The Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Movie Producers, AMP, and veteran Nollywood Screenwriter and Filmmaker, Mr. Joe Dudun, has dedicated his yuletide fiction special, ABOYOWA, to the late prolific Director and Producer, Mr. Chico Ejiro.
Mr. Chico Ejiro passed on in the early hours of December 25, 2020, making it the worst ever Christmas for Nollywood practitioners.
In an exclusive interview with Thebladengr.com, Mr. Dudun revealed why he dedicated the story to Chico Ejiro.
“I had intended to publish the story on Christmas day as a prelude to the formal unveiling of the Novella Readers Series, an online prose-fiction series dedicated to projecting sustainable development themes.

“Chico’s devastating passage in the early hours of that fateful day changed my perspective. We were all distressed, his numerous fans, friends and family,” he added.
Speaking further, Mr. Dudun said he had to reschedule the publication to a later date as a mark of respect for his demised colleague, friend and brother.
“I had to reschedule the publication till January 1st, 2021, and within this period I decided to dedicate the story to him for obvious reasons. Firstly, Chico had been celebrated in the story that was first published as part of my weekly fiction series in the Sunday Sun, Novella Series With Joe Dudun, as a yuletide fiction special in 2011 or thereabout.
“My intention was to call Chico that fateful day and ask him to read the story because I held him in high esteem. But it was not to be.”
Aside the book dedicated to Chico’s memory, Joe Dudun’s tribute to late Chico Ejiro is captured in highly evocative verses.
When we sought to know why he chose poetry for his tribute, the versatile creative writer and veteran journalist had this to say:
“I write as the creative instinct dictates. I have written so many screenplays, I have written several pieces of fiction and published play as well as a collection of poems titled ‘Waiting for Sanity’. So, my tribute to Chico in the form of poetry is simply my creative response to the shock of his departure.”
The yuletide fiction special titled ABOYOWA recounts the tale of the encounter between a spouse harassed Lagos-based young bank executive and a 14-year destitute lad on a Lagos beach a few days before Christmas.