It is so unfortunate that most of the young people of this generation had little or no knowledge about this great actor before he left the world in such a heartbreaking manner. Francis Okechukwu Agu was one of the finest talent to ever grace the world of Nigeria movie industry otherwise known as Nollywood.
Though born and breed in Lagos State, the actor is originally from Enugu-Ngwo in Enugu state. Most of his life was spent in Lagos State, where he equally kick-started his movie career at the Yodrac Playhouse at the Saint Dominic Church, founded by the veteran entertainer and talent groomer, George Eboka. And due to the glaring and enormous talent and potentials in Agu, he was said to have easily been spotted the then director of Yodrac, Mr. Isaac John, and since his acting career was never the same again.
Francis Okechukwu Agu first his professional acting debut in the play titled “This is Our Chance” by James Ene Henshaw and was directed by the man who discovered him, Isaac John, and he played the lead role as well. Then he went on to appear in another big plays like Ola Rotimi’s “The God Are Not To Blame”, Prof Whole Soyinka’s “Trials of Brother Jero”.
He quickly went beyond stage plays abd started getting featured in TV soap operas, hence his appearance in the then popular TV series titled “Checkmate” which aired in the 90s. Checkmate gave his career a serious push, including his extraordinary performances, and was soon followed his appearance in the then Nigerian first ever home video and evergreen blockbuster titled “Living in Bondage”. It was in this movie that he got the name Ichie Million which was his character name in the movie (Living in Bondage).
After his appearance in Living in Bondage, Francis shot into the main limelight, and established his name as a force in the country’s movie industry. He went on to produce and direct his own movies, starting with the 1994 blockbuster titled “Jezebel”, others include Take Me To Jesus, The Boy Is Mine, Body And Soul, A Divine Call, Love And Pride, In The Name Of The Father, A Dance In The Forest.
Born on February 18 1965, sadly, he became sick in October of 2006, and later died in the March of 2007, at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, at the age 42.
(Photo credit: Google)