Tchidi Chikere, a well-known figure in Nollywood, paid respect to the late Olu Jacobs with an emotional post on social media.
Tchidi recently admitted on his official Facebook page that many elderly men in the eastern area were against his casting of Olu Jacobs as an Igbo chief, saying that Jacobs did not know enough about their culture and traditions. Tchidi kept casting Jacobs in these parts despite their protests.
When asked about the casting of Olu Jacobs as an Igbo chief, Tchidi stressed that many elder men in the east openly questioned the decision. Jacobs was cast as the Igwe, but his Yoruba heritage and lack of familiarity with Igbo culture caused them to question his knowledge of traditional rites and why he was cast in that capacity.
Tchidi nevertheless grinned and put him in those roles even more often despite this. He said Olu Jacobs is the best, calling him a gentleman who kept his cool and never lost his temper during their whole time working together, which began with 'Ijele' in 1999 and continues to this day.
(Instagram photo credit)
"A lot of the older men in the east at the time openly questioned why the producers wanted Olu Jacobs to play the role of an Igbo chief," he said. They questioned his knowledge of Igbo culture and his Yoruba heritage, questioning Tchidi's casting of Olu Jacobs as the Igwe. His knowledge of traditional rituals of breaking kolanut is limited.
I couldn't help but smile and cast him in even more roles. Yup, I did said it: Uncle Olu Jacobs is the greatest. Tchidi Chikere wrote, "A gentleman to the core. I have never seen him lose his cool or get angry in all the years I have known him and worked with him from Ijele in 1999 till date. He was a peacemaker on set, never gave anybody trouble, and his age didn't cause him to ever have any sense of entitlement or look down on us who started watching his films as kids while he dazzled as Inspector Best Idafa in the now rested NTA series, The Third Eye," which elicited strong reactions from the public.