Bukky Ajayi: Graceful exit of a showbiz superstar

With many still savouring the glitz and glamour of the Eid festival, the least they would expect to hear is that of the death of a household name. So when the social media and major news organisations buzzed with the news of the passage of veteran actress, Bukola Ajayi, also known as Bukky Ajayi, not […]

With many still savouring the glitz and glamour of the Eid festival, the least they would expect to hear is that of the death of a household name. So when the social media and major news organisations buzzed with the news of the passage of veteran actress, Bukola Ajayi, also known as Bukky Ajayi, not many could hold back the shock.
Though the veteran actress was known to have been bed-ridden from illness for some time now, not many of her fans and admirers could really tell how badly she was affected until her recent outing at the 2016 African Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) where she bagged Industry Merit Award alongside Sadiq Daba. 
A visibly emotional Bukky, was astonished when she was wheeled to the stage to collect her plaque but was greeted with a standing ovation from the audience.
Even with her frail voice, Bukky was appreciative as she said: “I wish I could stand up. But if I stand up I will fall down. Are you all standing for me? Thank you. I am very grateful to you. Thank you, thank you every one, I’m so delighted and honoured.”
Those who have followed her life closely will testify to the fact that accolades and numerous ovations may not be enough to encapsulate all that Bukky has done for the industry in about half a century.
Bukky, 82, traversed broadcasting, cinema and movies like a colossus. And until her death on Wednesday, July 6, 2016, she was one of the few repositories of an industry she has grown to nurture with several others in her generation.
In her recent interview with an online news publication, Bukky deployed the dearth of professionalism in many of the films being produced in the country today. She expressed reservation what she called bad scripting, a development she said placed foreign movie producers above many of the local players.
“One of the challenges in Nollywood productions is bad scripting,” the octogenarian said. “This is one major area where foreign filmmakers are doing better than us. Movie scripts are expected to educate viewers and families about morals, not the trend of promoting armed robbers and provocative stuffs that is currently obtainable in the industry. Most of them are even recycled stories.”
Born to a Christian family, Bukky converted to Islam in the early eighties. After her conversion, she chose the name Zainab, which many hardly addressed her with.
Her love for stage and screen was said to have been fired through visits to cinema as a girl, often with her father. She was said to have assured her father of her aspiration of becoming one of such actresses when she grows up. And as a girl, she was said to be in the habit of using cardboards to craft imaginary cinemas for her peers while charging them half a penny to “come and see movies”.
The opportunity to realize her life ambition came calling when she bagged Federal Government Scholarship to study in England. After six years in England, Bukky returned to Nigeria and picked up a job with Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) as a presentation assistant in 1966.
She subsequently became a presenter and then a news caster. Alongside Yvonne Jegede, Bukky presented a couple of children’s programmes and ‘Nigerian’s Sketches,’ a programme which was all about Nigerian culture. Late Diran Ajijedidun of blessed memory was her producer at the time.
Bukky later earned a transfer to Port Harcourt but was still re-transferred to Lagos, and it was at this time she started her acting career. She was reputed to have played active role in one of Nigeria most celebrated soaps: “The Village Headmaster” in the 70s. She was also known to have acted with distinct, the role of Amaka Igwe in “Checkmate”.
Bukky has also featured in so many home videos including “Critical Assignment”, an international movies shot in South Africa. She described her experience in the production of “Critical Assignment” as one she would never forget.
Other prominent films she has participated in include: “Mother of George”, “Indecent Girl”, “Diamond Ring”, “Witches” and Thunderbolt among others.