“I guess God has given me the ability to
handle these things with patience. You need
trailer loads of it to handle these people,”
he said.
Have they ever harassed his wife: “She will
be in a better position to answer that but a
few times, female fans have brought discord
to my family. I got married seven years ago
but I will tell you that it has not been
easy. Female fans create problems for us.
“Sometimes I wonder, ‘why did I get myself
into this?’ If I were working in an office,
nobody would bother me. Ironically, your
friends who are not in the business feel
that you are having a swell time but I tell
you, it is not easy. I want to do my acting
and go home in peace.
“That is why I don’t encourage influx of
people in my house. I don’t encourage people
to visit me. I try to protect my family.
That’s all I have.”
However, he said that despite the ‘wahala,’
he doesn’t turn his fans away. “I don’t turn
my fans away because entertainment is
basically the crowd. You need to have a
support base and it is basically women and
children and if you turn them away, you lose
your base.
He however admitted that while some get
upset and rude, others greet his wife nicely
and tell her how lucky they think she is to
have married a star.
Gulder Ultimate Search
Udokwu anchored the just concluded GUS -4.
He talked about the experience.
“The high point was when the two finalists
were struggling to get the most coveted
trophy. It was a culmination of everything
we were doing and everything that we went to
do in Jos. But the low point was when one of
the contestants died. It was a painful
experience for everybody. It underscored the
transience of life; born today, gone
tomorrow. Within a twinkle of en eye, the
contestant was gone. It was a rude shock for
us all.
“On the whole, Shere Hills was a different
experience in terms of the conditions for
the productions and the topography. The
weather was entirely a different ball game.
There where no written scripts. As the
anchor, I relied on talent, experience and
training. I remember a particular female
journalist who kept taunting me. She doubted
that I was up to the task because of the
rigours associated with GUS but I told her
not to judge a book by its cover. I am an
actor and I play different roles at
different times. Today my performance has
proved that there is nothing I cannot do.
Most of those who love what I did are
military people. Like the CEO of NB Plc
said, ‘if I did not have military training,
then it must be somewhere lurking in my
genes. The response I have got from every
arm of the military is that somewhere along
the line, I was one of them. I proved
skeptics wrong!
“We are very dismissive of people. Today,
what I have done is there for people to see.
If they call me back next year, my challenge
would be to beat my own record and if they
call somebody else, God help him; his
challenge would be to beat my record.”
Nollywood
Udokwu is a pioneer of Nollywood. He
featured in the very first movie that is
widely believed to have kick-started what
has become known as Nollywood.
“I was in ‘Living In Bondage,’ the very
movie that started it. I tell people that I
was already ahead before the industry
stopped me to join it,” he added jokingly.
“‘Checkmate’ started running in 1991. By
1992, they invited me to be part of ‘Living
In Bondage.’”
With over a 100 movies in the kitty, Odokwu
speaks modestly of his achievements: “I
cannot count the number of movies I have
acted. There’s been quite a number though. I
used to document them those days but I have
lost count.”
Despite being the third largest movie maker
in the world, Nollywood has come under flack
on the basis of quality. However, Udokwu
thinks that to write of Nollywood on that
basis would be to throw the bath water out
with the baby.
“Please note that the rate of production has
nothing to do with professionalism. Yes, we
churn out movies every day but the number of
films released has nothing to do with
quality. The danger is that we are quick to
come to conclusions. Nigerians are
pessimistic. The industry is just 15
years-old and what we get most of the times
is knocks and more knocks, most of the time
from the media. Our movies are becoming a
staple across the globe. TV channels are
dedicated to the phenomenon called Nollywood.
It is a large employer of labour. We have
been adjudged the third largest all over the
world. Next month we have a series of
activities in London. Some movies have been
entered for the ‘Sun Dance Film Festival’ in
the USA for January 2008. We intend to take
our movies to the Oscars, so you see, we are
doing well. For God’s sake, give us credit.
Besides, there is no basis for comparison
between Nollywood and Hollywood. If you know
the history of Hollywood, then you will
appreciate that we have not started.
Hollywood is over a 100 years.
Jide Kosoko
Reacting to a recent statement credited to
NANTAP President, Jide Kosoko, that there is
tribalism in Nollywood, Udokwu said:
“Everybody is entitled to his/her own
opinion but I think that statement is
unfortunate because Jide Kosoko is a man
that I have worked with on several sets and
I respect him so much. He may have his
reasons for saying that, but I did not read
the article, so I cannot respond with proper
insight. However, I don’t think so. It would
be unfortunate for us to bring ethnicity
into a place of talent. I am an Igbo man
trained by a Yoruba man; the late Professor
Ola Rotimi. I remember, back then in school,
there were Yoruba boys and girls in my class
but I was about the closest to him. Why
weren’t Yorubas closer to him? The reason is
simple; the man is a core professional. He
believes in talent. God does not operate
quota system and you and I know that it is
quota system that has destroyed this
country. It is a shame if we bring it into
entertainment. See what it has done to
football. In my opinion, if you can get the
best from one state for football, let them
go. We should not bring ethnic dimensions to
entertainment.
