A retired Nigerian soldier and renown Hausa comedian, Usman Baba Pategi, with stage name as Samanja is dead.
The veteran comedian died at the age of 81, in the early hours of today, November 12, at Garden City Hospital in Kaduna after prolonged illness.
He worked with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Kaduna broadcasting station before joining the Army during the Nigerian civil war.
Pategi was born on May 20, 1942, into the royal house of Pategi Emirate in Pategi, in the present day Niger State of Nigeria.
He is the son of Etsu Usman Patako, the late King of Pategi.
He started his early education in Pategi primary school and went to Ilorin Middle School. Then later, he went to Kaduna to live with his uncle, Alhaji Audu Bida where he became his assistant at home.
He also worked with public works department in the mechanical store, before joining Northern Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in Kaduna.
He joined the Nigeria Army in the 60s where an Army captain during the Nigerian civil war came looking for youth in Northern Nigeria to volunteer. He left the Broadcasting cooperation to join the army and trained at the Signal Training School, Apapa.
He served under General Sani Abacha and General Sani Sami. Later he retired in 1985 and went on for acting career drama at the FRCN Kaduna which he also direct and writes movies, mostly he was known as Samanja Maza Fama, the word meaning Sergeant-Major (SerMajor) due to the experience he got in his army career.
In 2010, he was in India for a surgery of a heart illness which later N1.5 million was given by the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, as was reported by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).
Pategi was one among the notable Nigerian actors known as (Samanja) and Chika Apala known as (Zebrudaya) mostly in the movies industries and were guest of honours at the dinner of art theatre in the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP).
