Wednesday, Jan 26, 2012 was one of such sad days when one woke up
with the news that death has dealt the Nigerian entertainment industry a
blow. That was actually the day Lekan Oladipo a.k.a Giorgio Lekinson, a
foundation member of the Yoruba genre of Nigerian home videos lost the
battle to cancer of the lung.
Interestingly, Lekinson’s disappearance from the movie scene before he
died early last year remains the reason some movie buffs still find it
hard to believe that he’s dead! It would be recalled that Lekinson, who
would forever be remembered for his slangs and good interpretation of
the role of fraudster in most Yoruba films, battled with drug related
problems and when family and friends thought Giorgio Lekinson had
cheated death, the gifted actor passed on.
Barely a year ago and when many people may be wondering if Lekinson left
a grown up child who will step into his shoes, it’s amazing that
Babatunde Oladipo, the eldest son, has picked up the trade where his
father left it. With just three years in the industry, Armani Arante as
Yabatech’s graduate of Business Administration is popularly called, is
leaving no stone unturned to hit the spotlight at one shot. Apart from
picking roles in popular films like ‘Omolabake’, ‘Oko Obinrin’,
‘Figurine’ among few others, Armani Arante is getting set to hit
location for his personal film project that may come after premiering
Irosun Meji, Lekinson’s last movie which he never lived to released.
Recalling how he gets into acting, “Apart from the fact that I picked
after my father, to be a successful actor has been my childhood
ambition but my father do tell me to finish my education before going to
acting. My passion for acting grew when I started following him to
movie locations. While in higher institution, I opted for Business
Administration because of my love for banking job but life later played
me its card as I’m back to my first love which is acting,” Armani said.
Little or nothing might have been read about the life and death of
great Lekinson, Armani revealed the private parts of his father. “It’s
no doubt that my father was a ladies’ man but it may shock you that my
mother remained his only wife whom they had two kids together, I and my
younger brother, Abiodun. My father’s drug problem could be traced back
to when he went to India to study acting. On his return from India my
mother noticed his change of attitude and one day she caught him
sniffing a white substance suspected to be cocaine which led to a
serious argument and fight.
“All efforts by family members to persuade him to give up on the bad
habit proved abortive. This affected his growing acting career and he
was shut out of the scene for some years before he returned as a King in
the old popular home video titled ‘Koto Aiye’, in 2002. The dope thing
messed up his career before he later quit.
In 2007 Lekinson, who was a board member of Osun State’s Art and
Culture during the time of Governor Oyinlola, was diagnosed of cancer of
the lung. We thought he would die but Lekinson survived the terminal
illness that left him bed ridden for two years. He fully recovered and
bounced back in 2009 before he eventually died in 2012.
“It was a natural death; my father did not die of any sickness as
reported. On that sad day, Lekinson complained of tiredness and
contemplating of going to the hospital the next day but his elder
brother encouraged him to go that day which he agreed, but he died on
his way to the hospital,” Armani revealed.
Speaking further about the life and time of Lekinson who featured in
countless numbers of popular home videos, son said, “He was a trained
actor who doesn’t take nonsense. If I could recollect, the last thing he
told me was, I should be wary of unnecessary intimacy, to always be
myself and Lekinson told me point blank that he needed a grandson. At
the moment, we are planning a one year remembrance of his death and
probably released his last personal film titled ‘Irosun Meji’,” Armani
concluded.
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