How many children did Onyeka Onwenu have? Personal life explored as Nigerian singer dies aged 72 

On Tuesday, July 30, Nigerian singer, songwriter, and actress Onyeka Onwenu died at 72. The cause of her demise remains undisclosed.

As per reports, she was attending a private birthday party of her friend Mrs. Stella Okoli, the owner of Emzor Pharmaceuticals in Lagos, where she performed on stage. Upon returning to her seat, she started feeling ill and soon lost consciousness.

Immediately after, she was rushed to the Reddington Hospital nearby on Victoria Island, where she was declared dead upon arrival.

Dubbed “The Elegant Stallion” by the Nigerian media, her two sons Tijani Charles Ogunlende and Abraham Ogunlende survive Onyeka Onwenu.

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All you need to know about Onyeka Onwenu’s personal life

Onyeka Onwenu has always kept her personal life away from the limelight. While it is known that she was once married, it remains unknown whether it was to the father of her children, Mr. Ogunlende.

During a February 2022 interview with Kikilomo Atanda-Owo on her show Real Talk With Kike, Onwenu claimed she tried her best to make her marriage work but eventually had to end things.

However, the singer has spoken fondly about her two sons and the joys of motherhood over the years. Her elder son Tijani Charles Ogunlende is a photographer and graphic designer based in the USA.

Onwenu’s younger son, Abraham Ogunlende, is a painter and nicknamed "Painterabe." Just like his older brother, he moved to the United States for his education and earned a master’s degree in business marketing in 2015.

However, despite pursuing a distinct career path initially, his passion for art helped him become a painter. He now organizes his art shows and exhibitions across the USA, Nigeria, and other parts of the world.

Both the sons shared a close relationship with their mother.

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Exploring the life and career of Onyeka Onwenu

Onyeka Onwenu was born in a southwestern Nigerian small town, Arondizuogo, in Ideato North, Imo State, and later raised in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. She was the youngest daughter of the Nigerian politician, educationist, and philanthropist D. K. Onwenu and his wife, Hope.

Onyeka Onweny was raised by a single mother after her father’s untimely death when she was four years old, alongside four siblings. Later, she moved to the USA and pursued a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Communications from Wellesley College, Massachusetts, followed by a master’s degree in media studies from The New School for Social Research, New York.

She then became a tour guide for the United Nations before moving back to her country where she served a year in the National Youth Service Corps before joining the Nigerian Television Authority as a broadcaster and reporter, where she hosted shows like Contact and Who’s On?. During her time at the NTA, she also wrote and presented the documentary Nigeria: A Squandering of Riches about the country’s corruption.

Onyeka Onwenu later pursued a music career that brought her stardom and spent forty years blending several genres, including reggae, pop, gospel, and more. Some of her popular songs include One Love, Iyogogo, Ekwe, You & I, and Wait For Me among others. She was also a judge on the X Factor Nigeria reality show in 2013.

The late musician was also an actor. Some of her notable works include Widow’s Cot (2005), Half of a Yellow Sun (2014), and Lion Heart (2018).

Onyeka Onwenu was a member of the People’s Democratic Party in Nigeria. She served as the chairperson of the Imo State Council for Arts and Culture and was later appointed Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Center for Women Development.