10 things you may not know about late veteran filmmaker Eddie Ugboma

The death of veteran filmmaker Chief Eddie Ugbomah who unfortunately gave up the ghost to an undisclosed ailment has been made public by Shaibu Husseini, a Nigerian journalist, performing artist and film curator.

In a message posted on his Facebook page, Shaibu Husseini revealed that Eddie Ugbomah breathed his last while waiting for funds to be raised for surgery to treat his ailment.

“We lost him. He couldn’t wait for surgery. Chief Eddie Ugbomah has just passed on. He died exactly an hour ago,” Shaibu Husseini posted on his Facebook page.

Recall in 2018 that the 78-year-old filmmaker had intended to raise N50 million from the sale of his intellectual property to cover for his medical bills, but his effort failed to materialise.

“I am seriously down with 205/190 BP, no road, no light, no clinic and I am dying. What a shameless country. The nearest clinic is 5 miles away. The town in Ilogbo Eremi off Badagry express road,” Ugbomah wrote at the time.

A holder of the national honour of Order of the Niger (OON), Ugbomah has directed and produced films such as the Rise and Fall of Oyenusi in 1979, The Boy is Good and Apalara, a film about the life and murder of Alfa Apalara in Oko Awo, Lagos.

As a parting shot, listed below are ten things you may not know about the filmmaker who was appointed chairman of the Nigerian Film Corporation in the year 1988.

(1.) Ugbomah is a native of Village Ashaka area Aboh in East Ndokwa, Delta State, Local Government but grew up in the Obalende and Lafiaji area of Lagos. 

(2.) He was educated at St Matthias, Lafiaji, Lagos and City College school. 

Read also: Bedridden veteran filmmaker Eddie Ugboma cries for help, may be thrown out of hospital over unpaid bills

(3.) He traveled to London for his college education and attended various colleges studying journalism, drama and later film. 

(4.) After studies, he worked with BBC and also played minor roles in Dr.No, Guns at Batasi and Sharpeville Massacre. 

(5.) He was a member of an Afro-Caribbean drama group and directed some of the group’s plays such as This is Our Chance, play staged at the Stoke Newington Theatre Hall.

(6.) He returned to Nigeria in 1975 and was involved in concert promotion before starting Edifosa, a film production company.

(7.) Ugbomah’s films usually tackles contemporary social and political issues. 

(8.) Ugbomah’s career flourished into the early 1980s producing such films as Oil Doom, Bolus ’80 and The Boy is Good. Most of his films were shot in 16mm with the exception of The Mask. Later in his career Ugbomah turned to Yoruba video films.

(9.) He has directed and produced films such as the Rise and Fall of Oyenusi in 1979, The Boy is Good and Apalara, a film about the life and murder of Alfa Apalara in Oko Awo, Lagos. 

(10.) The plot of some of his films are loosely based on real life events, The Rise and Fall of Oyenusi is based on the career of a notorious robber, Ishola Oyenusi who terrorized Lagosians in the early 1970s.

By Ahmed Boulor…

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