This is exclusively one of the most interesting and longest interviews I have published on NAIJA Creative, it was written on Nigerian Tribune..Read below
Scheduling an interview with Pete Edochie seems like an assignment of a lifetime.There have been stories about him being a no-nonsense man, and someone who had been wary of journalists since he was kidnapped a few years back. Even his movie roles as a wicked ritualist, Igwe or strict father did not help matters either.He did not pick his phone the first time, but when he eventually did, one had a momentary fear of rejection, which had been the lot of many before now.
Scheduling an interview with Pete Edochie seems like an assignment of a lifetime.There have been stories about him being a no-nonsense man, and someone who had been wary of journalists since he was kidnapped a few years back. Even his movie roles as a wicked ritualist, Igwe or strict father did not help matters either.He did not pick his phone the first time, but when he eventually did, one had a momentary fear of rejection, which had been the lot of many before now.
“Good afternoon sir. My name is Joan from the Saturday Tribune. We haven’t heard from you in a while; we have missed your movies and your proverbs, and I would like to schedule an interview with you. He seemed to pull back a little and I felt ‘Well, if he says no, too bad.’ But he laughed softly and said, “Joan, your name is pronounced ‘J-o-n-e’ not ‘Jo-anne’; why have you decided to spoil your name? When I was younger, I trained in the British Broadcasting Corporation. You dared not pronounce names that way.”
“Yes sir, actually sir, I know.” (That actually brightened up the mood). Then he laughed heartily and said, “About the interview, I’ll think about it and get back to you.”
Of course, the next time, he agreed and said he would be in Lagos the next weekend. When I arrived at the venue of the interview, I was ushered in and asked to wait for minutes. And when he came in, he was actually very different from what we used to see on the screen. He was as tall as a giant, and he spread out his hands and beckoned on me to come into his embrace. I thought I heard him whisper a few words that sounded like
‘Don’t be afraid, honey. Nno (welcome).’He sat down and said,
“You know why I agreed to grant this interview? Most of the times people call me for interviews and I keep running away, but you never gave up; you never gave me a break. You have been on my case for the past three weeks. Well done kid.”In this chat with JOAN OMIONAWELE, the ace broadcaster/actor described his world and his life as an actor.
You were rumoured to have died last year; how did that make you feel?
It did not make me feel anything.
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