Veteran Nollywood actress Moji Afolayan recently opened up about the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding the death of her father, the legendary filmmaker and actor Adeyemi Afolayan, known to many as Ade Love.
The emotional recollection comes as the family marks nearly three decades since his sudden passing in 1996.
According to Moji, Ade Love wasn’t sick prior to their family’s Christmas trip to their hometown in Kwara State that year. In fact, the trip was meant to be a joyful one, with family gatherings and celebrations lined up. But joy quickly turned to fear when Ade Love unexpectedly fell ill at a family event. She recalled:
“My father wasn’t sick before we left Lagos. We had gone to our hometown for Christmas, and one of his father’s co-wives was celebrating an event. It was there that he suddenly became ill.”
He was first rushed to Ilorin for treatment. But Ade Love, known for his strength and determination, insisted on returning to Lagos to see his personal doctor. Sadly, that journey would be his last.
Moji Afolayan revealed a chilling moment before he left Ilorin, a cryptic farewell that now feels like a painful premonition. She continued:
“While leaving, he asked his youngest wife to follow him, but she said she wanted to stay back and take care of things. Then he said, ‘What if we don’t meet again?’”
Those words, she said, didn’t make sense at the time. But they haunt her now. “My father was a very good man,” Moji said with heartfelt reverence. “I pray that I come through him in my next life. He was good and caring to the core.”
On December 30, 1996, Ade Love passed away in Lagos — a devastating loss for his family and for Nollywood at large. He was not just a pioneer in Nigerian cinema, but a man loved deeply by his children.
