Jerry Amilo came into Nollywood almost at inception. But after some time, he went off the screen. He tells 'NONYE IWUAGWU why he took the rather long break.

You were among those that started Nollywood in Nigeria, then, you disappeared.

I had a terrible accident and I was even confirmed dead. God brought me back to life. After staying in the hospital for two years I wanted to return to acting but people advised me to wait and allow the wounds to heal. It isn't too long that I returned. And since I returned, I've been doing a whole lot of work. So I always make sure that any film that I want to do sensitises the masses and uplifts the image of Nigeria.

You said you stayed in the mortuary for three days. How did it happen?

According to what they told me, after the accident, we were taken to the police station as dead bodies. The next day, we were transferred to the mortuary.

Where did this happen?

I was travelling to the venue of the Reel awards. One of the front tyres of my car pulled off. The car somersaulted over and over.

Were you alone?

I was with my lawyer.

Did he die?

May his soul rest in peace. We all died.

So how did you come back to life?

As God would have it, there was no light in the mortuary for those three days. Sometimes, this skeletal power supply could be helpful. Had it been there was electricity, I doubt if I would be alive. Anyway, I was told the attendant who came to clean the morgue discovered that my body kept jerking every five minutes. When the attendant noticed this for a while, he ran away, thinking I was a spirit. In fact, I learnt the whole hospital went haywire. Everybody ran.

I learnt it was actually some young doctors on national youth service who braced up and said they were ready to see this 'spirit.' When they got there, they discovered that Jerry Amilo was alive, to the glory of God.

How come you have not thought of doing a movie from this story?

I can't do that. Some other persons may do it, but not me. It would remind me of forgotten memories. It would be like making old wounds become fresh again. It is a very touchy thing. I don't even like talking about it. I just give glory to God.

You are doing a project called 'Grab da Mic'?

Yes. It is just an idea aimed at helping many of the talents that are wasting in Africa. It is not only for the youth alone, older people can be involved as well. Anybody can participate regardless of language, once you have the ability to sing.

So it's basically an opportunity to help Nigerian singers/musicians to get to the limelight. We have decided to move around Nigeria to package talents from every nook and cranny. The 36 states of Nigeria will be divided into five zones. The people from the South-South will gather in Asaba and people from the South-East will gather in Enugu. Those from the North will gather in Abuja or Jos, while people from the West will gather in Lagos. Then we will choose the best from each zone.

What format would the project take? Continued    Source: NONYE IWUAGWU