The Untold Story of a Veteran

THE UNTOLD STORY OF A VETERAN.

Brewed and bottled in Gboko, Mr. Joshua Ngutor Jijingi, the veteran stage god and upcoming screen sensation  hails from Adikpo in Kwande LGA of Benue State. He was born on 31^st August, 1989. It is not hyperbolic to say Jijingi was an exceptionally brilliant child. After his primary education, Mr. J.N Jijingi was admitted at Tofi Memorial Secondary School, Gboko, where the  story of his unequaled academic prowess continued till he completed in 2004.

            A phenomenal twist rubbed shoulders with his academic career when he was admitted at College of Education, Katsina-Ala. In his O level, Joshua was a science student, but as destiny will always have things done its own way, ‘De Prince’ was absorbed into Theatre Arts after completing his Preliminary Studies at the College. In the Theatre, Jijingi rose effortlessly through heights, surpassing those who were there before him, to become a veteran stage god. His prowess in the make-belief antics made him popular among students and lecturers in the Department and even beyond. His name became a synonym for a good actor. He was always hailed and revered by every one as a seasoned professional. This suffices to explain why no semester went by without him featuring in more than two productions in which he routinely took major roles. It is not out of place that Joshua is a gifted artiste, his whole being oozed with the exuded elegance of a Hollywood superstar, adorning his masculine physique. It wasn’t therefore surprising that he was crowned Best Actor of the Year in 2010, a first of its kind.

                                                                                                        

            In spite of his science oriented background, the veteran never fared worse than any other student in the Department. This justifies the earlier claim that he was ‘an exceptionally brilliant child’. At the end of the day, Jijingi graduated with an ‘A’ in Theatre Arts, breaking the jinx that plagued the Department for recorded years.

                                                                  
                                       

            Apart from been a talented actor, Mr. J.N Jijingi enjoyed dominion over his contemporaries in terms of self expression. Merely saying Jijingi is a good orator can as well pass for an understatement. This virtue complements superb acting. In his college days, De Prince was accorded numerous designations some of which included Vice President ATAS (2009), Spoke Man, ATAS Elders Forum (2010), to mention but a few.

Jijingi has undiluted passion for academics. This drove him to the Department of Theatre Arts, Benue State University, Makurdi, where he was admitted on merit owing to his starry results at the College. A cliche has it that a gold fish has no hiding place. This comes very apt in this developing story of a genius because in as much as jijingi tried his best to play low key at the University, his golden potentials betrayed him. Like a celebrity that he meant to be, jijingi grew exceedingly popular among friends, students and lecturers of the department and beyond. Needless to reiterate here that jijingi fared far above his mates in academics. To his mates and juniors, he became the first point of call for assignments and any given academic task. 

Upon completion of his studies, jijingi didn't just graduate with a B. A.  in Theatre Arts (with a bias in Directing), he bagged it with a retinue of awards and honours. It didn't come as surprising to anyone as he was awarded the Best Graduating Student of the Department, an accolade he went on to claim even at the faculty level. Also in his graduation treasure chest was the Best Director of the Year's Award. When the Department was honouring the then outgoing Vice Chancellor, Professor Charity Angya, jijingi was nominated to write and read her citation, a piece Angya described as 'exceptionally impressive'.

Although Black Blood (2015) is his only published work, Jijingi has many unpublished creative and critical works of no mean scholarship to his credit.

            Currently, the stage ‘Prince’ lives in Port Harcourt where he is putting to good practice his training and passion in film production and professional drama.