‘Basi and Company’ star Segi is dead
By Tosin Brown
Popular film star, Ethel Ekpe, who gained fame after playing the role of Segi in Ken Saro-Wiwa’s popular sitcom, ‘Basi and Company’ is dead.
The news of Segi’s death was confirmed by the DG of the Nigeria Film and Videos Censor Board, Dr. Shaibu Husseini.
In a social media post, Husseini wrote, “I have been reliably informed that Ethel Ekpe, (Ethel Aderemi nee Ekpe), the screen beauty that delighted fans with her inimitable interpretation of the role of Segi in the defunct sitcom on Nigerian Television Authority by Ken Saro Wiwa titled ‘Basi and Company’ has passed on.
The actress and later day Pastor and star of Amaka Igwe’s ‘Forever’ and most recently ‘Sons of the Caliphate” reportedly died of Cancer today in Lagos. She will be sorely missed. My family will particularly miss her because we named my second daughter Ethel, after her. Good night, good woman!”
‘Basi and Company’ was a Nigerian sitcom that ran from 1986 to 1990 on NTA, and was later syndicated across Africa. Written and produced by Ken Saro-Wiwa and filmed in Enugu, the show derived inspiration from African folklore and lampooned widespread corruption in oil-rich Nigeria, while highlighting its consequences. It featured Albert Egbe, Zulu Adigwe, and Ethel Ekpe amongst others.
