Destiny Osagiede: Edo’s rising star

The year was 2021. The Edo State Government was ramping up on rebuilding our filmmaking industry, especially because Edo State is the home of enormous talent, theatre and creativity. We had ‘Enakhe’ and ‘Blood of Enogie’ running on millions of TVs around the world. These series were shot in Benin City. I wanted to meet the great filmmaker and director, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen. But I did not know how. I wanted to pursue my career in filmmaking. But I did not know where to start. I had zero clue. In the meantime, I was downloading, studying and writing scripts and trying to improve my craft by watching Internet videos. But I wasn’t going anywhere. By chance, or serendipity, I decided to visit an old friend from my University of Benin days. His sister had come in that evening and I was browsing through the gallery of her phone. I saw a digital poster for an event celebrating Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen. I asked her immediately for his phone number. She said she didn’t have it. But she knew someone who did. And what was his name? Prince Dots. Who the hell is Prince Dots? She said Destiny. Destiny Osagiede. He is one of the actors in Charles Uwagbai’s Blood of Enogie. That was how I began tracking down Destiny Osagiede.

We chatted online and I would watch his stories. He was a rising star. He had a lot of potential. He was moving around with Pa Lancelot, so he had to have a lot of potential. He had attended Springfield High School, which I attended in primary school. And the University of Benin, which I also attended. Hmmm. Destiny. Are we really in control or are certain things just meant to happen? I told him I wanted to act or write — I wasn’t even sure back then. Obviously, he gets that sort of messages all the time because he was not so enthusiastic that I was serious.

One day I saw his story about the Adesuwa play. Written by Ossa Earliece and directed by Easerel Wekpe and I went to the audition at Ekehuan. I did not know what to wear so I wore my best dress. My blue suit. Afterall, it is better to be safe than sorry. I stood in front of the audition judges and read lines. Eventually I was casted. And that show held in December 2021.

After the theatrical event I went back to my normal life. I thought to myself, ‘if it was not going to work, perhaps there was no reason to relocate’. It just seemed almost impossible for me to enter into the entertainment industry. But I had to enter somehow because my dreams kept haunting me. One day, in 2022, I was away in Agbor, Delta State and I got a phone call from Destiny Osagiede. There was great urgency in his voice.
“Nosa, have you registered for the ROK Studios training in Benin City?”

I said, “No, I don’t really think…”

He said, “Make sure you are there tomorrow morning.”

So I ran down to Benin City the next morning. I went to Edo Innovates at ICE Road. And registered. That was where I attended my first standard training as a Screenwriter. It has Kabat Esosa Egbon and Kehinde Olorunyom-Odukoya as instructors. These were highly experienced people whose works I used to watch on TV. Talk about legacy! Now, I am not the most sociable person in the world but I had to pay my homage to the veteran and a writer who wrote and directed Domino which was created by Tajudeen Adepetu.

This event, this moment was a turning point in my career because it led me to work on several projects and several high profile clients. It was because of that simple phone call.

Destiny has been quite exciting and impactful in our Edo film industry and he even won Edisa Awards after he played ‘Prince Adewale’ in Blood of Enogie. However, just as his career as an actor was getting the exposure it needed, he relocated and left the shores of this country. But it was a heartfelt moment when I discovered he was not going to relent on his career. He is still doing well. Anyway, let’s visit a slice of his filmography.

ENAKHE: Playing ‘One Touch’ in this Crime Drama, written by Xavier Ighorodje and directed by Victor Sanchez Aghahowa, Destiny Osagiede delivers excellently in his scenes. Enakhe’s storyline has this ‘Mario Puzo’s The Godfather’ vibes because it fits into the institutionalized genre. We are always trying to escape something unpleasant in this world because life has a way of drawing us into situations we are actively trying to avoid.

BLOOD OF ENOGIE: Destiny Osagiede plays ‘Prince Adewale’ in this Charles Uwagbai created-ROK Studios series. Destiny’s performance was quite intense. He wore the role like some costume sewn by a professional tailor, which came easily as he is also a vibrant Poet. Blood of Enogie reminds us that we are all tied together in this world by the consequences of our actions and inactions. Every moment of our lives is full of potential. Our destiny is really in our hands.

CONCLUSION: One of the most important things I have learnt in life is the concept of a burning desire to succeed in life. Wanting or wishing for something is not enough. We have to want it so much that we are willing to risk everything for it. Now, that’s passion. And that is one thing which impresses me about the actor, dancer and poet, Destiny Osagiede. He puts his entire will and the very essence of his being into his character expressions, which is often referred to as a director’s delight. However, that is not the only thing or even the most important. More essentially commendable are his relentlessly indefatigable efforts to keep pushing Edo To The World.