OMOTOLA or GENEVIEVE: Who Deserves TIME 100?

A number of people have posed the question at me. And a number seem to have huge reservations! What counts here is that these two screen goddesses are doing us proud internationally! And we are on d world stage again for something positive. But if you insist, who do you think deserve to  be on the 2013 TIME 100 World’s Icon List. GENEVIEVE or OMOTOLA?

Here is a fine article on this matter by my friend and colleague, Femi Salau of Entertainment Express. Enjoy the read!

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OMOTOLA or GENEVIEVE: Who Deserves TIME 100?

By FEMI SALAWU

‪If Nollywood fans are assumed to be devotees of  cinematic deities, a large majority will be steadfast worshipers of two prominent goddesses – Omo Sexy and Genny as they are fondly called by their numerous fans.

Both of them are first-rate actresses, both are blessed with awesome screen appeal, both of them are in the same  age bracket and they both have parallel career trajectories. Therefore,  it is only natural that they are both seen as rivals.

While both tried to downplay any rivalry between them, but as far as the public knows, for a long time, there was no love’s lost between the two leading actresses. For years, both were hardly seen together at public events until in recent months when the pair put up a show of comradeship at a string of public event.

When Omotola’s  name popped up in the exclusive and highly coveted TIME 100, the honour inadvertently sparked another round of debate of supremacy. Fans of Genevieve cried blue murder, regarding the recognition as daylight robbery.

Many Nollywood buffs saw Genevieve in a better stead. Since 2009, when she was featured in an edition of Oprah Winfrey’s Meet the Most Famous People in the World where she was dubbed the “Africa’s Julia Roberts,” Imo State-born Genny has been standing on the cusp of a major international breakthrough. She went on to appear in CNN’s Connect the World and a year later she had another appearance in another CNN weekly documentary, African Voices.

At a point a sensational news made the round that the 33-year-old mother of a teenage girl was being tipped for a role in the British spy franchise, James Bond. Anticipation reached fever pitch when the dark-skinned beauty was spotted in few ‘Hollywood’ circles. That was as far as it goes for Genny.

Omo Sexy on the other hand has a more diversified resume as an actress, singer and philanthropist. Leveraging on philanthropy with her Omotola Ekeinde Initiative for Youth Empowerment, the actress who boasts of over 300 movie credits was soon recognized by global humanitarian organizations such as United Nation (UN), Amnesty International and the Walk the World Project. In 2005, the 35-year-old actress became a United Nations WFP (World Food Programme) Ambassador that took her on missions to Sierra- Leone and Liberia. Among many others accomplishments, the mother of four became an Amnesty International campaigner in 2011 which saw her participate in campaigns in Sierra- Leone (Maternal Mortality) and recently in Niger Delta on oil spillage.

Their numerous accomplishments nevertheless, a beckon from Hollywood remains elusive to them. And for close observers, whoever pulls off this feat first, may ultimately earns the crown as the indisputable Queen of Nollywood.

Who do you think deserve to  be on the 2013 TIME 100 World’s Icon List. GENEVIEVE or OMOTOLA?