MASERU — Popular Nigerian movie stars, Chinedu Ikedieze, 34, and Osita Iheme, 29, mesmerised Basotho fans in Maseru at the weekend.
The actors gave a polished show at Lehakoe Recreation Club on Friday night before staging another show at Setsoto Stadium that saw 400 fans, mostly children, see the diminutive duo work their magic on stage.
Although the events were meant to introduce Aki and Pawpaw as they are popularly known to their Lesotho fans, local artistes and comedians also got their fair chance of showcasing their talent.
The enormous turnout on both days proved that the diminutive duo has a huge fan base in the Mountain Kingdom.
Both shows started some two hours late but fans kept their cool and waited for the Nigerian “Rats”.
The waiting proved worth while.
The two began by introducing themselves although they really needed no introduction.
The duo’s unique physique has been a major pull-factor for their fans.
As they burst onto the stage their fans clapped and screamed.
The actors then performed a play on teenage pregnancy.
Iheme played a pregnant young girl who had to explain to her father what had happened to her body.
It was a great message against teenage pregnancy, but fans seemed to barely understand the concept because they were in stitches as they watched the Nigerian stars.
After the play, Ikedieze and Iheme joined local musicians Mthibo and Cozyboy on stage when they were performing their song Africa.
Iheme with a squeaky voice kept singing “pikipiki” an element that mesmerised the crowd.
Ikedieze said they started working together in 2003 on Aki na Ukwa, a comedy that opened doors for them in the Nigerian film industry.
“I started (my career) three years before Osita. We started working together during the shooting of Aki na Ukwa.”
“We were brought together by our unique nature and that’s how our working relations started,” he said.
Ikedieze said after the comedy which brought them fame, they received child roles.
“The major challenge we faced is we were always being offered child roles in movies,” he said.
Iheme added, “It is not easy playing the role of a little boy, we are both mature adults.”
They said their passion for acting is keeping their fans entertained.
“We have travelled to over 54 countries in the world entertaining our fans and that is one of the reasons why we are passionate about acting.
“We work well together and in most incidents we are given roles to play alongside each other,” Ikedieze said.
The stars arrived in Lesotho last Thursday.
