By Frank Uzuegbunam
A few days ago, I placed a call to Tony Akposeri. It had been ages since we last spoke, and I wanted to reconnect. More importantly, I needed his help sourcing a few talking heads for a series of short documentaries I’m currently working on.
When Tony picked up, his first question hit me like a jolt: “Do you still write? Do you still produce?”
For the uninitiated, Tony Akposeri is a veteran of Nigerian television. He played the unforgettable character Zacky in the iconic series New Masquerade, one of the longest-running shows on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). Beyond his acting, he also served as the production manager on the show, a dual role that showcased his talent both in front of and behind the camera.
Over the years, Tony has remained a prominent figure, appearing in numerous Nollywood films and the popular M-Net series Tinsel Town amongst others.
Tony and I go way back. Our paths first crossed during my university days in Enugu, where I had cultivated a circle of like-minded creative circle. I was the only student in that circle. Nkem Owoh—later immortalized as Osuofia in countless Nollywood classics—was part of that circle. We also had directors like Uzo Amadi and Uzorma Onungwa, who remains a big brother to me to this day.
Among us was the late, great Amaka Isaac-Ene, who later became Amaka Igwe, the legendary creator of the soap opera, Checkmate and the producer of many Nollywood blockbusters. There was also Francis Odega, who looked up to me then. Odega later featured in a lot of Nollywood films, grabbing an Etisalat endorsement deal too.
We were driven by a passion for storytelling. Back then, our efforts were the seeds that many expected would naturally grow into careers in Nollywood when the industry began to take shape. While the rest did, I charted a different path.
Despite numerous invitations and recommendations to join Nollywood’s early wave, I resisted. My first glimpse into the nascent industry didn’t inspire confidence. The chaos on set, the lack of structured or written scripts, and the overwhelming creative control held by marketers in places like Idumota, Lagos; Upper Iweka, Onitsha; and Aba left me cold. To me, Nollywood felt like an unruly experiment rather than an industry.
I craved creative freedom, but I lacked the funds to call the shots. Some friends even rallied to raise money for me to produce a film, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Nollywood at the time couldn’t support the kind of production values I dreamed of—budgets that today align with box office hits or Netflix originals.
And so, I walked away. As the years passed, slowly but surely, Nollywood began to mature. The structures I once craved started to appear, but by then, I felt the train had left the station without me.
Looking at it now, I can’t help but wonder: Did I let my ego stand in the way of something extraordinary? Did my desire for perfection rob me of the chance to grow alongside an industry that has since gained global acclaim?
Sometimes, it feels like I’m standing on the shore, watching the ship I refused to board sail far, far away.
– Frank Uzuegbunam 25/11/2024
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