Overview
Onyeka Onwenu was a singer, songwriter, broadcaster and actress whose work moved between popular music, television journalism and film. She was Igbo.
Biography
Onwenu studied in the United States and returned to work at the Nigerian Television Authority, where she presented and reported. Her documentary work for NTA, including the widely discussed film on the country's squandered oil revenues, brought her early public attention.
As a musician she recorded through the 1980s and 1990s, with songs such as One Love, You and I and Iyogogo, and duets with Sunny Okosun and others; much of her writing dealt with national unity, women's dignity and public health. She recorded material for immunisation and family-planning campaigns, and later served as executive director of the National Centre for Women Development. She acted in Nigerian film and television, with roles in Half of a Yellow Sun and Lionheart among others, and continued performing until her death in 2023.
Notable achievements
- Presented and produced documentary work for the Nigerian Television Authority
- Recorded One Love, You and I, Iyogogo and other widely played songs
- Wrote and performed music for public health and civic campaigns
- Acted in Nigerian film and television, including Half of a Yellow Sun and Lionheart
Legacy
Onwenu is remembered for combining a recording career with broadcast journalism and public advocacy at a time when few Nigerian women held that kind of visible platform in both fields.