By Osagie Alonge
Veteran singer, actress, broadcaster and politician Onyeka Owenu turned 60 years on Tuesday, January 31, 2012.
Onyeka often referred to as the ‘Elegant Stallion’, stands as one of the few female Nigerian musicians who have over the years remained relevant and in the eyes of the public not just with her music but with activities in Nollywood and Politics.
Her career as a musician kicked off back in the late 70s with the help of the late celebrated musician Sonny Okosun and in 1981 she debuted with her first ever material, the self-titled ‘Onyeka’. Before then, Onyeka had tried out at journalism when she worked as a presenter-reporter at Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) during her National Youth Service. She had earlier worked with the United Nations Office of Public Information in New York.
She starred in her first movie ‘Not your wealth’ in 1999 but it was her lead role in ‘Chain Reaction’ (which dropped in the same year and featured Pete Edochie and Liz Benson) that threw the spotlight on her. She has starred in a total of 10 other movies, the last being ‘The Trinity’ shot in 2007.
In 2006, she won the prestigious AMAA awards for ‘best actress in a supporting role’.
As a politician, Ms Onwenu has campaigned and contested for office in her native Imo state, at least twice, and lost. But she remains a card-carrying and active member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
She is currently a resident judge at the GLO Naija Sings music reality show.
FIVE MEMORABLE SONGS BY ONYEKA OWENU
1. One love
2. Wait for me featuring King Sunny Ade
3. Dancing in the sun
4. Iyogogo
5. You and I
Watch ‘Wait for me‘ below…
2 comments
Happy Birthday Onyeka! Your American brothers and sisters would love to hear from you. We think of you often and of our good times in Wellesley.
Wendy, Bruce, Chris, Marilee and Laurel Meyer
Onyeka attended Wellesley College, Alma mata of my mother and sisters and less than a mile from my family’s home in Massachusetts, USA. She spent a lot of time with our family as our additional “daughter”. Fun loving as well as talented, I remember my sister and her regaling in stories such as their successes in impersonating college dorm prefects and confiscating donuts and other illegal edibles from unsuspecting dorm residents only to later feast on the goodies in private.