‘Our Mates Are Gone’: Pete Edochie Recalls Emotional Meeting With Olu Jacobs

 

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Veteran actor Pete Edochie has remembered a deeply emotional encounter he had with fellow acting legend Olu Jacobs before his death.

For Pete, the meeting was not just another moment between two colleagues who had spent years in the Nigerian film industry. It was a quiet reminder of how much their generation had changed, and of the many familiar faces they had lost along the way.

According to Pete, Olu became emotional during their last meeting and spoke about colleagues from their generation who were no longer alive. The moment affected Pete as well, particularly because he understood exactly what Olu was feeling.

Recounting what happened, Pete said:

"Last time I met Olu, he looked at me with tears in his eyes, he said Pete, our mates are gone. Immediately he said it tears came to my eyes, when Olu was saying this, Sam Loco had gone, Esiri had gone, Pete Eneh, Enebeli, when he was saying this thing it was coming from his heart...."

The words stayed with Pete because they reflected something both men had experienced throughout their long careers. They had watched Nigerian theatre and film grow, worked alongside some of its most respected performers and built relationships with people who eventually became part of the history of the industry.

Names such as Sam Loco Efe, Justus Esiri, Pete Eneh and Enebeli Elebuwa were among those Pete remembered in describing the conversation. They were actors who, like Olu and Pete, had spent decades contributing to Nigerian entertainment and becoming familiar faces to generations of viewers.

Now that Olu Jacobs has also passed away, Pete’s recollection of that meeting takes on an even more emotional meaning. The conversation was already painful at the time, but with Olu now gone, his words about losing their mates have become part of the memories surrounding his own life and career.

Olu was widely respected for the depth and presence he brought to his roles, both on stage and on screen. Over the years, he became one of the most recognisable figures in Nigerian acting, while his work alongside other veterans helped shape the industry that audiences know today.

For Pete, however, Olu was not simply another celebrated actor. He was a colleague and fellow traveller who had shared many years of the same profession.

That final meeting therefore remains more than a story about two veteran actors. It captures a moment between friends who understood the passage of time and the painful reality of watching their generation gradually disappear.

With Olu Jacobs now gone, Pete’s memory of him looking into his eyes and saying, “our mates are gone,” feels particularly poignant. It is a reminder of the friendships, shared experiences and memories that remain long after the people who created them are no longer here.

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