Pete Edochie Crowns Awolowo His Most Admired Nigerian Politician

Legendary Nollywood actor, Pete Edochie, has publicly identified the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who served as the inaugural Premier of Nigeria's Western Region, as the politician he most admires. The 79-year-old screen icon attributed his choice to Awolowo's significant impact on both education and broadcasting sectors. This revelation came to light during his appearance on "Curiosity Made Me Ask," a program hosted by content creator Adebayo Abidemi, widely known as Isbae U, with the interview segment released on Saturday.

Despite clarifying that he remains apolitical, Edochie expressed profound admiration for Awolowo's distinct approach to governance, specifically praising his ability to articulate precise objectives and transparently detail the funding and implementation strategies for his projects. He remarked, “First of all, I love the Yorubas a lot. One of my sons is married to a Yoruba girl, I didn’t tell you that, so you’re my in-law. I’m not into politics, no. But, if you ask me who is or was my favorite politician, I will tell you Awolowo.”

Elaborating on his selection, Edochie highlighted Awolowo's unique standing among politicians, noting his commitment to clearly defining his goals and the financial mechanisms to support them. He further stated, “You people were not born when Awolowo was in active politics. But Awolowo will tell you, ‘I’m going to build this thing. It will cost certain amount, and this is where I’m going to get it.’ There has been no politician to achieve that, no. Outside Awolowo, then M.I. Okpara in the East.”

The veteran actor credited Awolowo with pioneering various groundbreaking initiatives across Nigeria, notably the introduction of television and the implementation of free primary education. According to Edochie, “Which is why Awolowo introduced a lot of things in Nigeria that were not there previously. Awolowo brought television into Nigeria.”

Edochie recounted the founding of the Western Nigeria Television service in 1959, underscoring its historical significance as Africa's very first television station. He quoted, “He did. Then you would hear, ‘This is WNBC, first in Africa,’ under Awolowo. That was in 1959. Then in 1960, we in the East established our own television, and we were saying, ‘This is ENBC, second to none.’ We were second to the West, but we didn’t want to accept it, so we were saying second to none. Awolowo introduced it.”

Furthermore, Edochie lauded Awolowo's free primary education scheme in the Western Region, emphasizing its broad impact, which extended benefits to individuals irrespective of their state of origin. He stated, “Awolowo introduced free primary education. And he surprised everybody who was born then in the West. No matter where you came from, you benefited from it, you know?”

A point of regret for Edochie remains Awolowo's failure to ascend to Nigeria's presidency. He concluded, “So, on a couple of occasions, when I tell people that this man was my favorite, regrettably, he never became the president of the country, right? But he wasn’t somebody who would invest so much energy promising.”