Awolowo remains my favourite politician — Pete Edochie

Veteran actor, Pete Edochie, has named the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the first Premier of the Western Region, as his favourite Nigerian politician, citing his contributions to education, broadcasting and national development.

The 79-year-old actor made this known during an interview on Curiosity Made Me Ask, hosted by content creator Adebayo Abidemi, popularly known as Isbae U, and published on Saturday.

Edochie, while stressing that he was not involved in politics, said he admired Awolowo for setting clear goals and explaining how he intended to finance and execute his programmes.

“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 favourite politician, I will tell you Awolowo.”

Explaining his choice, the veteran actor said Awolowo distinguished himself from other politicians by clearly stating what he intended to achieve and how he planned to fund his programmes.

“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 also credited Awolowo with introducing several initiatives that had a lasting impact on Nigeria, particularly in education and broadcasting.

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

He recalled the establishment of Western Nigeria Television in 1959, describing it as 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.”

The actor also praised Awolowo’s free primary education programme in the Western Region, noting that it benefited people irrespective of their place of origin.

“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?”

Edochie expressed regret that Awolowo never became President of Nigeria, despite his contributions to the country’s development.

“So, on a couple of occasions, when I tell people that this man was my favourite, regrettably, he never became the president of the country, right? But he wasn’t somebody who would invest so much energy promising.”