It seems like this trend has been going on for quite a while now. A lot of you might not know but top Nollywood figures, Patience Ozokwor and Pete Edochie were formerly employed at different radio stations before quitting their jobs in search of the fame and fortune they felt the Nigerian movie industry could bring.
Sources revealed that Patience Ozokwor, who is widely referred to as Mama G, left Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Enugu as a radio announcer to start a career in the Nigerian movie industry.
Further investigations showed that it was Chika Okpala aka Chief Zebrudaya who prompted her to take part in a commercial shoot in which she played the role of wife to now late veteran Nollywood actor, Pete Eneh.
Meanwhile, Pete Edochie, whose role as Okonkwo in the iconic adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart by the Nigerian Television Authority remains memorable, used to be a season broadcaster at the ABS FM in Enugu.
Edochie got into radio broadcasting in 1967 as a junior programmes assistant after which he rose through the ranks, to the point of becoming a Director.
He was Director of programmes, but doubling sometimes as Deputy Managing Director before quitting to face the movie industry full time with the lure of several producers calling on him to join the fledgling movie industry having become too loud to be ignored.
Today, both stars stand tall in the country, having distinguished themselves in the path they chose to take.
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