Gen Zs may not know, but in the 90s, Ego Boyo was the moment. She starred alongside RMD. She lit up every screen she graced. And then, at the height of it all, she walked away.
Why?
“It was boring,” she told me. Just like that. And so she pivoted.
But she didn’t disappear. She simply moved behind the camera and began shaping the industry in ways that still echo today.
She produced Keeping the Faith, the film that introduced Genevieve Nnaji to the world. She created A Hotel Called Memory with Akin Omotosho. She even produced the jingle for President Obasanjo’s first political campaign.
In front of the camera or behind it, Ego Boyo is one of the true architects of Nigerian cinema.
Sitting with her was pure joy. Elegant. Brilliant. Thoughtful in the way that makes you lean in and listen.
She told me how she’s auditioned almost every Nollywood legend we know today. Genevieve. Joke Silva. Bimbo Akintola. Funmilola Aofiyebi. They all passed through her rooms.
She spoke about how she produced Violated and Keeping the Faith, two defining films of their time. She shared how The Ghost and the House of Truth turned into what she called “a phenomenal disaster” and what she learned from it. She told the story of how she ended up in La Femme Anjola just by joking around on set.
She spoke about marriage. About motherhood. And how it shifted everything for her. How she went from never caring much about babies to being completely transformed by having her own children at just 24.
“It came with honour,” she said. It calmed her. Matured her. Made her more reflective.
She also spoke about faith. How it deepened after she got married. How her personal life made her spiritual life fuller.
Even now, after everything, she’s still dreaming. Still planning. Still creating. She told me she’s longing to direct her first feature film.
Ego Boyo has never chased fame. She chose the work instead. And what a body of work it is.
Quiet. Powerful. Lasting.
She’s not just part of the story of Nollywood. She helped build it.
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