By Emma Ogbuehi
Tragedy hit the Nigerian entertainment industry with the death of prolific Nollywood producer and Director Chico Ejiro. The multiple award winner died on Christmas day from undisclosed illness.
Chico was said to be shooting his upcoming video RELAPSE at a location before his death. The hard-working producer had churned out such popular movies like Silent Night, Blood Money and Night Bus To Lagos, among others.
Our Reporter gathered that he had been ill, but having recovered appreciably had returned to a movie set in Lagos. It was in the process that he suffered a relapse and was being rushed to a hospital before he gave up the ghost.
Chico John Meziakpono Ejiro, said to be in his 50s, hailed from Isoko in Delta State. Born in Equatorial Guinea, he’s the immediate younger brother of one of the biggest players in the industry, Zeb Ejiro, who incidentally lured him into filmmaking. Their eldest brother, Peter Red Ejiro also moonlighted briefly with Nollywood, as the producer of Strange Woman, before returning to their hometown where he currently runs a film school.
Reacting to the development, a newspaper editor and columnist, Sylvester Asoya, wrote, “A dark cloud envelopes Nollywood. What a loss! May God comfort his family”. Another Nollywood enthusiast, Jimi Ahmed, lamented, “his death has created deep hole in the entertainment industry. It will be hard to get a good replacement for him. I am devastated”.