Celebrities Who Made Headlines In 2013

Last year was one year that most Nollywood and Entertainment celebrities made headlines for the right and or for the wrong reasons. SHAIBU HUSSEINI undertakes a review of some of the on and off screen and stage moments and reports that while a few celebrities sizzled on stage and made headlines for the right reasons, others had their cup filled with scandals and controversies.

Those Who Were Honoured

Awards and recognition poured in for some Nollywood and Entertainment ppersonalities during the year. Top Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade Ekeinde opened the honours list for 2013 when she was listed by Time Magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people. Best known as Omo T or Omo Sexy, the actress of many credits walked into history as the first screen celebrity from Nigeria to be so honoured. 

   The acclaimed crowned Queen of Nollywood got the right icing on her career cake when her colleagues – members of the Nollywood acting clan – converged on the upscale Oriental Hotel, Lekki in Lagos to celebrate her accomplishment as an actress, singer and philanthropist. The shindig which attracted the big names in Nollywood and the entertainment industry, and which was packaged by the Ibinabo Fiberisima led Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) was primarily organized to salute the sterling actress for making the coveted 2013 Time Magazine list of the worlds 100 most influential people. And if the best kind of honour, as they say, is the one from home, then that shindig at Oriental was more than a fitting reception for the inimitable Ondo State born actress who was named alongside Steven Spielberg and United States President Barack Obama as an Icon and one of the world’s most influential people.

      Popularly referred to as Time 100, Omo T or Omosexy as the reality-show star is affectionately called, closed the year with another listing, this time as New African Magazine’s 100 most influential Africans. The actress of vast credit was named alongside influential personalities like Don Jazzy, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, P-Square and business mogul Aliko Dangote to make New African Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Africans List. 

   The other entertainment and Nollywood personalities who were honoured this year include Africa’s leading actress Rita Dominic, Omoni Oboli, Desmond Elliot and Uche Jombo who received various awards during the year. Rita Dominic lost the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) crest for leading actress to South Africa’s Florence Masebe but she received the Nollywood Movies Award crest for leading actress for her role as Clara in the award-winning movie, The Meeting. 

   Rita closed the year with a supporting actress crest, which she received at the 2013 edition of the Best of Nollywood Awards (BON). It was at the BON awards that Omoni Oboli was named Nigeria’s leading actress. She got the crest for her role in Ikechukwu Onyeka’s Brother’s Keeper. It was the same movie that clinched the Lagos International Film Festival (LIFF) coveted Golden Camel, the most prestigious prize awarded for Best Overall Film. 

    The Golden Camel award is also called the Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan prize. Also this year, Mike Ezurounye was curiously voted ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Yoruba Movie’ at the BON award.  Other awardees include Ace actress, Fathia Balogun, who got the award fir the ‘Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Yoruba Movie’, Joke Muyiwa who received ‘The Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Yoruba Movie’ for the movie Ayitale, OC Ukeje who received the crest for ‘The Best Actor in a Leading Role in an English Movie’ for his role in Charles Novia’s Alan Poza and Kenneth Gyang who received the  ‘Director of the Year’, crest for the movie Confusion Na Wa.

     Indeed, Confusion Na Wa stood out at the BON awards as it carted away four other awards—“Best Movie of the Year”, “Movie with the Best Production Design”, “Best Edited Movie” and “Best Screen Play”. The movie had earlier in the year won the coveted AMAA for Best Nigerian film and Best Picture. Indeed Gyang and Ukeje would easily be the most medaled screen celebrities of 2013. They both closed the year with four coveted awards, the last being the coveted Future Awards Africa, which held in December at Aztech Arcum, Port Harcourt Rivers State. 

  Ukeje, a Marine Science graduate of the University of Lagos who has been having an impressive run as an actor, was named winner of the entertainment talent category while Gyang received the crest for the arts and culture category.

Those Who Said ‘I Do’

If the landmark wedding ceremony of pop star Tuface Idibia and his heartthrob Annie, that of Paul Okoye of Psquare and his heartthrob Lola, that of Nollywood actress Nse Ikpe and her darling husband Clifford Sule and that of pop singing sensation Tiwa Savage and her sweet heart Tblitz were to be put on CD and sold in Alaba, Idumota, Pound Street, Aba or in all those centres were movies are sold in large quantities, the distributor would have posted a ‘sold out’ report. 

   Those wedding ceremonies were not just show stoppers. They turned out a festival of celebrities as the movers and shakers of Nollywood and the entertainment industries turned out in their numbers and majesties. All the events, particularly that of Annie and Tuface, which was consummated in Dubai, got ample mention in the entertainment press. Clifford Sule and Nse have been long time friends.  They however sealed their romance with a traditional wedding which held in Akwa Ibom. 

    Some observers however say they need some time to tell if the following Nollywood celebrities would have marriage on their wish list in 2014: Queen Nwokoye, Bisi Ibidapo Obe, Ebube Nwagbo, Benita Nzeribe, Genevieve Nnaji, Kalu Ikeagwu, Lilian Bach, Empress Njamah, Sam Anyamele, Jim Iyke (he has been romantically linked to the Ghanaian actress Nadia Buari), and Pat Attah

Those Who Have Remained Separated 

Aopes by most fans that some of the acting celebrities who were somewhat separated from their spouses will be re-united in 2013 were dashed, as the celebrities have either remained separated or divorced. Top Nollywood actress Monalisa Chinda and the father of her only daughter yet, Dejo Richards have finally gone their separate ways. Dejo Richards have found another soul mate. He wedded a few months after his separation with the actress turned publisher.

  Popular Yoruba actor Saheed Balogun and his estranged wife Fathia Balogun have remained separated. It doesn’t look as though they will ever be man and wife again as Fathia recently announced a change of name from Balogun to her maiden name Williams. It was also a year of break ups, divorces and scandals with the alleged case of bigamy involving Nollywood actor Solomon Akiyesi as one case that shook the industry. It made news, the same way the reported divorce cases involving star actress Funke Akindele, Chike Ike and lately between Jetta and Mbong Amata trended. The latest case of separation in the industry is the widely reported case involving the stand-up comedienne Princess. Her less than six-month marriage to her heartthrob reportedly packed up early in December.  

Those Who Quit The Stage

Death dealt a big blow on the entertainment and motion picture industries as it snatched some of those sectors valuable personalities: Chief Justus Esiri, OON; Chief Pete Eneh, Enebeli Elebuwa, the highlife musician Fatai Rolling Dollar, pop singing sensation Goldie Harvey aka Goldie, veteran actor Pa Ogungbe and Lugard Ononyemu of the AGN. 

   Goldie passed on shortly after she returned from a trip to America where she had gone to attend the annual Grammy award, while Esiri, 71, died in a medical facility in Lagos after a brief illness. An actors actor of vast credit, Esiri, a native of  Oria, Abraka, Delta State, who was awarded the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) in recognition of his contribution to the growth of the motion picture industry, shot into limelight as an actor after living delightfully the role of the Village Headmaster in the long rested series of same title. 

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Greenwood Dialogue, A Foundation From Movie Director, Dickson Ireogbu 

Notable Nollywood Director, Dickson Ireogbu has launched a foundation aimed at creating a platform for youths to be involved in developmental initiative. Called the Greenwood Dialogue Foundation (GDF), Ireogbu explained at a special unveiling ceremony that the foundation is geared towards seeking the rights of Nigerian youths especially in the forthcoming national confab. 

   Ireogbu who rode into prominence after winning the directing crest at the maiden edition of the AMAA, declared that the ultimate objective of the foundation would be to sensitize the public on the need to fully participate in the conference. Ireogbu also stated that the GDF which he clarified was non-governmental, will ensure that the youths ‘have a say’ during the proposed national confab. 

    “We will also develop and publicize transformational value based arguments and present the vision to the future, that our greatness is in our togetherness’’ Ireogbu said. Also, he said while explaining the foundation logo concept that “under the green leaf logo, we chose to express the fertility of our numerical strength relying on the hindsight of Nigerian youths as major stakeholders for future Nigeria”.

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Author: Unknown - Wednesday, 22 January 2014