1st May, 2014
FUNSHO AROGUNDADE
As the Nigerian entertainment industry mourns the demise of Nollywood icon, Mrs Amaka Igwe, who died Monday at age 51, tributes have been pouring in her honour from her colleagues and politicians.
Former Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Atiku Abubakar, expressed shock at the demise of the foremost film maker. He described Igwe as a jewel of the Nollywood industry.
“Amaka was one of the pioneers of the movie industry. Her presence in Nollywood grew to become quite impressive as she amassed a number of well received movies,” Atiku said.
He noted that it is to the credit of people like the late Amaka Igwe that the movie industry has continued to play crucial role in the economy of the country both in job creation and revenue generation.
The Turaki Adamawa expressed his condolences to the Igwe and Eneh families and friends and members of the Nollywood.
Zik Zulu Okafor, National President, Association of Movie Producers, AMP, said his body received the news of Igwe’s death with shock.
“It is a piece of news that has left our entire members worldwide and indeed Nollywood in freezing silence, too stunned for words. Our hearts are laden with pain over the loss of a titan, a motion picture icon who gave our association, AMP and Nollywood a robust intellectual character,” Okafor stated.
He said Igwe was a founding member of AMP and a pioneer member of its Board of Trustees, BOT, and had worked assiduously to give the association a profound professional character founded on robust ideas and vision for development and emergence of a generation of thoroughbred professionals.
Nollywood actor, Francis Onwochei said the industry will miss Igwe, whom he described as a “Great Amazon”.
“We will miss you, but we are consoled because everywhere we turn in Nollywood, we see you or those you have inspired. Along with the entire Nollywood community we say Goodnight Amaka,” Onwochei posted in a Blackberry Message.
Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, Founder, African Movie Academy Awards, said she was thrown off balance when the news of Igwe’s death was broken to her.
She said the motion picture industry in Nigeria and Africa would surely miss the ‘revolutionary’ who raised the bar of professionalism and artistic excellence early in Nollywood when it was not fashionable.
“Amaka Igwe gave herself and applied herself to producing films and soaps that are pacesetters. She was a creative entrepreneur of outstanding qualities who came, saw and conquered in her 51 years of existence on earth,” Anyiam-Osigwe said.
Saidi Balogun, the National President, The Movie Ambassadors of Nigeria, said Igwe is one of the few iconic figures that the newly formed association was looking up to and hoping to meet to tap from her wealth of experience.
“But we received the sad news of her death with shock amidst tears. On personal achievement as a thespian, she is a doyen but most importantly is her quest to have a unified movie industry which identifies with professionalism. She was a silent achiever who left when the industry needs her most… TMA sympathy goes to Mr Charles, her children, family, in- laws, colleagues and friends. A national icon is gone. Nigeria will miss you,” a statement signed by Balogun read.
Another notable actor, Fred Amata, said: “ I was dumbfounded when I heard the news. All I can say now is in the book of 1 Cor. 15 vs 55: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”