Veteran Nollywood actor, Chiwetalu Agu, narrates how he allegedly turned down a N10m offer by Globacom Chairman and multi-billionaire Mike Adenuga, at a time he had never seen a million naira in his life.
In the encounter, he also talked about an illness that he said almost killed him and that during his deliverance, all sorts of objects were exorcised from his body by a prophet after he had suffered to the point of death.
The exorcised objects allegedly included pins, cowries, sea stones and other ‘fetish object,’ according to the actor.
The actor spoke with popular media personality, Chude Jideonwo.
In snippets of the interview circulating across the social media, the 67-year-old actor spoke on his journey through life generally, touching on his career, the society and of course, a strange illness that nearly killed him.
In his interview, the actor claimed he was hit by ‘deadly arrows” which caused him severe pains and random scratches all over his body. At some point, people were thinking he was going to die because of the rapid weight loss, he added.
“People were looking at me, as if I was dying, I was shrinking… these were deadly arrows. You won’t know when they enter your body”, he opened up to Chude.
Agu said his health was salvaged by one Prophet Ugo who delivered him from the ‘spiritual onslaught’ of the enemies against his life.
The most controversial part of the discussion, however, was when he told the world that objects like cowries, pins and stones were expelled from his body.
“Pins were there, cowries were there, sea stones, fetish substance, inside my body. And they’d scratch me, I will scratch”, he revealed.
In the interview, Agu related his experience with multi-billionaire businessman Mike Adenuga.
He said: “Chief Mike Adenuga said, ‘what I have for you in this contract is N10 million.’ I have not seen N1 million before when he was pricing me N10 million but I refused. I said, ‘if it’s not N20 million, forget it.’
“He insisted, I insisted. So, I pretend to rise up and said, ‘give me money to go back to Enugu. If there’s any available flight, book it for me let me just quietly go back.’
“They regarded me to now being serious when I rose up. Chief Mike Adenuga said ‘sit down.’ He ordered them to bring documents for signing. They brought and I signed.
“From that moment uhuru dance started. I did it diplomatically in the office. I didn’t want them to know that N20m was a big deal [to me]. But it was the most wonderful thing [to me] at the moment.”
His claim to have sat down with Mike Adenuga to discuss a N10m contract divided the netizens, though.
While many people on social media commended him for “knowing his worth,” others expressed the belief that Agu was probably referring to Wale Adenuga, the Nigerian series producer best known for the publications Ikebe Super, Binta & Friends and Super Story, and their televised versions through his production company Wale Adenuga Production.
Meanwhile, Jideonwo said of the encounter: “Ah, I had a blast with Nollywood legend, Chiwetalu Agu, as part of my #EnuguDiaries.
“It was like entering a time capsule of certainty, stability and clarity. Even when he said things I didn’t agree with, it was tough not to be pulled into the charm of his certainties.
“We talked about the time he almost died, his dramatic experiences with lack and want and Mike Adenuga’s millions, his dramatic arrest for wearing Biafran colours and the outcry that followed, why he supports Nnamdi Kanu’s mission, joining the trips of Biafra, sexual harassment and the gender wars, and his thoughts on the government of Muhammadu Buhari.
“In-between, we talked about the ‘beautiful times’ at the beginning of Nollywood, including the first movie of his that I watched – with my late father.
“Moments like this one, conversations like this one, auras like this one are the reason I am so deeply grateful that I do this job.”
