Wale Adenuga (born 24 September 1950) is a Nigerian former cartoonist/publisher, and currently series producer, best known for the publications ''Ikebe Super'', ''Binta and friends'' and '' Super Story'', and their televised versions through his production company

Wale Adenuga Production Wale Adenuga Productions Limited, (in abbreviation WAPL or WAP) is a Nigeria entertainment and magazine specializes in movie production and TV programs. The industry was the sponsored and owner of Super Story family, Papa Ajasco and Binta. Th ...

(WAP).

Early life

The son of a tobacco merchant, Adenuga was raised in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

and attended the Ibadan City Academy where he obtained his O-Level certificate, before proceeding to

King's College, Lagos King's College, Lagos (KCL) is a secondary school in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was founded on 20 September 1909 with 10 students on its original site at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only male student ...

for his higher school certificate where he formed a pop band which was later disbanded.The intimate secrets of Wale Adenuga
''Modern Ghana.''

Publishing

Adenuga studied Business Administration at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...

in 1971, and worked for the cartoon section of the Campus' Magazine where he was soon made Chief Cartoonist. In 1975, after graduation and youth service in Bendel, his comic ''Ikebe Super'' was launched, introducing several iconic characters including womaniser

Papa Ajasco ''Papa Ajasco and Company'' (formerly ''The Ajasco Family'') is a Nigerian family television sitcom created by Wale Adenuga in 1996. The show is a spin-off of a feature film of the same title produced by Wale Adenuga in 1984, which in turn is b ...

, illiterate Pa Jimoh, and playboy Boy Alinco. A leading female character, promiscuous gold-digger Miss Pepeiye, was later introduced. Adenuga's other magazines were ''Super Story'', which focused on satirical issues and ''Binta'', a children's publication.

Film/Television Production

In the late eighties, Nigerian publications were affected by the economic depression, leaving Adenuga with the decision to move from print to electronic media. Before the growth of the

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, p ...

, Adenuga had released the celluloid movie ''Papa Ajasco'', which was based on the main character in ''Ikebe Super'', in 1983. ''Papa Ajasco'' made history as the first English comedy in an industry which had been dominated by Yoruba productions. A film version of ''Binta'', re-entitled ''Binta My Daughter'' was released in 1995. A year later the television series ''Papa Ajasco'' (formerly ''The Ajasco Family'') was aired on Nigerian television to rave reviews. This small screen version saw the return of the old characters, and new character Pa James, who was created to avoid offending muslims. ("We did not want muslimwho did the silly things as Pa Jimoh alone.")

Institutions

On 24 September 1994, Adenuga and his wife Ehiwenma founded Binta International School in Lagos, a foundation dedicated to better education in Nigeria; In 2004, Adenuga opened the Pencil Film and Television Institute (PEFTI). Its courses include Producing, Directing, and

Cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

. The school was recently featured in ''De Film Industries van Nigeria'', a Danish documentary on the Nigerian film industry.

Awards

* 5 awards at the Nigeria Film Festival, 2002: Best Producer, Best Script Writer, Best Director, Best Television Drama and Best Socially Relevant Television Production. * Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), 2009

Personal life

Adenuga has been married to Ehiwenma since 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adenuga, Wale 1950 births Living people University of Lagos alumni Yoruba filmmakers King's College, Lagos alumni Nigerian film producers Nigerian film directors Members of the Order of the Federal Republic People from Ife People from Ibadan Filmmakers from Lagos Founders of Nigerian schools and colleges Nigerian cartoonists Nigerian publishers (people)