Veteran Kannywood actor Usman Baba Pategi, known by his stage name Samanja is dead.
Fellow Kannywood actor Ali Nuhu announced Samanja’s demise via Instagram on Sunday.
He also prayed that the soul of the actor finds “forgiveness and goodness”.
“Nnalillahi Wainna Ilaihi Rajiun God bless my father and the famous hero Usman Baba Pategi better known as Samanja, passed away,” he wrote in Hausa language.
The popular Kaduna-based Hausa actor died on Sunday morning after a prolonged illness.
Pategi was born on May 20, 1942, into the royal house of Pategi Emirate in Pategi in the northern part of Nigeria.
He worked with the public works department in the mechanical store before joining the Northern Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in Kaduna.
In the 60s, Samanja left the NBC and joined the Nigerian army during the country’s civil war.
He retired in 1985 and began his acting career at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) in Kaduna.
He was best known for his role as sergeant-major in the popular Hausa comedy-drama series Samanja, which aired on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in the 1980s and 1990s.
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The drama series was a huge success and made Samanja a household name.
Samanja was also acknowledged for helping to popularise Kannywood, the Hausa-language film industry.
Samanja was survived by two wives and 14 children.
