Who was Wasila Isma'il? The Kannywood actress in Kaduna who died at 46

• Wasila Isma'il died in Kaduna at the age of 46 after a prolonged illness.

• She rose to fame in the late 1990s through the film Wasila, starring alongside Ali Nuhu.

• Beyond acting, she also worked as a broadcaster with Liberty Radio Kaduna.

Veteran Kannywood actress Wasila Isma'il died on Sunday at the age of 46 after a prolonged illness. She passed away at FOMWAN Hospital in Kaduna. Her former husband, Al-Amin Chiroma, confirmed her death in a social media post.

She had been a recognised figure in the Hausa film industry since the late 1990s, a period when Kannywood was still finding its footing as a formal industry.

Kannywood formally emerged in 1990 in Kano, predating the southern-based Nollywood industry by two years. The name itself was coined in 1999 by Shehu Sanusi Daneji, publisher of Hausa entertainment magazine Tauraruwa, originally as a nod to Hollywood.

By the time Wasila Isma'il entered the industry in 1998, it was growing rapidly and beginning to produce the household names that northern Nigerian audiences would follow for decades.

She made her debut with the film Jinin Masoya that same year. But it was her next project that defined her career.

Cast in a 1999 production originally titled Jamila, Wasila pushed back on the title before the film was released.

"I didn't like the name Jamila because I feared it might tarnish my name, so I asked for it to be changed, and the director agreed," she said in a past interview.

The film was renamed Wasila, directed by Yakubu Lere and starring Ali Nuhu, now the Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation. The movie became one of her most recognised works and the role she remained associated with throughout her career.

Outside of film, Wasila also built a separate career in broadcasting, working with Liberty Radio in Kaduna. The dual career made her a familiar presence to northern Nigerian audiences both on screen and on air.

Ali Nuhu, her Wasila co-star, reacted to her death on Facebook. "Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. May Allah have mercy on you and forgive you. May Allah grant your soul eternal rest. Amen," he wrote.

Wasila Isma'il is survived by her family. She was 46.

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