Lecturer, novelist, playwright, journalist, scholar and actor
Professor Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso (better known as Kole Omotoso), novelist, playwright, journalist, scholar and actor, was born on 21 April 1943 in Akure, Ondo State, south-west Nigeria.
He was educated at Oyemekun College and King’s College, Lagos. He attended the University of Ibadan, where he studied Arabic literature, and obtained a PhD in Arabic at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland
In 1989, during the military rule at the time, he fled Nigeria.
After a spell in Europe, Omotoso settled in South Africa, where he was popularly known for his role in commercials for a cellphone company in the 1990s.
Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso (Kole Omotoso) passed away on 19 July 2023 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
South African History Online. (2025, November 12). Professor Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso (Kole Omotoso) . South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/nr/ref/B-0153087
South African History Online (2025) 'Professor Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso (Kole Omotoso) ', South African History Online, 12 November. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/nr/ref/B-0153087 (Accessed: 22 July 2026).
South African History Online, Professor Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso (Kole Omotoso) [website], https://sahistory.org.za/nr/ref/B-0153087, (accessed 22 July 2026).
"Professor Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso (Kole Omotoso) ." South African History Online, 12 Nov. 2025, https://sahistory.org.za/nr/ref/B-0153087. Accessed 22 July 2026.
South African History Online. "Professor Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso (Kole Omotoso) ." South African History Online. November 12, 2025. https://sahistory.org.za/nr/ref/B-0153087.
