Ghana's most accomplished screen writer, Eddie Seddoh Celebrates his birthday today.

If the underlisted were names on a roll call at a public function, heads would surely turn to stare and smile:

Pusher. Marcia. Dede. BB. Killer. Aluta. Enyonam.

Fast forward to:

Buju. Josh. Golda. Selorm.

Fast forward to:

Drogba. George. Serwaa. Cyril. Emily.

And now:

Jamal. Farida.

And still counting…

He dreams and conceives characters like the above, developing their traits and trademarks for screen, projecting them on the trajectory of fame and appeal. Appeal that lasts so long they become iconic characters in the public domain. The scripts are quickly forgotten, but these characters live for as long as the memories allow. Next thing you know, you're a big fan of some character in your favourite drama series whose lines, mannerisms and scenes get you excited. It's not by chance.

To be able to do this consistently takes a certain level of creative excellence, if not genius, the stuff of legends. For someone who specializes in writing iconic characters into being, to become icons we either love or hate, it's about time the industry gave him his due. Like a true legend, Eddie Seddoh has done this consistently for years. Nearly 20 years, for the records.

 

It began with Things We Do For Love. An amateur looking for his big break gets a call-up to pitch in a story for what was going to be an adolescent radio drama series on reproductive health. As is second nature to the industry, the usual suspects – professionals being counted on by the client –  had disappointed in one way or the other. The onus fell on this unknown quantity. Eddie jumped on the chance – having seen and scoffed at enough drama shows on TV already to reckon he stood a grand chance of announcing himself on the scene. 

Against the odds, history was about to be made by this average boy next door from a Dansoman neighbourhood. This gentleman not only birthed the befitting title that has come to stay on the lips of every ardent TV follower in the late 90's to early 2000's, but also brilliantly crafted every single script in the double-award winning series, including the radio version which was so successful there was a clarion call for TV viewership. Radio was soon forgotten when the TV episodes from this same author sprung to life. The rest as they say is history.

Thus began the meteoric rise of one of Ghana's most accomplished screen writers. These characters have pretty much become household names and the likes of Jackie Appiah have in many media interviews credited Eddie for her leap to stardom after he casted her in Things We Do For Loveto play the role of Enyonam.

Fast forward to the adventures of Grandpa, a sharp-tongued, hustler character in the series L&Gwhich aired between 2005 and 2006, and there was yet more evidence of Eddie's fingerprints all over it. Those who know, know. When it came to yet another youth-oriented hit series X.O.X.Oin 2012-13., the character name Bujustood out large and in charge. Buju was indeed the toast of the fans, with a myriad of scripted punchlines defining his character. There's something about the character names Eddie goes for in his writing, and you can be sure it's by design, meticulously.

Buju's reign as a screen general among the youth would be as short-lived as the award-winning XOXO series itself which spanned three seasons, making way for another Eddie Seddoh special in four seasons of writing the scripts for YOLO, unleashing the current generation's new crop of characters such as Drogba,George, Emily, Cyril, Psycho; all with unbelievable followings – social media being my witness. The return of Pusher(Adjetey Annang) and Enyonam(Jackie Appiah), was already drawing strong hints that this had to be the much awaited sequel to Things We Do For Love– no wonder it came from the same two big brains behind the scene, in the persons of acclaimed director Ivan Quashigah and his one-time protégé Eddie Seddoh.

If you're doubting that anything Eddie touches in screen drama turns to gold, look no further than Sadia,the current telenovela running 4 times weekly on TV3.Despite winning only two of the categories in the just ended Ghana Movie Awards, there's no prize for guessing whether Eddie Seddoh was on the nominee listing. ‘And the award for Outstanding Writing goes to…EDDIE SEDDOH.' The Sadia table at the event erupted in joy albeit it came as little surprise to these particular patrons of the night that Eddie would brush aside the competition in that category. Well-earned, well-deserved. It's been a long time coming.Two years earlier, when YOLO scooped as many as 8 awards, thanks to his monumental contribution as the sole writer, it had to be a wonder of the world why Eddie was not even individually nominated in the Writing category. Perhaps, another story for another day. But for 2018, it was about time this legend with a penchant for lying low in the limelight, while creating and unmasking screen gods and goddesses, got his fair share of recognition in the industry.

Eddie is currently the General Manager of Adesa Productions, a member of the Media General group.