15/09/2025
My Humble Take on the Ongoing Bob-Manuel Udokwu vs. Pete Edochie โWho Started Nollywoodโ Argument.
There has been an ongoing uproar on social media over a simple, factual statement made by Sir Bob-Manuel Udokwu, one of Nollywoodโs finest veteran actors, regarding who is older in the Nollywood Industry between himself and the legendary Chief Pete Edochie, MON (popularly called Ebubedike).
First, let us set the records straight.
Chief Pete Edochie, MON, needs no introduction. He is an elder statesman of African cinema, celebrated worldwide. He became a household name after playing Okonkwo in the 1985 Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) adaptation of Chinua Achebeโs โThings Fall Apart.โ That performance is iconic, and to date, remains one of the greatest portrayals in African screen history. But let us remember, this was before the formal birth of Nollywood.
Sir Bob-Manuel Udokwu came into the limelight as part of the pioneering cast of โLiving in Bo***geโ (1992), a film produced by Kenneth Nnebue, which is widely acknowledged as the first Nollywood movie and the one that laid the foundation for what we now call the Nollywood Industry.
So, when Sir Bob-Manuel Udokwu says that while Chief Pete Edochie was already acting before Nollywood existed, he (Bob-Manuel) is older in Nollywood as an industry, he is not insulting or disrespecting Chief Pete. He is simply stating a historical fact:
๐ Nollywood officially started with โLiving in Bo***geโ (1992).
๐ Chief Pete Edochieโs legendary role in Things Fall Apart (1985) predates Nollywood.
๐ Therefore, Bob-Manuel and his colleagues in Living in Bo***ge are โolderโ in the Nollywood industry, not necessarily in acting as a profession.
I am honestly surprised by the insults and aspersions cast at Sir Bob-Manuel Udokwu for saying this truth. Here is a man who has lived a clean, controversy-free life, and who has consistently shown respect for elders, colleagues, and institutions. He never insulted Ebubedike, Chief Pete Edochie, MON, but rather acknowledged his greatness.
Let us not twist facts because of emotions. Truth is truth, whether it concerns a legend or not.
Nobody, dead or alive, can erase the towering legacy of Chief Pete Edochie, MON. His contribution to film and theatre in Nigeria and beyond is unmatched.
At the same time, nobody can deny that Sir Bob-Manuel Udokwu and his โLiving in Bo***geโ colleagues are the true pioneers of Nollywood as an industry.
Both men are icons. Both men deserve respect. But facts must be stated as they are: Acting existed before Nollywood, but Nollywood as an industry began in 1992 with Living in Bo***ge.
This is my humble take. Let us give honor to whom it is due, without twisting truth for sentiments.
---
Follow Trendy Pulse Media : Get Your Daily Buzz: Headlines, Sports, Gossip & More!
