By Michael Abimboye
Last week, we listed five Nigerian superstars who rode to stardom on the back of reality shows. This week, we present another set of five celebrities that took the same route. While there are many celebrities whose claim to fame was through different platforms enabling untapped talents to evolve into household names,
ConnectNigeria has decided to showcase five of such for the second straight week.
Tonto Dikeh, Chidinma Ekile, Ali Nuhu, Annie Macaulay-Idibia and Timi Dakolo belong to this special class of celebrities and are presented here.
Ali Nuhu. One of the popular north-south cut across movie actors. He currently has over a 100 Hausa and 50 English movies to his credit, 15 awards and is also a brand ambassador to show for it. But all these didn’t come on a platter of gold as the Maiduguri born actor rose to fame through the popular movie reality show, Amstel Malta Box Office (AMBO).
Although he didn’t win the ultimate prize at AMBO, Nuhu, who holds a B.Sc in Geography from the University of Jos, has become the go-to-actor for Nollywood movie producers who want to market their movie in northern Nigeria.
Timi Dakolo. He might not be popular among the lovers of Nigerian dance-pop music, but this winner of the first Idol West Africa reality show, which also produced Omawumi, is a sweetheart among lovers of soul music.
Timi was the victim of a gunshot attack at the Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt on New Year’s Day 2008, but recovered
and emerged stronger. He would later release three songs in that same year. In 2011, he gave his fans new material to listen to as he released a track titled
‘There is a Cry’.
Timi who is currently signed to Lone Records/Now Muzik after the expiration of his recording contract with Sony BMG, is a fan-favourite artiste for live performances at high profile events.
Chidinma Ekile. Big surprises come in small packages; this best describes Chidinma Ekile, winner of the third season of MTN Project Fame. Right from the beginning of the competition, Chidinma distinguished herself and embedded her love in the hearts of fans. She didn’t disappoint as she won the competition.
As predicted, Chidinma began life with boundless energy after Project Fame, hitting it hard with the single,
“Kedike” – with a cameo by pop-fuji singer, Dammy Krane. Signed to Capital Hill music/The Goretti Company, Chidinma is a brand ambassador to telco giant, MTN and has bagged many music awards, including the prestigious Kora Award.
Tonto Dikeh. Notorious for controversies, the actress cum singer from Rivers State also has a reality TV show to thank for her career success.
In 2005 she competed against other contestants on a reality TV show called
The Next Movie Star. She emerged first runner-up and that marked the beginning of her journey in the Nigerian movie industry.
With rumours of Tonto dating popular pop singer, D’banj, her celebrity status might be on the upward swing again if she makes a name change to Mrs. ‘
Eja Nla’.
Annie Macaulay-Idibia. Also a product of
The Next Movie Star like Tonto Dikeh, actress Annie Macaulay might not be an A-list Nollywood actress, but her appearance in Tuface Idibia’s music video,
‘African Queen’, shot her into limelight.
With a few flicks to her credit, much of Annie’s stardom can be attributed to her relationship and eventual marriage to superstar, Tuface Idibia.
Do you think we missed out on any celeb that took the same route to stardom? Leave your comment below and tell us why they deserve some ink!
Michael Abimboye is a publicist and freelance entertainment journalist. He enjoys soccer and hanging out with friends. Follow him on @mmakesense
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This article was first published on 20th November 2013 and updated on November 25th, 2013 at 10:10 am
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Ali Nuhu. One of the popular north-south cut across movie actors. He currently has over a 100 Hausa and 50 English movies to his credit, 15 awards and is also a brand ambassador to show for it. But all these didn’t come on a platter of gold as the Maiduguri born actor rose to fame through the popular movie reality show, Amstel Malta Box Office (AMBO).
Although he didn’t win the ultimate prize at AMBO, Nuhu, who holds a B.Sc in Geography from the University of Jos, has become the go-to-actor for Nollywood movie producers who want to market their movie in northern Nigeria.
Timi Dakolo. He might not be popular among the lovers of Nigerian dance-pop music, but this winner of the first Idol West Africa reality show, which also produced Omawumi, is a sweetheart among lovers of soul music.
Timi was the victim of a gunshot attack at the Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt on New Year’s Day 2008, but recovered 
and emerged stronger. He would later release three songs in that same year. In 2011, he gave his fans new material to listen to as he released a track titled‘There is a Cry’.
Timi who is currently signed to Lone Records/Now Muzik after the expiration of his recording contract with Sony BMG, is a fan-favourite artiste for live performances at high profile events.
Chidinma Ekile. Big surprises come in small packages; this best describes Chidinma Ekile, winner of the third season of MTN Project Fame. Right from the beginning of the competition, Chidinma distinguished herself and embedded her love in the hearts of fans. She didn’t disappoint as she won the competition.
As predicted, Chidinma began life with boundless energy after Project Fame, hitting it hard with the single, “Kedike” – with a cameo by pop-fuji singer, Dammy Krane. Signed to Capital Hill music/The Goretti Company, Chidinma is a brand ambassador to telco giant, MTN and has bagged many music awards, including the prestigious Kora Award.
Tonto Dikeh. Notorious for controversies, the actress cum singer from Rivers State also has a reality TV show to thank for her career success.
In 2005 she competed against other contestants on a reality TV show called The Next Movie Star. She emerged first runner-up and that marked the beginning of her journey in the Nigerian movie industry.
With rumours of Tonto dating popular pop singer, D’banj, her celebrity status might be on the upward swing again if she makes a name change to Mrs. ‘Eja Nla’.
Annie Macaulay-Idibia. Also a product of The Next Movie Star like Tonto Dikeh, actress Annie Macaulay might not be an A-list Nollywood actress, but her appearance in Tuface Idibia’s music video, ‘African Queen’, shot her into limelight.
With a few flicks to her credit, much of Annie’s stardom can be attributed to her relationship and eventual marriage to superstar, Tuface Idibia.
Do you think we missed out on any celeb that took the same route to stardom? Leave your comment below and tell us why they deserve some ink!
