Kannywood actress Fati Slow dies in Chadian town

Fatima Usman, the Kannywood actress better known as Fati Slow Motion, has passed away.

Mansura Isa, the Kano state activist, announced Fati’s demise on Tuesday via an Instagram post.

The actress died on Monday night in a hospital in a Chadian town near Sudan. She was said to have travelled there to visit her relatives.

The cause of her death was however not disclosed.

Isa added that her burial ceremony would be held in Habasha, the town where she died.

“To God we are and to him we shall return. Fati Slow died yesterday at Habasha near Sudan. Her burial ceremony will be held there but greetings will be observed at her home in Unguwan Uku,” she wrote.

Abba El-Mustapha, the executive secretary of the Kano State Censorship Board, also mourned Fati Slow via a post on his Instagram page.

El-Mustapha prayed for the actress’ departed soul and called on Allah for mercy and forgiveness upon her.

“Allah has passed away a friend of the struggle and actress in Kannywood film industry Fatima Usman (Fati Slow),” he wrote.

“We are praying that Allah has mercy on her and forgive her shortcomings and make paradise her final abode. If ours comes, may Allah make us live well and be faithful”.

Fati Slow established herself as a household name in Kannywood with a career that spanned over 15 years.

Since January 2024, Nollywood has lost dozens of practitioners including Mr Ibu, Amaechi Muonagor, Junior Pope, Sisi Quadri, and Ganiyu ‘Ogunjimi‘ Oyeyemi.

Others who lost their lives include Olofa Ina, Adejumoke Aderounmu, Saratu Gidado, Reginald Ebere, and Ethel Ekpe.

The Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) announced a four-day fasting and prayer session with Jerry Eze, the Streams of Joy International founder, against deaths in Nollywood.

Rollas said “actors cannot continue to die like chickens,” adding that prayers are needed to avert more deaths in the industry.

He also urged Nollywood actors and their supporters to join the programme to “deal with this ugly reproach”.