We will miss Muna Obiekwe –Nollywood practitioners

We will miss Muna Obiekwe –Nollywood practitioners

Five days after popular actor, Muna Obiekwe’s demise, his colleagues in Nollywood are still in deep mourning, CHUX OHAI writes

Lancelot Imasuen directed the first movie that Muna Obiekwe, who died of kidney failure on Sunday, appeared in. This means that he was one of those whose input helped shape the late actor’s career.

Although he could not recall the title of the movie, Imasuen admitted, in an interview with our correspondent, that he was impressed by Obiekwe’s progress through the years.

“It is just sad that the young man had to die the way he did. It’s really bad that he was sick and could not ask for help. I was surprised that he was down with such an ailment and nobody knew about it. I am sure that if other people had known that he was ill, they would have helped and he wouldn’t have died in his prime. We will miss him,” he said.

Also, seasoned filmmaker and director, Fidelis Duker, worked

occasions in

Victoria Inyama, Ini Edo, Paul Obazele and Sonny McDon – when he was just starting out in the industry.

Duker’s earliest impression of Obiekwe, who was fresh from the university at the time, was that of a focused

man.

“Muna was quite a gifted actor and he was committed to his work. Many years later, I learnt that he still retained those qualities. The only thing I found out of place was the fact that he was very reserved and never really mixed

something that I could not understand at the time,” he said.

Much later, Duker learnt the late actor had lost his parents in a ghastly car accident when he was very young and did not quite recover from the sad event. It probably explained why he was so withdrawn and kept to himself most of the time, especially when he was not on the set of a movie.

Unknown to many of his colleagues in the film industry, Obiekwe grew up as an orphan. Although he was affected by the demise of his parents, it did not reflect in his attitude to work. Many

especially those who had worked with him closely at one time or the other, described him as a talented, hardworking and committed actor.

Obiekwe was a stickler for time.

always one of the first few people to arrive at the venue of any meeting. The general opinion is that he was very passionate about his job and clearly enjoyed what he was doing.

“One thing that was very unique about him was his voice. Only few actors had that kind of voice. It was a director’s delight any day. Apart from that, he was the kind of actor that I could always vouch for,” Duker continued.

In spite of

Obiekwe was not the type to trouble other people with his personal problems. He had very few friends and nearly all the time, kept to himself. When the news of his death broke, many of his colleagues were surprised to learn that he died in Lagos, not Enugu where they thought he lived all the while.

Most Nollywood practitioners that spoke with our correspondent on Tuesday agreed that nobody knew the actor was down with a kidney ailment.

Organiser

Personality Awards, Stanley Okoronkwo, who lost his own father last Saturday, said he was shocked to learn that the deceased died of kidney failure.

“I worked with Obiekwe. He was the reserved type, but then we all

idiosyncracies. He was a very nice person. It was always a delight to have him around on a movie set because he was such a good actor. We will certainly miss him,” Okoronkwo said.

Popular actress,

thoroughly jolted by the news of Obiekwe’s death. She wonders why the friends of the deceased did nothing to bring his condition to the knowledge of other people.

“I am sure he had friends in the film industry. No matter how reserved or withdrawn a man may be, he must always keep a few friends. What were they doing when he was sick? Even if he told them he didn’t want his illness publicised,

something about it?

Muna died in this way. Nollywood will miss him, no doubt”, the actress says.

Sometimes described as one of the busiest actors in Nollywood, Obiekwe had appeared in not less than 40 films before his death. They include Black Berry Babes, Zara, Guilty as Sin, Scarlet Woman, Songs of Sorrow and The King Must Die. He is survived by his wife and two children.