Albert Egbe

Albert Egbe is a Nigerian actor known for his role as Mr. B. in the comedy series, Basi and Company. He was an elected executive member of the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers Congress in 2006.^[1] After, Basi & co, he later built a career in entertainment by producing short films and television movies, many of which are adaptations of literary works by Nigerian writers.^[2]

Life

Egbe was born in Warri, Delta State to parents of Itsekiri ancestry.^[3] He attended St Gregory's College, Lagos and from 1961 to 1965, he studied Latin at the University of Ibadan. He met the writer, Ken Saro Wiwa in Ibadan;^[2] both of them were members of a traveling theatre group in the university and participated together in drama productions on campus. After graduation, he worked as an admin officer with the Nigerian Federal Government and was in that position for a few years before changing his career. He took accounting courses in London and when he returned to Nigeria, he worked as an accountant with Deloitte and later Michelin. He dabbled into managing a small business but soon quit to enter show business. His major acting role was Mr. B in Basi and Company, he portrayed the character Mr. B as a poor man living in the city and always creating schemes to quickly make money.^[3] Prior to Basi, he was a cast member in the television series, The New Masquerade.

After Basi and company, he produced a television show called Jagua, Nana's Daughter and then a few short films and literary adaptations such as Rasheed Gbadamosi's The Tree Grows in the Desert and Ola Rotimi's Our Husband as Gone Mad Again.^[4]

From 1999 to 2003, he was managing the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria's training school in Lagos. He was screenwriter on M-Net's Twins of the Rain Forest. Recently, he is planning to produce a film about Nana Olomu of Itsekiri.

References