Nollywood Mourns Mike Odiachi

The Nigerian movie industry is still try­ing to recover from the passing on of two of its finest thespians, Peter Onwuzurike, aka, Dede One Day and Sikiru Adesina, aka Arakangudu ,when the cold hands of death plucked an­other veteran actor, Mike Odiachi from Nige­ria’s make-belief family.

The shocking news of Odiachi’s sudden death filtered in the late hours of Monday, February 15, but many Nollywood practitioners and fans wrote it off as, ‘one of the usual wicked rumours flying around.’

However, DAILY SUN has confirmed Tuesday that Odiachi’s death was not a ruse after all; the thespian was reported to have died at a Lagos hos­pital on Monday night after a brief illness, thereby throwing Nollywood into fresh state mourning, anxiety and panic.

The Delta State-born actor would be remem­bered for his sterling roles in several blockbusters including Prophet of Doom, I Will Die For You, God of Abraham and Igodo among others.

An obviously shocked Fidelis Duker, in a post on his facebook page, had posted the following message: “Today we again mourn one of our own, a great and talented Thespian. The one I call my friend. He acted in several of my films and TV productions between 1993 and 1998. Great guy. I remember Mike Odiachi and his main pal of that era, Austin Awulonu . His regular visit to Karimu Street in Ojuelegba. We talked endlessly over amala. Mike, you were a great guy and thespian doesn’t die. I won’t forget your spectacular perfor­mance in Igodo where you were buried alive. Rest in peace Michael Odiachi.”

When contacted for comments over the inci­dent, frontline comic actor, John Okafor, aka, Mr Ibu, initially expressed shock and disbelief: “Mike Odiachi? No, it is a big lie! O’ God! Please, call back, let me reach out to some people first!” he exclaimed.

But when he was contacted the second time, he blamed the current increasing rate of sudden deaths in the society to weather fluctuations. He said the current wave of unforeseen deaths was not limited to the entertainment industry alone, and pointed out that the ones that concern the industry always make big news because they are always in front of the camera.