“I was fired and broke” — Uzor Arukwe reveals job loss, struggle before Nollywood fame as ‘Odogwu’

Popular Nollywood actor Uzor Arukwe, now widely known as “Odogwu,” has opened up on a tough period in his life, revealing he was once fired from a telecom job and spent over a year without work before finding his footing in the film industry.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by media personality Chude Jideonwo, the actor shared that he lost his job at Etisalat in 2012, a moment he described as both painful and defining.

“I was fired… this is actually the first time I’m saying it publicly,” he admitted.

At the time, he was leading a team within the company when an incident occurred in his department. As the head, he said he had to take responsibility.

“Something happened in my department and I had to take the fall as the leader,” he said.

That was where things got really rough.

After losing his job in November 2012, he tried to transition fully into acting. But nothing moved.

“Nothing happened. Nobody called me,” he recalled.

For over a year, he stayed without a job, landing only a single stage drama role through filmmaker Sheba Batokwe. The production toured several schools, but it wasn’t enough to keep things going.
“That was the only job I had between when I was fired and when I got another job,” he said.
With no steady income and no breakthrough in Nollywood, he returned to the corporate world in 2013, taking up another job which he held for about five years.

Still, the passion for acting never left.

By April 2018, he made another call – this time quitting to fully chase acting, despite having little to fall back on.

“At that point, I was broke. I had no money,” he said.

Things finally turned around a few months later.

On August 28, 2018, he landed his first major screen role with Iroko TV — a moment that changed everything.

Today, he is celebrated for his standout performances, including his role in the hit production Love in Every Word, where the nickname “Odogwu” stuck with fans.