Alabi Ogundepo, veteran Ìjàlà poet, dies at 84

Veteran Yoruba poet and master Ìjàlà chanter Alabi Ogundepo has died at 84. According to Premium Times Nigeria, the Saki-born cultural icon died on Monday, with his family declining to disclose the cause of death.

UNESCO cultural documentation recognises Ogundepo as one of the prominent Yoruba Ìjàlà chanters whose work preserved and transmitted Yoruba history.

Over six decades, he took the oral poetry tradition beyond its hunters’ origins onto radio, television and stage, notably through NTA Ibadan.

His family described him as “a remarkable literary voice.” His death follows that of veteran actor Taiwo “Ogogo” Hassan, buried Monday in Ilaro.