It was also celebration time on Sunday, February 7 for Veteran actor and comedian, Nkem Owoh as he turned 63.

The man popularly known as Osofia, following his character in the hit movie "Osofia in London", has indeed paid his dues in the make believe industry, particularly in the comedy genre.

In this edition, Maggie's Blog joins the celebration train by telling the story of this prolific actor who has put smiles on the faces of his numerous fans around the world.

EARLY LIFE

Nkem Owoh was born in Enugu State, Nigeria. After his primary and secondary school, he headed to the University of Ilorin and studied Engineering. Already, during his university studies, Owoh began acting in various television and film productions.

CAREER

Owoh featured in the 2003 film “Osuofia in London”. He is also known for performing the song “I Go Chop Your Dollar” about advance fee fraud. The song was featured in the film “The Master” in which Owoh played a scammer.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) banned the song.

In 2007 Owoh was arrested in Amsterdam, Netherlands (Bijlmermeer neighborhood in the Amsterdam Zuidoost borough) as a result of a seven-month investigation by the Dutch police dubbed “Operation Apollo”.

Owoh was arrested while performing a musical show when the police raided the event and arrested 111 people on suspicion of lottery fraud and immigration violations.

Owoh was later released. In November 2009 Owoh was kidnapped in the Southeast of Nigeria. His kidnappers demanded a 15 million naira ransom. Owoh was released after his family members allegedly paid a ransom fee of 1.4 million naira.

We join others to wish this actor who in 2008 won the African Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role in the Nigerian movie “Stronger than Pain” a happy birthday and many happy returns of the years to come.