Longinus Anokwute, a Nollywood actor, popularly known as Chief Imo, has released a new comedy-packed movie known as the Village Councilor.
The movie chronicles the life of a young born-again Christian in a rural area, who the villagers want to be their leader. They called on him to represent them as a councilor in the local government and to also become the king of the town. He however refused on the basis that the game of politics is a dirty one since he is a Christian.
While the young born-again Christian, who is the lead actor in the movie, tried to resist his people’s demands, his mother urged him to grab the wealth-making opportunity, which she described as a life-changing opportunity.
When this respectful and charming young man finally succumbs to the demand of his people, he becomes vile and unruly. Then, he did something that takes the entire community aback.
Anokwute, known as Chief Imo started his career in the mid-2000s as a costumier in the movie industry. He switched to acting in 2008. Today, he is best known for his indigenous comedy in the Igbo language that thrills movie enthusiasts in the eastern part of Nigeria.
Giving an account of his early days, Anokwute said that everything started when he was in elementary school and extended to his secondary school days.
“Those days, each time I came out to talk, people would laugh at me. On many occasions, I would end up cracking the audience up even though I was only responding to a question. Gradually, I started building on it,” he explained.
Anokwute said that he began to gain more ground and win more hearts which made him join the Actors Guild of Nigeria in 2000 after writing the West Africa Examination (WAEC).
The comic actor had his turning point when he shot and produced a movie. He acted with his buddy and colleague Maggi. “That movie brought me to the limelight and gave me the stage name, Chief Imo. I got this name from the movie, Iko Nso,” he added.
He however said that his early days were not a bed of roses such that even his wife became discouraged because of how difficult things were those days.
Despite striking the right note, Anokwute said he is not backing down any time soon. He said his new music, ‘Good News’ reminds him of the many hurdles he faced as a budding entertainer in his village.
Citing an example, Anokwute said that in those days, he used to gather some students in his house after school to rehearse a drama to present at the local government but some villagers mistook that for lazing around, and threatened to set his house ablaze.
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“But today, the same person who threatened me invited me to be the MC at his new house opening, and I gave him my bill which made him start appreciating who I have become today,” he explained.
Presently, Chief Imo is known as the only indigenous YouTube creator in Nigeria that brings rib-cracking visual content in the Igbo language.
Through his YouTube channel with 187 subscribers and thousands of viewers, he has continued to massage the souls, nerves, and existence of his viewers.
