Who was Yemi Ogunyemi of NTA Ibadan ‘Ẹ Ń BÁ LÁYÀ’ fame who died?

People who do not know the antecedents of the late Baale Oluyole Estate, Ibadan, Chief Yemi Ogunyemi, who passed away recently, would see him as just a community leader.

To many others, however, he would be remembered as one of the finest television presenters in the Yoruba language in the 70s and 80s, who pioneered the type of programme Frank Edoho of the ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ show is noted for.

Ardent viewers of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ibadan, the first television station in Africa, would recall the popular Yoruba language audience participation entertainment programme ‘Ẹ Ń BÁ LÁYÀ’, hosted by the amiable Yemi Ogunyemi.

To win the fantastic prizes on the programme, participants must answer a set of questions correctly.

By implication, the name ‘Ẹ Ń BÁ LÁYÀ’ indicates that courage was the major prerequisite to success on the show which tests participant’s knowledge of the current affairs of the day and Yoruba culture, including proverbs and language usage.

But anything short of a superb performance would earn the guest jibes and jokes from Yemi Ogunyemi, whose arsenal of jokes is then unleashed on the unlucky participant for the viewing pleasure of audiences glued to their television sets every Sunday afternoon across the Southwest states.

The star presenter of ‘Ẹ Ń BÁ LÁYÀ’, Yemi Ogunyemi, was ever dazzling, always wearing a smile, very comfortable and completely at ease under studio floodlights in front of the cameras.

Gifted with sharp wit and funny cliches, who did not know Yemi Ogunyemi?

Despite having his education in general agriculture, Ogunyemi mastered the art of television broadcasting, particularly presentation, and displayed a high level of creative ingenuity that propelled him to fame.

With the passing of Chief Ogunyemi, the sun has set, and it is light out on yet another television personality who will be fondly remembered for his outstanding contributions to broadcasting in Nigeria.