Actress, philanthropist and activist, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, veteran actress, Joke Silva, and Living in Bondage movie producer, Kenneth Nnebue, all received Member of the Order of Federal Republic (MFR) national honour. Until recent times, the Nigerian movie industry never had it so good when the roll was called for the national honours. But things have definitely changed. Only recently, Olu Jacobs, Osita Iheme a.k.a. Pawpaw; Genevieve Nnaji, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Amaka Igwe and Stephanie Okereke represented Nollywood on the national honours list.
This time it was the turn of the three aforementioned who no doubt deserve the awards for what they have put in since they embraced their chosen career.
Among the three only Nnebue was not at the award ceremony, which held on September 30 in Abuja. Reported to have said that his absence does not indicate that he will not receive the award, the former businessman and movie producer is now a man of God.
When news of the award broke, Omotola had declared in a tweet on social media that she had mixed feelings, but is thankful to her fans and the Federal Government for the honour and was among the 305 recipients who made it to the grand ceremony. That is out of the total of 313 people who were conferred with the awards for their outstanding contribution to society.
The awardees emerged from the fields of politics, security, sports, entertainment, business and corporate Nigeria.
Nnebue, now a full-time gospel evangelist who recently received the National Centenary honour, produced the ground-breaking feature, Living in Bondage, which is believed to have spurred interest in commercial home movie production.
Joke Silva, who has said that the award is the best birthday she could have received on a day she turned 53, was born in Lagos, Nigeria. She attended Holy Child College in Lagos, after which she studied English at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). She then relocated to England and studied drama at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Silva has starred in several films and television series including: Secret Laughter of Women, 30 Days, Letters to a Stranger, Widow’s Cot and the Africa Movie Academy Award-nominated films White Waters and The Amazing Grace.
Omotola or Omosexy for short, is perhaps Nigeria’s most loved actress and has been listed on the Time magazine 100 most influential people in the world. Born February 7, 1978, she has dabbled in singing, releasing an album titled, Gba. Since her Nollywood debut in 1995, the leading actress has appeared in 300 films, selling millions of video copies. Last year, Omotola made her U.S. television debut in VH1’s scripted series, Hit the Floor.