Nigeria: Patience Ozokwor explains why she plays Nollywood’s most wicked women

By Zuleihat Owuiye, Nigeria

Veteran Nollywood actress Patience Ozokwor, better known as Mama G, has finally addressed the question fans have asked for decades: why does she always play the witch, the wicked mother-in-law, the village villain.

Speaking during a live-streamed interview with content creator Carter Efe on Monday, the actress said her frequent roles as antagonists were not accidental. They were, in her words, divinely assigned.

“I think God gave me that niche,” Ozokwor said. “When you give me those roles, I try to bring everything into them.

For more than 30 years, Patience Ozokwor has been one of the most recognizable faces in Nigerian cinema. If you grew up watching Nollywood in the 90s and 2000s, you know her. 

She was the wicked stepmother in _Glamour Girls_. The scheming mother-in-law in _Blood Money_. The village witch in countless epics who made life miserable for the protagonist before justice was served in the final scene.

Her voice, her stare, and her delivery became shorthand for “trouble is coming.” Directors kept calling. Audiences kept watching. And somewhere along the line, Mama G became synonymous with Nollywood’s favorite villains.

But the roles came with a cost. Off-screen, fans sometimes struggled to separate the actress from the characters. Children would run from her. Strangers would scold her in markets. 

Despite building a career playing wicked women, Ozokwor insists that in real life she stands for the opposite of what her characters represent.

“I hate every ill because I don’t like injustice, war, and rancour,” she explained during the interview. 

Her approach to each role is deliberate. She doesn’t just play wicked for shock value. She plays it so the audience can see where that path leads.

“If you are taking part in any of them, you have to be careful and know the end thereof, for the end justifies the means,” she said. “Know what will happen to you if you live a terrible life, and know what you will gain if you are a good person.”

That’s how Ozokwor frames her work — as social instruction through storytelling. Nollywood, especially in its early years, was built on moral tales. Good was rewarded. Evil was punished. And the person who made that lesson land was often Mama G, cackling, scheming, and ultimately losing in the last 10 minutes.

Ozokwor’s ability to make audiences believe her characters comes from more than just talent. She brings conviction to the role. 

“I try to bring everything into them,” she said. That “everything” is years of experience, observation, and a clear understanding of human nature. She knows how greed looks. She knows how envy sounds. And she knows how to make it feel real on screen without glorifying it.

Directors noticed early. Once she played one wicked woman well, the calls didn’t stop. Soon, she was typecast. But Ozokwor never fought it. She leaned in.

I think God gave me that niche,” she repeated. In her view, someone had to play the role that would make people uncomfortable enough to reflect. Someone had to be the mirror.

Off camera, Patience Ozokwor is known for the exact opposite of her on-screen persona. She’s a pastor, a mother of three, a grandmother, and an advocate for peace. She speaks often about faith, family, and discipline. 

That contrast is part of why fans are so fascinated by her. The woman who terrifies people on screen is, by her own account, someone who despises the very things she portrays.

That duality has also allowed her to evolve. In recent years, audiences have seen her in more layered roles — mothers, community leaders, women with depth beyond “wicked.” But the villain roles are what made her a household name, and she owns them.

“I don’t run from it,” she has said in past interviews. “If that’s what God used to bless me and to bless people, then I will do it well.

Nollywood has changed. The industry now produces romantic comedies, thrillers, and global streaming series. But the moral core of many early Nollywood films remains. And Ozokwor was central to that era.

Her performances taught a generation what not to do. Don’t be greedy. Don’t envy your neighbor. Don’t use juju to take what isn’t yours. Because Mama G was coming, and she was not going to let you get away with it.

In 2026, that legacy still resonates. Younger actors cite her as an influence. Directors still call her when they need gravitas. And fans, both old and new, still quote her lines.

During the interview with Carter Efe, Ozokwor didn’t sound tired of the conversation. She sounded grateful. Grateful that the niche found her, grateful that she could use it to say something.