Adebayo Mosobalaje Faleti (26 December 1921 – 23 July 2017) was Africa's first

newscaster A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news broadcasting, news program on televisio ...

, Africa's first stage play director, Nigeria's first film editor and

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

with the first television station in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

- Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), Nigeria's first Yoruba presenter on television and radio alike, a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

Nollywood Nollywood, a portmanteau of Nigeria and Hollywood, is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term goes back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He was also known as a Yoruba translator, a broadcaster, TV exponent and pioneer of the first television station in Africa, Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), now known as th
Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)

Early life and education

Faleti was born in Agbo-Oye,

Oyo State Oyo is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo ...

, though lived in Obananko, Kuranga, near

. Adebayo Faleti was the first son of his father, Joseph Akanbi Faleti and the only child of his mother, Durowade Ayinke Faleti. Alagba Faleti has always had a passion for drama from an early age. His parents could not fund his education to pursue his dreams due to lack of income, so he decided to put his primary education on hold. Later, he gathered a couple of interested colleagues and started his own successful theatre group, named Oyo Youth Operatic Society (founded in 1949). Faleti later found his way back to school by getting a job in a primary school, in which he worked for six years to raise enough funds for his secondary schooling with the financial support of his father. In 1966, he attended the University of Dakar in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and obtained a Certificate of proficiency in French Language and Civilization. Two years later, he graduated from the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

, Nigeria, with an honors degree in Lit-in-English. In 1971, he attended th
Radio Netherlands Training Center
in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...

, the

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, and received a certificate in Television Production.

Personal life

Faleti's wife was Olori Olubunmi Faleti, a retired broadcaster and television host at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ibadan. He had children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Faleti died on July 23, 2017, after observing a brief morning devotion with his family at his Ojoo residence in Ibadan.

Career

Faleti has written, produced and acted in several popular Yoruba plays. He is also known for his poems. He was the first school teacher at Ife Odan, located near Ejigbo Town in

Osun State Osun (; ), is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73 km, to the south by Ogun State for 84 km and to the wes ...

. He was also the General Manager of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS), which is also known as Radio OYO, Ibadan. In 1959, he worked at Western Nigerian Television (WNTV), now known as NTA Ibadan, as a film editor and a librarian.

Works

Faleti has acted, written, and produced a number of movies, which include: '' Thunderbolt: Magun'' (2001), ''Afonja'' (1 & 2) (2002), ''Basorun Gaa'' (2004), and ''Sawo-Sogberi'' (2005). He was responsible for translating Nigeria's National Anthem from English to Yoruba, his native language. He also translated speeches being made by former Attorney-General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria - Chief Bola Ige, former military president of Nigeria - General

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...

, former premier of the Western region of Nigeria — Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Head, National Interim Government of Nigeria — Chief

Ernest Shonekan Chief Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan (9 May 1936 – 11 January 2022) was a Nigerian lawyer and statesman who served as the interim head of state of Nigeria from 26 August 1993 to 17 November 1993. He was installed the Abese of Egbalan ...

, from English to Yoruba. Faleti has published a dictionary containing the formal or official use of Yoruba names.

Awards

Adebayo Faleti has received many awards, both locally and internationally, including the National Honour Of Officer Of the

Order of the Niger The Order of the Niger (OON) is the second highest Award, national award in Nigeria. It was instituted in 1963 and is junior to the Order of the Federal Republic, the highest order of merit in the country. Award The two highest honours, the Gr ...

(OON),

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(D.Litt.), Justice of Peace (JP), Jerusalem Pilgrim (JP). Adebayo Faleti received the Festival of Arts award with "Eda Ko L’aropin" in 1995 and the Afro-Hollywood Award for Outstanding Performance in Arts in the United States (in 2002). His movie - "Basorun Gaa" also received a commendation at Breeze Awards in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

as the best epic movie of the year in 2004. The first magazine he wrote for was called Triumph when he was at the

as an undergraduate. He was also a columnist with the

Nigerian Tribune The ''Nigerian Tribune'' is an English-language newspaper published in Ibadan, Nigeria. Established in 1949 by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, it is the oldest privately-owned Nigerian newspaper still in circulation. During the colonial period, the Nige ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faleti, Adebayo 1921 births 2017 deaths Nigerian male film actors University of Ibadan alumni Yoruba male actors Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni 21st-century Nigerian male actors English–Yoruba translators Male actors in Yoruba cinema Yoruba-language writers Nigerian folklorists 20th-century translators 20th-century Nigerian writers Nigerian broadcasters Yoruba television personalities Yoruba writers Yoruba journalists 20th-century Nigerian poets Nigerian film directors Nigerian male television actors People from Oyo State Nigerian television presenters Nigerian editors Nigerian journalists Nigerian film editors