OBITUARY: Ada Ameh, the Nollywood Treasure who Lived Through Pains but Gave Joy to Nigerians

By Hafsat Ibrahim

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.”

-Richard Puz

Every day is an opportunity to embrace the beauty of life as we are not promised to live forever.

There are times when one needs a reminder that life is a wonderful gift and that one should never waste the opportunity to enjoy it, live it to the fullest and create a legacy that will endure forever.

Meanwhile, death is an irreversible cessation of all vital functions as the life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living. Such was the case of Adah Ameh, a vivacious veteran Nollywood thespian who gave up the ghost recently after battling a series of family tragedies in recent years that culminated in the death of her only daughter.

The news of her demise struck like thunder as millions of her fans across the country could not contain the fact that such a living legend could die like that at a time the 48-year-old was still giving her best to the industry.

She was said to have slumped on duty in Warri, Delta state, few days after she had shared a video of herself and colleagues looking lively.

Adah was born in Ajegunle, Lagos state in 1974, to parents who hailed from the Idoma-speaking part of Benue state. Ada is one of the many celebrities whose success has made Ajegunle the talent capital of the country because of the numerous stars it has produced in sports and entertainment.

She was an accomplished actress who shot into limelight with her first major movie role as “Anita” in the 1996 thriller, ‘Domitilla (Asewo no be work)’ by Zeb Ejiro.

In the course of her glittering career, she featured in various Nollywood movies like “Blood Money”, “One Good Turn,” “Phone Swap” among tens of others.

In the last one decade or so, she has been most prominent as Mrs. Emu Johnson in “The Johnsons,” a family sitcom produced by Rogers Ofime which airs on African Magic.

Ada is one of the pioneer actors in the industry and she has in the three decades of being active, inspired hundreds of people especially girls while personally mentoring a lot of them.

The popular saying that no one can give what he or she doesn’t have is not correct in the case of this late screen goddess. Ada has had little or no joy for the better part of her her adult life. She had to drop out of school early in life and gave birth to her only child at 14. She also endured a couple of inexplicable tragedies over time, losing her dad, all her three sisters, and three brothers in quick session before losing her only child, which was the final blow she couldn’t recover from.

She was depressed and barely held on for a year or two due to the extraordinary support system created for her by her fantastic friend and colleague, Empress Njamah, alongside other colleagues whose efforts she acknowledged in her last Interview on TVC’s ‘Your View’ two weeks to her demise.

With the way she interpreted her movie roles especially the comic parts and brought joy to the homes of Nigerians, it has to be the 8th wonder of the world that such a distressed human being could summon the strength and presence of mind to make millions of others enjoy the kind of smile and laughter she hardly enjoyed in her personal life. And that is the stuff of angels! The stuff of icons who deserve to be celebrated and immortalised!

Indeed, her death is a huge loss to Nigeria especially the entertainment industry. However, it is often said that Legends don’t die because they live forever in the hearts and consciousness of their loved ones and all those who have been fortunate to encounter them.

Rest on, legend. A special place is preserved for you in our hearts.