{"id":20649,"date":"2011-12-23T23:30:08","date_gmt":"2011-12-23T23:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/12\/dirges-and-lullabies-of-2011\/"},"modified":"2011-12-23T23:30:08","modified_gmt":"2011-12-23T23:30:08","slug":"dirges-and-lullabies-of-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/12\/23\/dirges-and-lullabies-of-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Dirges and lullabies of 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WHILE many people have described 2011 as a year that gave us \u201cnew songs, new moments and sweet memories\u201d that will see us through\u00a0 to 2012. For the Nigerian movie industry, the outgoing year remains a mixed bag of\u00a0 woes and laughter writes BENJAMIN NJOKU<\/p>\n

The year started off on a good note, holding out promises for the practitioners but thereafter dashing them to ashes. In fact, the industry\u00a0 has not stopped weeping over the loss of some of its pioneer actors to the cold hands of death.<\/p>\n

The likes of Ishola Durojaiye a.k.a Alasari, Ashley Nwosu,\u00a0 Donald Okoli, Yemisi Eleto, Geraldine Ekeocha, Christy Essien-Igbokwe and Sam Loco-Efe were amongst the thespians who bowed out of the stage in the most painful way.<\/p>\n

A popular Yoruba producer and actor,\u00a0 Alasari gave up the ghost in March, after the injuries\u00a0 he sustained in an auto-crash on his way to Abeokuta. He was going there to promote his new movie \u201cOmo night club\u201d which he co produced with Gemini Films and Marketing.<\/p>\n

But he never returned. His death shook the industry to its very foundation, just as the death of actor Ashley Nwosu, left an open- wound in the hearts of his admirers, family members and industry operators.<\/p>\n

Nwosu died in July, after a brief illness. The respected actor who hailed from Abia State had earlier slipped into a coma, at the Military hospital in Yaba, Lagos, where he was receiving treatment for severe liver problems. He was buried on the 21st of September, in his home town in Umuahia, amid tears and grief.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Late Sam Loco & Ashley Nwosu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And famous Sam Loco too.\u00a0 He lived all his life on screen and stage but died mysteriously on August 7, 2011, in his hotel room in Owerri, while shooting a new movie. His funeral rites, observed in Benin, were an elaborate three-day celebration of his life and times. The industry is still mourning his lose\u2026<\/p>\n

Then\u00a0 Donald Okoli, a popular film maker and script writer of great repute. He died on Friday, September 23, at the Yaba Military Hospital, Lagos, after a brief illness, at the age of 38.<\/p>\n

One\u00a0 remembers that night of tributes orgainsed in his honour by his colleagues in the industry, at the popular\u00a0 celebrity hangout, O\u2019jez, in Surulere, when the artistes who graced the sombre outing , especially the quartet of Stephanie Okereke, Oby Edozieh, Ngozi Ezeonu and Chioma Toplis, respectively broke down in tears\u00a0 while paying tributes to the deceased.<\/p>\n

Also, still fresh in our memory today is the demise of actress Geraldine Ekeocha who died on Sunday, September 4, 2011, after a fibroid operation in a hospital in Enugu.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0 talented Enugu-based actress who featured in over 80 movies and several soap operas with many of them still running on air, Ekeocha\u00a0 died at the age of 57, leaving her seven children and the industry operators in perpetual\u00a0 grief.<\/p>\n

The most recent tragedy that struck the industry was that of the demise of Azubike Joseph Udensi, a marketer who died in an auto crash on the 24th of October, 2011. Udensi whose film marketing and distribution company, Consolidated Fortunes distributed most wave-making movies in the formative\u00a0 years of Nollywood including \u201cWithout Love\u201d, \u201cOnome\u201d,\u00a0 \u201cTears for Love, met his untimely death while he was travelling to his village. The bus he was travelling in collded with a luxury bus killing 15 passengers on board.<\/p>\n

Stars who escaped from death<\/p>\n

There are a couple of Nollywood practitioners who are still battling to survive one form of sickness or the other.\u00a0 It would recalled that actress Temitayo Odueke almost lost her life to a strange illness, while Prince Ifeanyi Dike arrived Nigeria aboard Emirate Airline on 15th of\u00a0 September from New Delhi, India after a successful kidney transplant.<\/p>\n

Actor Kayode Odumosu otherwise known as Pa Kasumu also battled a liver-related ailment just as veteran Enebeli Elebuwa is still recuperating from stroke at St. Luke\u2019s hospital, Sabo, Yaba, Lagos.\u00a0 Actress Uche Jombo and Chika Ike alike survived auto crashes that would have resulted in another big blow to the indsutry.<\/p>\n

Highlights on Nollywood<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, despite all these aforementioned woes, the industry recorded a significant progress in the area of new innovation and movie productions. Funke Akindele returned to\u00a0 the reckoning with the premiere of her block-buster, \u201cReturn of Jenifa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also, Lancelot Imasuen\u2019s\u00a0 epic film, \u2018Adesuwa\u2019 which premiered last month in London, was adjudged a masterpiece,\u00a0 just as Niji Akanni\u2019s \u2018Aramotu\u201d which won this year\u2019s\u00a0 AMAA\u00a0 Best Nigerian Film and Best Costume Design, also recorded another victory at the just concluded African International Film Festival, held in Lagos.<\/p>\n

The film won the Best Feature Film prize,\u00a0 considered to be the most coveted award of the whole lot.\u00a0 There are films like \u201cVictims of the Society\u201d, produced by Elvis Chucks and of course, Uche Jombo\u2019s trilogy \u201cDamage\u201d, which hit the cinemas both in Nigeria and beyond few months ago.<\/p>\n

The duo of Emem Isong and Ini Edo equally premiered their much talked \u2018I\u2019ll Take My Chances\u2019 movie in Akwa-Ibom State, and are currently putting plans together to premiere the movie in Lagos.<\/p>\n

Also\u00a0 two award-winning movies produced in Itsekiri language \u201cOma tsen-tsen and Suara La\u201d by comrade Alex Eyengho premiered in Warri, Delta State. It was the first of its kind and had Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State in attendance. The governor endorsed the rebirth of the Itsekiri\u00a0 industry.<\/p>\n

Other movies that made waves during the outgoing year were\u00a0 \u201cTwo Brides and a Baby\u201dproduced by the model cum actress, Blessing Egbe,\u00a0 \u00d6bi Emelonye\u2019s \u201cMirror Boy\u201d, Monalisa China\u2019s \u201cKiss and Tell\u201damongst others.<\/p>\n

New marriages<\/p>\n

Actress Mercy Johnson tied the nuptial knots with her spouse in what was considered the most controversial wedding of the year. Actress Monalisa Chinda\u2019s ex-husband, Dejo Richard re-married after divorcing the actress.<\/p>\n

While pint-sized actor, Chinedu \u2018Aki\u2019 Ikedieze got married to the love of his life, Nneoma, and their marriage was described as the \u201cmarriage of the year.\u201dBut when it was time for the couple to say \u201c\u00cf do\u201d they sneaked into one of the Redeemed churches, located somewhere in Ogba area of Ikeja, to perform the ritual.<\/p>\n

However, one of the newest marriages in town at the moment is that of Oby Edozieh, who secretly married very popular 90\u2019s singer Alex O at the Ikoyi Registry\u00a0 penultimate Friday.<\/p>\n

Those whose marriages crashed\u00a0 in 2011<\/p>\n

Actor Fred Aseroma divorced his wife, Chika Ike\u2019s marriage also hit the rocks. More prominent and shocking among the marriage break-ups in 2011 is that of actress Kate Henshaw to her British hubby, Nuttal. The marriage lasted 12 years before hitting the rocks. Actress Moji Olaiya was also not lucky with her marriage.<\/p>\n

Awards by Nollywood stars<\/p>\n

This year saw Nollywood stars winning a couple of awards within and outside the shores of the country.\u00a0 Locally, such awards for 2011 included the African Movie Academy Awards(AMAA), Best of Nollywood Awards(BON), Future Awards, and the City People Arards.<\/p>\n

Internationally, there was the NAFCA awards which saw Nollywood stars carting away a lot of prizes. Susan Peters won Best Supporting Actress as well as Nse Ikpe-Etim\u00a0 at the event, which held in North Carolina.<\/p>\n

But the big prize\u00a0 was won by Mercy Johnson Okojie recently as she clinched the 2011 Most Outstanding Actress award at the third edition of prestigious Afro-Australian Music and Movies Awards, AAMMA, which held\u00a0 at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, Australia.<\/p>\n

Cocaine and other incidents<\/p>\n

The dust raised by the arrest cum release of the comic-actor, Babatunde Omidina, popularly known as Baba Suwe, is still lingering. He was in NDLEA custody for allegedly swallowing substances suspected to be cocaine. He was later released after what was dubbed \u2018drama of the year.\u2019<\/p>\n

Yoruba actor, Ayo Badmus\u00a0 was\u00a0 pummeled at a political rally in Oshodi, as well as Jim Iyke\u00a0 who was arrested and ordered out of his car, in Abuja,\u00a0 for driving an automobile with tinted glasses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Comments are moderated. Please keep them clean and brief.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WHILE many people have described 2011 as a year that gave us \u201cnew songs, new moments and sweet memories\u201d that will see us through\u00a0 to 2012. For the Nigerian movie industry, the outgoing year remains a mixed bag of\u00a0 woes and laughter writes BENJAMIN NJOKU The year started off on a good note, holding out promises for the practitioners but thereafter dashing them to ashes. In fact, the industry\u00a0 has not stopped weeping over the loss of some of its pioneer actors to the cold hands of death<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nDirges and lullabies of 2011 - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/12\/23\/dirges-and-lullabies-of-2011\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Dirges and lullabies of 2011 - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"WHILE many people have described 2011 as a year that gave us \u201cnew songs, new moments and sweet memories\u201d that will see us through\u00a0 to 2012. 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