Veteran Yoruba actor Yinka Quadri has recalled the final moments he spent with his longtime friend and colleague, Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, during a hospital visit before his death.
Quadri said he became emotional after seeing Ogogo on his sick bed, but the late actor reassured him that he would be fine.
“Yinka, don’t cry. Nothing bad will happen to me,” Ogogo told him, according to Quadri.
The veteran actor said he responded, “Yes, Amen,” before Ogogo asked him to hand over a bottle of water from a nearby table.
Quadri said Ogogo drank the water and expressed surprise that he was able to do so despite having eaten earlier that morning.
“You asked me to give you the bottle of water on the table. I gave it to you, and you drank from it. Then you looked at me and said, ‘Yinka, can you see that I drank the water, even though I ate this morning?’” Quadri recalled.
According to Quadri, Ogogo then asked the doctors to confirm whether he had eaten that morning, and they confirmed that he had.
“At that moment, I said, ‘Glory be to God.’ My hope and faith became even stronger,” Quadri said, adding that the doctors advised them to remain prayerful.
Quadri said the encounter was particularly emotional because of the decades-long friendship he shared with Ogogo.
He said their relationship began in 1984 and remained strong despite disagreements and rumours about a rift between them.
According to him, their actions whenever they met often disproved such reports, as they continued to sit together, laugh and work together on movie locations.
“I have always said that we were twins from heaven, only born to different mothers,” Quadri said.
Mourning Ogogo, Quadri described him as his brother, confidant and companion, saying his death had left a void that words could not fill.
“My dear friend, my beloved brother, Taiwo Hassan Ogogo, your departure has left a space that words cannot fill,” he said.
Quadri prayed for the forgiveness of Ogogo’s shortcomings and for his eternal rest, while asking God to strengthen his children, family, friends and loved ones.
“You may have left this world, but you will never leave my heart,” he added.
Ogogo died on Sunday, August 23, 2026, at the age of 66 after reportedly battling stage-four cancer.
