Veteran Nollywood actor Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, once explained how the name became synonymous with his career in Yoruba-language cinema.

Hassan, who died on Sunday, August 23, 2026, at the age of 66, revealed in a 2024 interview with City People that “Ogogo” was drawn from his family’s traditional Yoruba praise name, or oriki.

He said he began his acting career in 1981 as an Akede Oba, a praise chanter who recited the oriki of kings and chiefs. His skill earned him the nickname “Olohun Iyo” before his colleagues began calling him Ogogo.

“The name Ogogo is my Oriki. Many don’t know how I started my acting career. I started with the role of an Akede Oba, meaning I was always doing Oriki,” Hassan said in the interview published on November 9, 2024.

He explained that during the early days of home videos, he regularly incorporated his family’s oriki into his performances, including when praising himself.

“When we started doing modern play, my friends now said Ogogo Wa Joor, that is how the name Ogogo came to stay. It is my Oriki. It is my father’s Oriki. I always recite it,” he said.

The name eventually became his professional identity as his career expanded across acting, producing, directing and screenwriting.

Hassan was one of the co-founders of the Odunfa Caucus, a prominent theatre group associated with several notable Yoruba actors. He went on to become one of the most recognisable figures in Yoruba-language cinema over a career spanning more than four decades.

His death was announced by veteran actor Jide Kosoko. His daughters, Kaira and Lima Taiwo, had previously disclosed that he was battling stage-four cancer and appealed for medical assistance.

Hassan was buried in Ilaro, Ogun State, on Monday according to Islamic rites.