Tosin Ajirire
Seasoned broadcaster and actress, Mabel Akomu Oboh, has condoled with the chairman of Silverbird Group and former Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Senator Ben Murray Bruce over the death of his wife, Evelyn.
Evelyn, who was married to Ben Bruce for over 41 years, died of cancer last week.
In her condolence message, Oboh prayed that God console Bruce and repose the soul of his wife.
“I feel his pain because I also lost my father, Major Oboh to cancer many years ago. It is a hard one to swallow. I have had the opportunity to work under Ben Bruce when he was the Director-General of NTA. He’s a good and intelligent man who knew how to handle his staff well. He has served this nation well. He is indeed my boss and mentor. I pray God to console him and repose the soul of his loving wife, Evelyn,” she said.
Oboh worked in NTA for many years. While there, she wrote, produced and also acted in Victims, a drama series that later became a network production in the ‘80s. With this feat, she emerged as the second female independent producer/director in Nigeria.
The thespian, who has also worked in various international organisations including the United Nations and British Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, has an NGO, Mabel Oboh Centre for Save our Stars (MOCSOS), aimed at assisting entertainers with health and welfare challenges.
Recently, the NGO signed a deal with an insurance company to provide health insurance for artists.
“We came up with a health insurance scheme to stop the unnecessary death of Nigeria artistes. We saved Kennedy Utti aka Yellow Banton from dying from skin cancer. How then can we lose a great woman like Evelyn to cancer? But God knows best. I use this opportunity to appeal to well-meaning Nigerians to donate generously to cancer research. Cancer is a terrible disease. It could afflict anyone at any time,” Oboh, who is also the deputy publicity secretary of ADC, Lagos State, said.