From Screen To The Pulpit

It is not common to hear about personalities in the entertainment industry embracing the call of God. SAMUEL ABULUDE writes on the actors and actresses in the entertainment industry who took a detour and embraced the call of God.

The allure of being an entertainer is tempting that most people won’t even venture to drop, not even for anything in the world. This is because the klieglights affords actors and musicians alike to be rich apart from show of attention and being talked about. But along the line, fate and perhaps ‘the will of God’ has combined to compel some of those who have experienced the razzmatazz of showbiz to stop being on screen temporarily or permanently altogether and serve in the God’s vineyard. By their decision, numerous fans of these entertainers have become astonished.

Liz Benson-Ameye

For lovers of the popular soap opera, Fortunes, no one will doubt that the delectable actress, Liz Benson who played the role, Mrs Agnes was in a league of her own. She had featured in numerous flicks right before the time Nollywood began to be reckoned with in the late 80s.

The beautiful mother of four who had lost her husband, Samuel Gabriel Etim in her mid-twenties embraced the screen to overcome the pains of being widowed as a young woman. The talented thespian said that she actually gained strength from her former husband’s character and that made her able to carry her and her kids through the loss.

Liz Benson came to limelight as the star actress of the 90s, a place she shared with her contemporary, Joke Silva grabbing the lead act from one movie to the other and being celebrated for her rave reviews.

As a result of her unique role interpretation in movies like True Confession, Shame, Conspiracy, Izaga, Burden, Stolen Child, Faces, Dead End, Tycoon and the famed controversial hit, Glamour Girls, Liz has became a role model to today’s Nollywood stars.

Years after Nollywood received a lot of entrants into the industry, no one heard about Liz’s whereabouts nor saw her in movies until news filtered around that the darling screen actress Elizabeth Benson has embraced the call of God.  Since 2006, she has been an evangelist. After working for the Lord preaching in different meetings, she met her husband, Bishop Great Ameye in 2009 in what seemed to be a miraculous circumstance.  

According to Liz, God brought her in contact with her husband when she went to evangelize in a village in Delta State.  Her husband, Bishop who has been in the ministry for a long time is the General Overseer of Freedom Family Assembly.  

“Transiting from an actress to an evangelist was not easy for me. The calling of God is something that when it first happens you begin to fret. You look at yourself and begin to ask questions like, why me? And am I really worth it? But thank God for His mercies. The truth is God can decide to use anyone at any point in time. The most important thing is to submit oneself and after battling with it for a couple of years, it dawned on me that I needed to submit myself and that is exactly what I have done”, Liz said in a recent interview. 

Notably, Liz Benson-Ameye has not lost the swag as noted when she same in the company of her husband at the recent Africa Movie Video Choice Awards. Looking beautiful as usual, it seemed she’s not lost her charming beauty while working for the Lord, she remarked that anywhere she finds herself she makes it happen. Today Liz is a happening babe for Christ.

But her passion for the movie industry is still intact. Last year, The Bishop’s wife and evangelist acted in a movie produced by Linus Idahosa, Stephanie Okereke’s husband. The movie bordered on maternal health, something that really affects the lives of women.

Eucharia Anunobi

Eucharia’s face and distinct voice is synonymous with Nollywood. The sultry actress since her graduation from Institute of Management and Technology IMT, Enugu has embraced the screen.

Imo State-born thespian,  Eucharia Anunobi grabbed the headlines after her semi-nude scene with veteran actor, Zack Orji in the movie Glamour Girls where she bathed him in a Jacuzzi. The all-cast movie which borders on prostitution became an instant hit but received condemnations for the scene and others but as it is the norm, some of the casts instantly hit it off financially as a result of the Nollywood blockbuster.   

Fair skinned and talented Eucharia was a major recipient of the success of the movie and decades after, she has blazed the trail featuring in movie hits. No one in its wild imagination would believe that Eucharia would become a woman of God after all and even now some observers still doubt her sudden embrace of God’s call. Before this, she had suffered a separation from her husband who reportedly abandoned her with her sickle-celled son and apart from grooming him as a single mother; she was saddled with the task of paying his medical bills all alone.  

In 2011, Eucharia embraced the call of an evangelist and was seen preaching in a church in Egbeda area of Lagos. She also now wishes to be called evangelist. But before then, I am not getting derailed because my Bible is keeping me very busy. It puts me on my toes. I know that there are temptations in life here and there. So, I am saying that in the not too distant future, my partner will emerge and then having to be single will be out of the question but I am not worried about it.

Asked how she has coped being single, Eucharia recently said her Bible had kept her busy and that she desired marrying a man of God like her. “My Bible is keeping me very busy with the work of the gospel. So if I get a man now that I am ordained, it will be even better because I’m going to get that man in the  vineyard of the Lord, a man who is refined and prepared by God. The whole joy of being ordained is being a carrier of the gospel and being an example for other people to spread the message of God, let peace reign among men and this is what I am here for”, she remarked.   

Having received the hands of fellowship of the Lagos State Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria PFN, Eucharia Anunobi has made courtesy calls to different agencies like the Lagos State commissioner of Police, Umar Manko which she did mid last year. She also paid a courtesy visit to the Imo State Liaison office in Lagos State with her team of top Nollywood movie practitioners. 

Felicia Iyabo Ogunsola (Efunsetan)

Iyabo Ogunsola is a veteran Yoruba actress married to the late theatre icon, Ishola Ogunshola popularly known as Isho Pepper. She has been an actress for decades travelling with her husband along with other wives staging different plays by Isho Pepper. 

Isho Pepper was one of the stage actors and producers who made the stage theatre popular in Nigeria particularly in South West. With his numerous wives and children also actors, Ishola Ogunsola churned out several flicks among of which is Aje Ni Iya Mi, produced with a high level camera.         

Apart from being an actress under Isho Pepper theatre productions, Iyabo Ogunshola also grabbed headlines for playing the role of the political Yoruba woman leader, Efunsetan Aniwura. The epic, Efunsetan Aniwura became a success and the movie also impacted on the veteran actress and she became associated with the name, Efunsetan.    

But more than a decade ago, Felicia Iyabo Ogunsola was reported to have embraced the pulpit. Reports have it that the thespian partnered late Prophet Akinade of CAC (Lion of Judah) to begin a church in Ibadan but in unfavourable circumstances, she was said to have opted out of the church and instead became an evangelist.  

 Born into a Christian family, her father was a member of the Anglican Church. She has released not less than three sermons in CDs. They include, ‘Adura Nla’, ‘Adura mi gba’ and ‘Ninu odun Yi’. 

According to Iyabo Ogunsola, she completely left theatre in 1993 when her colleagues stopped inviting her to feature in their movies because of her new status as an evangelist.

“As the 2nd wife of the late theatre icon, Ishola Ogunsola popularly called Isho Pepper, I had received God’s call to evangelism, even before Isho Pepper, my husband died. I was already into bible school as far back as 1978 before he died in 1992”, she says. 

She added, “I have a God-given talent to interpret different roles including fetish roles. Right now, I have been producing Christian films. One of them is Ologbon Meji meaning Two wise ones. I go to different churches to market my works whenever, I’m on ministration and I thank God that I get handsomely rewarded financially”                                                                                                         

Pat Attah

Pat Attah is a handsome Nollywood actor who became known after the popular soap opera, Palace, produced by Tunji Bamishigbin. He has not featured in Nollywood movies of recent but there are reports that the dude is now born again.

The talented thespian made his debut into the Nigerian movie industry in 1994 when he acted in Glamour Girls. He has since featured in several flicks over the years.

In 2011, Nollywood actor, Pat Attah was said to have become born again and is currently winning souls for Christ. According to reports, Pat is currently based in Hamburg Germany.

He now has a band and has performed at several major musical concerts around Europe. He appeared with his band at the Xmas Reggae Sunsplash. 

Last year, March 16, Pat Attah, celebrated his birthday wirth goodwill messages and birthday wishes flying from different angles into the home of top actor in Hamburg, Germany.

In 2007, Pat Attah got married to a German woman and they now have a son called Emmanuel.

According to him, he is trying to break into the musical terrain of the Germans since he wants to swing fully into music. Pat is a Reggae musician.

Charles Okafor

Charles Okafor is another actor who may embrace God’s call totally any time from now. The actor was a guest preacher at a Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International FGBMFI meeting in February 2013 and not one person present at that meeting held at the Sheraton Hotels, Lagos will doubt that the pulpit is the next big thing for the veteran actor who was one of the actors that embraced Nollywood after his stint at the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA in Lagos.

Charles Okafor got arrested by God and became Born Again after initially fighting making a commitment with God during his rise to stardom as an actor in the late 90s.  

Charles became a father of twin girls a couple of years ago after being married to his wife for nine years.

In a chat with our correspondent recently, he said that he was not a pastor but that everyone indeed has a call from God. “I have been a Christian now for a longtime and Christianity is more about showing the life of Christ and not status or position. The impact you make on people generally defines your life not the post of an evangelist or a pastor. I am an actor and business man. Presently, I am very busy shooting my movie. I am not in Lagos now,“ he explained.  

Speaking further Charles Okafor said, “Concerning the call of God, every man has a call. What you do about it is left to you. I am a Christian and am passionate about being one. I am not an ordained man of God.”

The actor and father of twin girls featured in a movie called ‘Misplaced’ produced by Uche Jombo. The movie also starred Ghanaian actor, Van Vicker. Charles who is becoming a voice against the excesses in Nollywood is working on a gay/lesbian movie.