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Award winning and popular yoruba novelist, Oladejo Okediji is dead, Oyo Insight reports.
According to Oyo Insight, Okediji died in the early hours of Wednesday, April 10, at the age of 89.
Oyo Insight quoted one of the children of the late novelist, Goke, who said the deceased was not sick before his demise.
Sympathisers have besieged the residence of the late writer located at Mabolaje area of Oyo Town, Oyo State.
The late Okediji structured his novels after the detective works of English novelist, Agatha Christie. He was the author of Aja Lo Leru, Rere Run, Agbalagba Akan, Atoto Arere, and Karin Kapo.
His other works include Opa Agbeleka, Oga Ni Bukola, Sango, Iroyin Ayo, Binu Tiri and a play, Aajo Aje (Running After Riches), among others.
Meanwhile, a veteran popular yoruba actor, Peter Fatomilola, has expressed shock at the death of Okediji, describing him as a gifted writer.
The actor stated that they both belong to Ori Olokun theatre group under the tutelage of the late Prof. Ola Rotimi.
“We acted one of his works, Rere Run. He was a good man and a God-fearing person,” he said.
Also, a senior lecturer at the Department of Linguistics and African Languages, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Dr. Adeola Faleye, said the late writer’s death was painful as they were planning for his 90th birthday.
She stated that Okediji brought some uniqueness into writing with his distinct style on crime novels.
Faleye said she interviewed the deceased when she was in year three at the university on his writing and later discovered that he was a member of the board of Ife Girls High School, where she had her secondary education.
“I presented my autobiography when I was 50 last year, and baba attended the event. There is no filler for him. We can have a similar person but never like him. No artist can be like baba,” she said.