Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, acclaimed as one of the 60 icons of Nollywood, has made a shocking revelation of some anxious moment he went through in the course of the production of his latest offering, Gbege, which was shot in Benin City recently.
He made the revelations on the occasion of the Thanksgiving Service held at Firm Foundation Church, GRA, Benin, on Sunday, December 13th, 2020, to commemorate the conclusion of the movie’s production.
Giving his testimony of how divine grace worked in his favour while he was producing the movie, Lancelot revealed: “Last month I had a huge burden. For some months now, I have been working on a huge project. I and my partner had planned a huge project in Benin involving scores of A list artistes like Sam Dede, Jide Kosoko, Broda Shaggi, Junior Pope, Zubby Michael, Ebele Okaro, Ini Edo and others.
“As we were getting set for the production the whole of Benin was on fire no thanks to the endsars protests. At a stage the artistes were calling me to ask if we will still produce the movie in Benin. I had to put a call to my partner in South Africa on the need to put the production on hold.
“I wrote to the state government and the Commissioner of Police seeking for protection for the cast and crew during the production. The Commissioner of Police told me to forward my letter to the Inspector General of Police(IGP) for his approval which I did. Till date I have not received any response from anyone.
“I came here(Firm Foundation Church), prayed to God and consulted with the Pastor(Benson Akhigbe). He allayed my fears and told me to go ahead with my production that nothing bad will happen.
“We went ahead with the production and for the three weeks that we were shuttling from one location to the other no harm came to anyone on the set of the production.
“At a period during the production I was hospitalised for three days but despite all these we had a successful production such that the artistes confessed that it is one of the best in recent times.
“On the last day of the production, heavy rainfall started as soon as we completed the last shot on location. That was the sign God gave that He is my God and will continue to be my God.”
In his sermon, Pastor Benson Akhigbe quoting copiously from the scriptures cautioned that authority figure should not be abused as doing that is the beginning of setback for the country.
He harped on prayers saying that it is the greatest commission that believers have, adding that anybody who has not prayed for the country has no right to complaint about whatever is happening in the country.
“We have to cure the desert places in our life and the only way to do this is to pray,” he concluded.
In a chat with reporters after the service, Lancelot gave kudos to some individuals, Edo sons, and organisations who gave him their support to ensure that the project was successful.
Among those he mentioned are High Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, the Esama of Benin Kingdom; Managing Director of Pronox Hotel and Suites; Managing Director Regis Hotel and Suites; Managing Director Bibi Hotel; Managing Director Isno Hotels; Mr. Omoruyi Akpata, Managing Director of Lushville Hotel and Barrister Osariodion Ogie, the Secretary to the State Government, who he said helped him with some Security and Civil Defence Corps members for some days. He also thanked Hon. Aanena Jemitola, former Commisoner of Arts and Culture in Edo State.
On insecurity, he challenged the state government to do something about it as nobody would be interested in investing in a business in an area where there is no security. The endsars protest in Edo State, most especially, brought about an upsurge in killing, armed robbery, jail break, kidnapping, car snatching etc in broad daylight.
“We thank God that all went well. Can you imagine what could have happened if any of the artistes had been attacked as we move from place to place. But we give God the glory for his hand upon us that we came out strong and healthy after three weeks working day and night to get the best,” he emphasised.
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