By, Ebor Cletus Ralph Jr.
Fred Amata. I guess this name rings a bell at least, amongst Nollywood followers all over the world. So also is the name Agatha Amata, particularly by those who are lovers of the talk show – In side out with Agatha.
In his hay days in the movie circle, Fred held a lot of people spell bound with his sauve, good looks, carriage and smooth English. He made a name. I guess, he also made a lot of dough too, at least, enough to stay comfortable. With it, he got himself a cute damsel for a wife. Agatha was the name. And kids followed. There was happiness for a while and painfully, trouble found a space in their home. How sad! The marriage collapsed. And they went their separate ways.
Fred kept his spot in the entertainment business, while Agatha took to talk shows also within the realms of entertainment.
Fred revealed recently that, he was the unseen hands behind the famous talk show. But, Agatha, being the anchor, she is the one everyone knows and understandably so.
Yes, things had been relatively quiet with this enstranged couple, unlike the volatile environment or scenes created by some separated celebrity couples in the recent past. Guess we haven’t forgotten Yul Edochie and his gang? Emeka Ike or his ex wife, also could not keep their differences in the closet for too long and decided to spill a lot to the public a few months back.
The current Fred and Agatha issue, touches not just the fabric of emotion but, the very root of culture which we as Africans, hold very dear to our hearts. Their daughter had gotten to that age of marriage. Luckily, she got a dude of her dreams. She took him to her father’s London abode for the customary introduction. But, for some strange reasons, decided to abandon her father for her mother, for the main wedding. Just in case you didn’t get it, on their wedding day, Fred, her father, was allegedly left out of it. According to him, the wedding date was kept away from him for some Inexplicable reasons. It was Agatha who walked her daughter through the aisle and handed her over to her husband. Fred is very much alive and well.
To come to an unfettered conclusion on this matter would be difficult. Agreed that, it is unAfrican for a lady to preside over her daughter’s marriage. The question is, what could have resulted to a sudden change of plan, especially, against the back drop that, the father had been in the picture from the beginning, at least, from the point of introduction?
Did he offend his daughter and would be son inlaw on the day? Or was his plan or agenda at variance with the plans of the couple? I mean, did he raise the bar too high for them to scale? Why was he snubbed at that final moment? Was it right for Agatha to play the father, while Fred is alive and bubbling? So many questions but, the answers may not reside here. Painful and most unfortunate.
