23rd February, 2024
Veteran Nollywood actor Stephen Alajemba, popularly known as Uwaezuoke, has claimed that only Pete Edochie is older than him in the Nigerian movie industry, in terms of number of years spent in the profession.
He said while he respects the ‘Things Fall Apart’ actor, the title of the father of Nollywood belongs to late Solomon Eze, popularly known as Mike Orihedịmma.
The thespian claimed that Orihedịmma pioneered Igbo movies and by extension, Nollywood.
Speaking in a recent interview with popular YouTuber, Yan Kontent Factory, Alajemba said: “When you talk about Igbo movie industry, Mike Orihedịmma is the first person to be mentioned. He is the one that trained most of the people you see acting today. He was emulated by Kenneth Nnebue and Pauloo in writing ‘Living In Bondage.’
“When it comes to the movie industry, the only person I respect is Pete Edochie. All the people in the movie industry today, anybody that says he is older than me in the industry, should tell us the first movie he did and what year it came out. It is only Pete Edochie that I can say that he is older than me because of Things Fall Apart.”