Pete Edochie names Awolowo as his top politician

Veteran actor Pete Edochie has named the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the first Premier of the Western Region, as his favourite Nigerian politician. He pointed to Awolowo's impact on education and broadcasting in Nigeria.

The 79-year-old actor shared this during an interview on Curiosity Made Me Ask, a show by content creator Adebayo Abidemi, also known as Isbae U. The interview was published on Saturday.

Edochie said he does not engage in politics, but he admires Awolowo for his clear goals and how he planned to fund his projects.

"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,” he said.

Edochie explained that Awolowo stood out from other politicians because he clearly stated what he wanted to achieve and how he would get the money.

"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,” Edochie said.

He praised Awolowo for bringing many initiatives to Nigeria. These included television and free primary education.

"Which is why Awolowo introduced a lot of things in Nigeria that were not there previously. Awolowo brought television into Nigeria,” he said.

Edochie remembered the launch of the Western Nigeria Television service in 1959. He called it the first television station in Africa.

"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,” Edochie recalled.

The actor also highlighted Awolowo’s free primary education programme in the Western Region. He said it helped many people, no matter their background.

"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?" he said.

Edochie expressed regret that Awolowo never became president of Nigeria.

"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,” he said.