Nkem Owoh

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Nkem Owoh (born 7 February 1958) is a Nigerian actor, comedian and singer from Enugu State. He is best known for his Osuofia character and for winning the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2008 for the film Stronger than Pain.

He studied engineering at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, after growing up in Nsukka. He began acting while at university and later worked as a writer for the Nigerian Television Authority from 1979, writing for The New Masquerade and Basi and Company. He moved into films after subtitling the Igbo-language movie Living in Bondage, which led to acting roles such as a customs officer in Circle of Doom and later projects including Taboo. In 1995 he wrote and produced Ikuku, featuring his popular Osuofia character; Ikuku 2 (1997) and Pampam followed. He gained international recognition with Osuofia in London (2003) and Osuofia in London 2 (2004).

Owoh is known for the song "I Go Chop Your Dollar" about advance fee fraud, which appeared in The Master and was later banned by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission. He has faced notable incidents, including a 2007 arrest in Amsterdam during a police raid and a 2009 kidnapping in eastern Nigeria from which he was released after a ransom. He has been married to Ngozi Owoh since 1998 and they have two daughters, one of whom died in June 2023. He received the AMAA Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2008 and the AMAA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. In 2012 he signed a major endorsement deal with MTN.