By Nuel Suji – A renowned author and journalist, Adebayo Faleti, is dead.
The award-winning author who translated Nigeria’s National Anthem into Yoruba language, died at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Sunday at age 86.
Faleti, a doyen of Yoruba literature, observed the early morning devotion with his family members Sunday after which he reportedly told them that he prayed to God to send someone else to continue his mission as he was tired and longing for home.
“After the morning devotion, I helped him to the bathroom as I normally do, when he said he wanted God to send someone else to come and complete his work because he had done all he could do. He also said that he wanted to go home. Suddenly, I noticed that he was not breathing again.
“We took him to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, where he was confirmed dead. We shall miss him greatly.”
Faleti has written, produced and acted in several popular Yoruba plays. he is also known for his poems. He was a teacher at Ife Odan, located near Ejibo Town He was also the General Manager of Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS), which is also known as Radio OYO, Ibadan. In 1959, he once worked at Western Nigerian Television (WNTV), now known as NTA Ibadan, as a film editor and a librarian.
He was responsible for translating Nigeria’s National Anthem from English to Yoruba. He also translated speeches being made by former military president of Nigeria Ibrahim Babangida and Ernest Shonekan, Head of National Interim Government of Nigeria, from English to Yoruba. Faleti published a dictionary containing the formal or official use of Yoruba names.
He received many awards, both locally and internationally, including the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)[2] the Festival of Arts award with Eda Ko L’aropin (1995) and the Afro-Hollywood Award for Outstanding Performance in Arts (2002).
