“I can spot potential after meeting some people for just a few minutes; even when they never imagined that they’ve got anything to offer.”
That was Tade Ogidan, according to Punch, answering questions from some of his curious colleagues on the Ibadan Film Circle, a WhatsApp forum initiated by director and film teacher, Niji Akanni, in 2016.
Born in Lagos in July 1960 to middle class parents – Akinola and Rachael Ogidan – Ogidan’s journey to becoming an acclaimed filmmaker and producer was one filled with belief, sheer dedication, and hard work.
After undergoing his primary education at Government Demonstration School and Surulere Baptist School in the 60s to 70s, and a secondary education at Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School, Ikeja, in 1978, Tade Ogidan envisioned a world where storytelling and cinematography could be pivotal in changing millions of lives.
By the time he returned from the United States where he had gone to study Film, Radio and Television Production at Eastern New Mexico University and Theatre Arts at the State University of New York, Ogidan found a spot as an intern at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) to observe the mandatory National Youth Service in 1982-83.
At NTA, a young Ogidan honed his skills and rose to become a full-time Producer/Director with NTA Channel 10, and a Continuity Announcer with NTA 2 – Channel 5.
Within 10 years, he had produced/directed several episodes of successful drama series including Play of the Week, Tele Theatre, Legal Angle, and The New Village Headmaster. He also won awards for his work on Blinking Hope, The Boys Next Door and The Reign Of Abiku.
After almost 10 years of overseeing some of the best content on NTA, Ogidan decided it was time to run his own show. He left the station in 1990 and formed the OGD Pictures LTD. His company’s first production, Hostages, took six months to shoot but wasn’t released until 5 years after – in 1998.
One of the reasons for the movie’s delay, besides financial restriction, was because Ogidan had to wait for over one year to get approval from the Police IG before shooting the spectacular police scenes which included the use of helicopters. It was a masterpiece.
Before Hostages was released, his directorial work on Owo Blow (1995) made Taiwo Hassan aka Ogogo a superstar, Out of Bounds (1997) made Bimbo Akintola a sought after actor for romantic roles, and Diamond Ring (1998) made Nigerians fall in love with Teju Babyface.
Ogidan’s reputation grew and he went on to direct and produce even more blockbusters. His dedication to quality work were also very evident in Saving Alero (2001), Ayomida (2003), Dangerous Twins (2004) and Aya mi òwòn: Madam Dearest (2005).
But for all the critical acclaim and praises, Tade Ogidan struggled to make money from his movies. He told his colleagues on Whatsapp in 2016 after a decade-long hiatus from producing major movie projects, “I have not shot a major main-stream project in a while. My worry is: where will I sell the new works into? I may pride myself in making good films; but I am not a marketing person.
So it is one thing to make a good film and another matter to spend adequately on publicity and market the product. Most practitioners make modest projects for the cinemas and TV screens. I don’t have modest projects. I have not said that in foolish pride.”
“I have certainly been doing other things that keep my team surviving. In fact, those are the real projects that we make money from. I have hardly ever made money – sensible profit – from my movies” he added, crediting Mo Abudu, Kunle Afolayan and Judith Audu as producers who know how to market and make great noise for their projects.
Truly, the seasoned filmmaker earned from his other ventures, working on a number of TVCs for advertising agencies like Prima Garnet, Verdant Zeal, Lintas, as well as packaging TVCs for Crystal Bank, First Bank, FCMB, ABC Wax, Nigeria Export Processing Zone, Nigeria Airways, Royco, Maggi, Ajinomoto Seasoning and many more.
He also worked on other projects such as Crime Fighters and the Teju Babyface Show.He made a brief return to movie production after another hiatus to release the movie, Gold Statue in 2019.
Though Tade Ogidan continues to dedicate his time to other projects, his seat at the table of Nigeria’s most respected filmmakers is high and untouchable.
