Nollywood, the film industry awoke to the worst ever Christmas morning, with the news of prolific filmmaker, Chico Ejiro’s death.
Insiders say. Chico, one of the makers of the Nollywood film industry died Christmas morning in Lagos of cardiac arrest as a result of recurring illness.
A source close to the deceased revealed that Ejiro died at about 2 am on Christmas Day.
According to the source, Ejiro was ill about five weeks ago and taken to a hospital in Surulere where he was placed on admission. But he was discharged after a week.
“From what he said, he had high blood pressure that led to some heart complications and disease. He was recuperating and got better. He even started a production that he was shooting about four days ago but he was not fully involved,” the source added.
The source added that Ejiro was just the supervising director of the new film he was working on. “Although he kept saying that he had not gotten back to his full health; he was still very weak. We were shocked about his death because he was even talking to some of his friends till late last night. I learned he died about 2 am this morning,” the source said.
Zik Zulu, a colleague, and a close friend confirmed the producer’s death. “Yes, it is true, Chico Ejiro is dead.”
Also, the President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, confirmed the filmmaker’s death.
“I just learned of his death. The news of his death is so devastating. I do not know the cause of his death; I am still calling around to get the proper information and I am waiting for his association ― The Association of Movie Producers ― to make a statement,” Rollas said.
Ejiro is known to have produced many works some of the last of which include Night Bus to Lagos. He is a director and producer, known for Computer Girls (2003), Polygamy 2: The Final Clash (2002), and Ashanti (2003).
Efforts to speak to his wife, Joy Chico Ejiro proved abortive as an insider told us she is still in shock over the death of her husband.
Chico Ejiro (born Chico Maziakpono; died 25 December 2020) was a Nigerian movie director, screenwriter, and producer. Little is known about Ejiro other than he was born in Isoko, Delta, Nigeria, and that he originally studied agriculture, and he was drawn into video production because Nigerians would not buy blank video cassettes. His enormous body of work was typical of the second generation that started in the 1990s when cheap video-production equipment became available in the country. He owned a production company called Grand Touch Pictures, which is based in Lagos.
Nicknamed Mr. Prolific, he directed over 80 movies within a 5-year period—each one shot in as little as three days. They feature story lines relevant to Nigerians. The exact number of movies he has worked on as either director, producer, or both is unknown, but it ranges in the hundreds as of 2007. He was profiled in an article in The New York Times, dated May 26, 2002 (“When There’s Too Much of a Not-Very-Good Thing” by Matt Steinglass), and in an article from the international version of Time Magazine dated May 26, 2002 (“Hollywood, Who Really Needs It?” by Stephan Faris).
Ejiro was married to Joy Ejiro, and they had four children. He had two brothers: Zeb Ejiro, the best-known of the new Nigerian cinema auteurs outside of the country, and Peter Red Ejiro, also a movie producer.
Ejiro was featured in the 2007 documentary Welcome to Nollywood, which followed him as he made Family Affair 1 and Family Affair 2.