By Lola Obembe
“Who’s this stunner?” you’re probably asking yourself right now.
Ladies and gentlemen, the gorgeous lady in this photo is none other than our very own Ifesinachi Okpagu, Lead at Heirs Insurance Limited’s Marketing and Corporate Communication’s department.
Ifesinachi is relatively new to the group having joined us just two months ago, but in that short period of time, I have been present at a minimum of two meetings where she has blown the chairman (yes, Tony Elumelu; quote me) away during a presentation.
An inkling of her creative flair is apparent in her resume. She got her first degree in Fine Arts and her second in Marketing and Communications from the Pan-Atlantic University. She has been a content writer and a digital marketing executive and if you ever listened to her during one of the aforementioned presentations, you would understand that the first class degree she was awarded at Pan-Atlantic University was well earned.
What you would not have learned from HR’s introductory email, is that Ifesinachi is a published author and screenwriter with some of her work appearing on Ebony Life TV and NTA; shows like “Dise’s Secret” and “Once Upon a Wish”.
When she was just 8 years old, Ifesinachi was inspired by a 12 year old who she saw launching a book on the local TV station. She began writing almost immediately and at the age of 12 published her first book.
“It wasn’t a real launch” she laughed when I inquired how that went. “My parents stapled my collection of short stories together on cardboard paper and called all their friends to our house. The book was launched in our living room”
It was a humble beginning for a burgeoning talent, but by the time Ifesinachi was 14, she became a legitimately published writer when her book “Deep Regret” was adopted into the Delta and Ebonyi state secondary school curriculum.
She was subsequently invited to participate in various writing workshops organized by the British Council and by Chimamanda’s Farafina Trust Creative where she met other accomplished writers like Chika Onigwe of “On Black Sisters’ Street” fame.
Ifesinachi started writing screen plays along the way and got her big break in Nollywood when a relative introduced her to the late Amaka Igwe, creator of the legendary show “Checkmate” and the movie “Violated”. She waited for hours to be introduced but when Ms. Igwe read her script she was impressed enough to put her on her team of writers doing an ongoing TV series. Ifesinachi was given 3 episodes as an initial test run and when she delivered them on time, was given the rest of the season of an even bigger show called “VIP” to write on her own. “24 episodes! I couldn’t believe it. They actually took the bulk of the writing away from the lead writer and gave them to me”. She delivered them all within one month.
Amaka Igwe became a mentor, entrusting her with her 3rd major script in 2013 just before she died. “It was a big blow to me. That was the first time I remember crying my eyes out. She was a beautiful and open spirit, people couldn’t even say her name around me for weeks because I would just start bawling all over again”.
Since Ms. Igwe’s death Ifesinachi has continued to write but not at the same pace in screen writing. Her focus has gone back to prose; her first love.
Despite being a career woman, a wife and mother of two, Ifesinachi will be releasing her first full-length novel before Christmas this year – while also (almost) single-handedly rolling out the best Insurance Brand Nigeria has ever seen.
