Nollywood veteran actress Rachel Oniga has been laid to rest in Lagos in a colourful ceremony; here are five facts about her.
The actress, born on 25 May 1957, died on Friday, 30 July, aged 64, after a brief illness.
The final lying-in-state of the actress, preceding the internment, was held on Friday at the Catholic Church of Resurrection in Magodo in a colourful ceremony.
She originally hails from Eku, Delta State, and got married to a Yoruba man. Her marriage collapsed after she claimed another woman bewitched her husband.
She and her ex-husband had three children together. In an interview with The PUNCH in 2017, Rachel Oniga stated that she didn’t remarry because she wanted to prove to her ex-husband that she could ‘survive without a man.’
She said, “I participated in his burial with all I had. I spent my money, energy and I even invited artists.
“I gave him a befitting burial. I did all that because of my children, especially my son. Later in life, people may ask him how they buried his father.
“He had to bury his father well and that was exactly what I did for him. I played the part my son would have played if he was an adult. That is my joy. Sometimes, I do things and people wonder what is wrong with me, but I always have my reasons.”
Over the years, Oniga has featured in various notable Nigerian films such as “Sango”, a movie scripted by Wale Ogunyemi, produced and directed by Obafemi Lasode and Wale Adenuga’s television series “Super Story”. She was also in recent films like “Royal Hibiscus Hotel” (2017) and “Chief Daddy” (2018).
