From Classroom to Camera: 5 Nigerian Stars Who Once Taught in Schools

Before entertainment became their main work, these Nigerian stars had already spent time teaching. Their classroom years ranged from a short period after secondary school to more than seven years, and some were already working in entertainment while they taught.

Patience Ozokwor: The school debate that led to radio

Patience Ozokwor was already comfortable on a stage before Nollywood made her famous. She trained as a teacher and taught at theWomen Training College in Enugu, where her teacher-training years included school drama and a performance of Hamlet.

Her move into broadcasting came through a school debate. A cousin working at Radio Nigeria saw her there, asked what she was doing, and heard that she was teaching.

The cousin encouraged her to try a children's programme, and Ozokwor was later hired by Radio Nigeria. By 1982, she was working there as an announcer, and she remained in broadcasting until her retrenchment in 1984.

Niniola: The teacher who still wanted to teach

Niniola Apata, known professionally as Niniola, completed her teaching practice atClegg Girls Secondary School in Surulere, Lagos, before spending about two years as a supervisor at her father's school. She has said she enjoyed teaching and, in an interview, said she would have been a teacher if she had not become a singer.

Her music career took off in the 2010s, but the classroom had already given her several years of working with students.

Denrele Edun: Teaching while chasing television

Adenrele Oluwafemi Edun popularly known as Denrele Edun took up teaching in 1997, after secondary school and while he was waiting to enter the University of Lagos. He taught Primary 1, 2 and 4 at a primary school, coached some pupils privately and still made time for television.

At the time, he was appearing onNTA's children's programme Kidivision 101. He later recalled a routine that meant teaching from about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. before heading to NTA for television work. He entered the University of Lagos in the 1998/99 academic session, bringing that brief teaching chapter to an end.

MC Tagwaye: Seven years between teaching and comedy

Obinna Simon, known professionally as MC Tagwaye, spent about seven years in the classroom,teaching subjects including Biology, Applied Sciences and Agriculture while, as he has said, using MC and comedy work to supplement his income.

His route into the act that made him widely known came much later. In 2011, he watched an interview with Muhammadu Buhari and began studying his mannerisms. He released his first Buhari impersonation video in 2015, after Buhari's inauguration, and the character became central to his comedy career.

Holy Mallam: When ₦500 meant a month's salary

In 1995, Ajibola Adebayo, known professionally as Holy Mallam, was a teacher earning ₦500 a month. He left teaching the following year for a factory job, worked there until 1998, and later sold pure water while trying to keep his entertainment ambitions alive.

He began gospel comedy in 2000, and his first show that December paid him ₦500, the same amount he had earned from a whole month of teaching five years earlier. The early jobs were modest; sometimes he received ₦200 or ₦300, and on some occasions food instead of cash.

But by then, comedy had given him something teaching had not: a path he could keep building for himself.

Teaching was simply one part of their lives before fame. Some stayed for years, some moved on quickly, and some were already doing entertainment work alongside it. What came next was different for each of them, but none of their stories started with a camera.