‘I Have Utmost Respect For Pete Edochie’ — Bob-Manuel Clears Controversy

Veteran Nollywood actor, filmmaker and politician, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, has denied claims that he disparaged legendary actor Pete Edochie, insisting his comments were taken out of context and twisted to generate online controversy.

Speaking with THE WHISTLER, Udokwu said he was hurt by reports that portrayed him as disrespectful towards Edochie, whom he described as one of the industry’s most revered figures.

“That is basically what they do. They take your statement totally out of context, totally out of what you do not have in mind.

“I did not find it funny because Pete Edochie is somebody I have utmost respect for,” he said.

In a September 2025 interview, Udokwu discussed the history of Nollywood and mentioned that he started acting before Edochie.

According to him, his remarks were never intended to diminish Edochie’s contributions but to place Nollywood’s evolution within its proper historical context.

“There are some that are not even his contemporaries and some that are also his contemporaries. The likes of the late Justice Esiri, whom we all watched as kids and youngsters in Village Headmaster. People like Olu Jacobs. We watched him when we were quite young,” he said.

Udokwu also noted that Olu Jacobs had built an impressive international career long before Nollywood became a recognised industry.

“This is somebody who had also been in many productions outside the country, like Dogs of War. He lived in the UK for so many years, practising both stage and television,” he added.

The actor argued that discussions about Nollywood’s origins should be viewed through a historical lens, maintaining that the industry as it is known today began with the release of the 1992 blockbuster Living in Bondage.

“But when you want to put something in perspective, in context, situate it historically, it becomes clear. The story of Nollywood is something that people have written PhDs about.

“I know quite a number of people who come to meet me because I was there before the beginning of Nollywood. Because whether some people accept it or not, what we call Nollywood today began with the release of Living in Bondage in 1992,” he said.

Udokwu stressed that acknowledging the significance of Living in Bondage does not erase the achievements of actors who came before it.

“It is not as if Nigerians did not have actors before then. After all, I was also acting, effectively already a celebrity, before Living in Bondage, which I also happened, by providence, to be a part of.

“But I was already playing a major role in a hit soap opera called Checkmate before I became part of Living in Bondage, which as a landmark serves as a timeframe to determine when this industry called Nollywood took off.”

Udokwu further compared Nollywood’s development to changes in technology and the evolution of older film industries.

“You have a year, you can now say this is when an industry like this appeared. It is like internet banking. Nigeria did not start internet banking out of the blues.

“There was a time people would go to the bank early in the morning and queue and wait, and they would give you cards to fill, paperwork upon paperwork. Today, the Gen Zs will probably roll their eyes if you tell them that there was a time they had to fill forms. There were no cell phones. A lot of things you do with your phone today were done manually,” he said.

“An industry like Hollywood in America, which is number one and the yardstick internationally, has been there for more than a hundred years.

“From the beginning of the days of still cameras, black and white, grainy images that people could hardly see properly. They kept refining it until the era of moving pictures, which is why it has been called movies, because still photographs started moving. With no sound yet. The era of silent movies.

“These are things you can check on the internet today. Why has it become a problem that I mentioned the timeline for one to say, this is where our own industry took off?” he queried.

Udokwu said the backlash was fuelled by people who deliberately distorted his remarks.

“And then some person, looking for whatever reason, went and put such quotes out of context.

“Of course, those who know me know that I am too disciplined to say uncomplimentary things about somebody I know who is my senior in age and in life. So it is sad.”

He reiterated that he would never insult Edochie, whom he described as a respected elder and one of the most iconic figures in Nigerian cinema.

Edochie gained national acclaim in the 1980s for his portrayal of Okonkwo in the Nigerian Television Authority adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and is one of Nigeria’s most celebrated actors.