Veteran Nollywood actress Patience Ozokwor, popularly known as Mama G, is beloved for her iconic roles in Nigerian movies. Long before she starred in the movie, Old School, a movie that gave her the alias, Mama G and catapulted her to prominence in the movie industry, Patience Ozokwor was already an established name in Nollywood. However, many young people may not know that before fully diving into acting, she also had a very successful music career that is still well known and beloved by millennials and older especially.
In interviews, the star actress is always quick to point out God as the pillar of her success and how she couldn’t have achieved anything were it not for God. Patience Ozokwor was born in the village of Amaebo, Ngwo in present-day Enugu State, Nigeria, and attended Abimbola Gibson Memorial School in Lagos. She later attended the Institute of Management and Technology Enugu (ESUT), where Patience obtained a degree in fine and applied arts.
Early Aspirations and Unexpected Turns
During a recent interview with The life unscripted podcast, the legendary actress reflected on her early dreams of becoming a singer and how fate led her to the film industry instead. During her interview, Patience Ozokwor spoke about how she initially thought she was going to be a singer, surprised to see that movies are where she ended up.
PATIENCE OZOKWO: When I was actually small, I thought I was going to sing because I love singing. Yeah, I love singing.
Music Career and "National Moi Moi"
Then, the interviewer asked her about the music career she did have, saying: "But then you did sing for a while.
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PATIENCE OZOKWO: Yes, I did. I did some Igbo songs and then did National Moi Moi. That one took me around the whole of America-that single song, National Moi Moi. But I'm no longer singing that. I'm singing Christian music now. But there's nothing wrong with that song. It was just yabbing Nigerians. Our leaders were not doing well, and then we too were not helping ourselves.
Although National Moi Moi gained popularity, it also stirred controversy, especially among some religious leaders.
PATIENCE OZOKWO: Some pastors were not happy with me when I sang it. But when I told them that I was just trying to let people know that you don’t need to wait for the government at all times-sometimes you have to do your own part-they understood me.
PATIENCE OZOKWO: No, no, no, no, no, I didn’t.
While she never fully pursued a career in music, her brief stint in the industry left a lasting impact, especially with the song and album National Moi Moi, which resonated with many Nigerians. Also try to learn whatever lessons I teach in my music like in the song,National Moi Moi, which tells you that those in government should allow the people to a taste of the national cake and the governed should work hard to earn a living for themselves and be good citizens of Nigeria.
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MAMA G THE MILLENNIUM LADY |BEST OF PATIENCE OZOKWOR, TONTO DIKEH OLD NIGERIAN MOVIE| AFRICAN MOVIES
From Radio to Nollywood
Before starting as an actress, she was part of a Radio Drama. She took part in a soap opera by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) titled "Someone Cares". She was an announcer and broadcaster on Radio Nigeria before she became an actress. I was an announcer with Radio Nigeria but I left because I was retrenched. Before then, I had always acted in school and in church. And being an announcer on its own is acting because they both involve expression.
Embracing Challenging Roles
Nobody forgets easily any of her famous roles either as a wicked mother in-law or step mother. And she is quick to tell you she accepts such roles to expose the wicked. It’s challenging playing the role of a bad person, for me it is much work. I don’t feel bad taking up such roles because I know that the character is not me. Honestly I feel terrible. There was a movie I did where I have to snatch a baby’s food and throw it away. Each time I watch that movie, I feel like crying, because I love babies so much. There’s another one where I had to put some poison in a baby’s mouth and the baby died afterwards. Whether we like it or not, these are things people do; so I take up such roles not just for the money but for the sake of exposing evil doers. I hail them.
I’ve played so many romantic roles too. I don’t know how to assign importance to any of my movies but I pay equal attention to any script I get; no matter how small it is. It’s the smaller scripts that can even floor you if you’re not careful. The movie Old School had a small script, but by the time we finished, it came out wonderfully well, and earned me the name Mama G. I’ve never disrespected any script, but all the same, there are some very challenging ones. So many times and these happened at special gatherings or at the airport. People just walk up to me and say you are a wicked woman; you are a witch and things like that. They are so happy with me. They love what I do.
Family and Personal Life
She was married at age 19 and has three biological children and seven adopted ones, who all bear her name. I can remember one family gathering we had where one of my in-laws told me that he was so happy when he went to the internet and saw the family name, ‘Ozokwor’, including my son the footballer. He encouraged the rest of our family to go and check it out. My husband died in 2002, so we brought up our children together. My second son loves acting a lot; he’s shown a lot of interest in it. He invested some money in a movie this year and is interested in featuring in movies. My only daughter used to have interest in the industry too but she became a born-again and changed her mind. I’m very grateful to them for making me come this far and I’ll never disappoint them.
Ozokwor is a widow as her husband died from a terminal disease in 2000. Before his death, her late husband had come to become her real companion. The actress has three biological children and five adopted ones who all bear her name. She also has a daughter who also has something for the industry but neither has made any attempt to join Nollywood. As reported by her children, she is a very caring and proud mother. She has a son who played for Enugu Rangers before moving to Turkey to play football. Mama Gee was at some point a renowned radio presenter. But at the moment, apart from being the great actor we all know, she is also a well-acclaimed fashion designer.
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Recent Recognition
She recently won the prestigious Face of Nollywood Award, a first of its kind. I feel honored and happy. I give God all the praise because I would not have been able to achieve a thing like that on my own. At the very point my name was mentioned as the winner, I felt goose pimples all over me and I just went on my knees to praise God. When the voting was going on, I wasn’t aware so I didn’t vote for myself and I didn’t tell my people to vote for me. In fact when my name was mentioned among the last three, I told myself that at worst I’d go home with the last prize.
Faith and Transformation
According to Mama G, “ When you are doing something you are enjoying, you wouldn’t bother to take care of your health. Once there is life in you, you keep doing what you are doing. Narrating the encounter, she said ‘It was in 2016 when God called me to work for Him. Then, I used to be a teacher in the church, but I didn’t climb the pulpit. It’s not something I can explain, God asked me to separate myself so that He wants to talk with me. I thought somebody was talking to me, but I discovered it was a voice coming from somewhere. It took me time to accept to submit myself for 21 days and it was extended to 30 days. At that point, I quietly went in, and by the time I came out from those 30 days, I became a changed person. And how I knew He was the one who called me, he created a platform for me to appear on stage to give a testimony of What He did with me for 30 days. And after the encounter, other pastors and evangelists started inviting me to their programmes.
By God’s grace I’ll make you happy all the time. Keep watching my movies and keep listening to my music. Above all, they should remember Jesus Christ in all they do because he and died to redeem us.
Filmography Highlights
The talented actress has played different roles in over 100 Nollywood movies. Here are some of her notable films:
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Amina | Various |
| Unknown | Odum | Various |
| Unknown | Authority | Various |
| 2001 | Ukwa | Various |
| 2022 | Battle on Buka Street | Various |
