious health challenges. He previously revealed that he had battled chronic ulcer for about seven years, a condition that became so severe that he vomited blood and at one point believed he might not survive.
He dismissed longstanding rumours that the illness was connected to cocaine, saying he had never even known what cocaine looked like.
According to him, doctors attributed the ulcer to his habit of taking Alabukun and lime whenever he felt unwell.
After years of treatment, Ogogo eventually recovered and returned to acting.
But in 2026, his family disclosed that he had been diagnosed with stage-four cancer. His daughter, Kira, said the diagnosis came only about three weeks before his death and that the cancer had affected his abdomen.
The family reportedly sought treatment options after some medical facilities indicated that chemotherapy was no longer feasible.
Ogogo’s death has also revived questions about his earlier battle with ulcer. Following news of his cancer diagnosis and subsequent death, old interviews in which he spoke about his prolonged ulcer battle resurfaced online.
Some social media users questioned whether the symptoms might have been connected to an underlying cancer that went undetected, while others cautioned against drawing such a conclusion without medical evidence.
The speculation has nevertheless reopened a wider conversation about the challenges of diagnosing gastrointestinal diseases and the danger of attributing persistent abdominal symptoms to ulcer without thorough investigation.
For Ogogo, however, the story ultimately goes beyond his illness.
From a young mechanic and civil servant who performed on stage whenever work permitted, he became one of the defining figures of Yoruba Nollywood, an actor, chanter, trainer and cultural icon whose voice, physique and performances became embedded in Nigerian popular culture.
Taiwo Hassan “Ogogo” may have left the stage, but the character he built over four decades is unlikely to disappear from Nollywood’s memory.
