Uzoamaka Power formerly known as Uzoamaka Aniunoh, a popular Nigerian actresses, filmmaker and writer has continued to build a reputation as one of the most talented actress in the Nigeria film industry. She is widely recognised for films like, “The Weekend”, “Mami Wata”, and “Diiche”. While fans admire her creativity there are many interesting facts about her journey which remain unknown to many fans.

Uzoamaka Power was not her original professional name.

The actress was initially known as Uzoamaka Doris Aniunoh, but she later adopted Power as her professional surname in 2025. She said the name represents the resilience, strength and hard work she brings to her creative work. It reflects a new version of her career.

Photo: Instagram

Reports show that she has already been using the name online years before making it official.

She has a solid academic background.

Aside from being one of the Nollywood actresses, she is highly educated. Before stepping into the Nollywood industry, she earned a degree in English and History from the University of Nigeria and later earned a Master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Birmingham which influenced her abilities.

She is an accomplished writer

MTV Shuga helped launch her acting career. After returning from the UK to Nigeria in 2017. Uzoamaka participated in an audition for the popular youth drama television series MTV Shuga. Her role in the show served as a stepping stone to her acting career, as it helped introduce her talent to a wider audience and gave her bigger opportunities in Nollywood.

Photo: Instagram

She is building a career both in front of and behind the camera.

Uzoamaka is not focused solely on acting unlike many actors. She’s also building a career as a director, producer and a writer. In recent years she has worked on various projects. She revealed that she is working on feature scripts and onscreen projects, which shows her commitment to shaping the future of African storytelling.

Uzoamaka Power has won the Kim Renders Memorial Award for her outstanding performance at the Reelout Film Festival in 2021. She has also received major nominations from the Africa Movie Academy Awards and the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. Her rise from being a writer in Nollywood.

When Rena Wakama arrived in Kigali for the AfroBasket Women’s Championship in 2023, she wasn’t just preparing for another tournament, she was stepping into uncharted territory. Nigeria’s women’s team, D’Tigress, had been on a winning run, but this was the first time in the team’s history that a woman was calling the shots from the sidelines. Less than two weeks later, Wakama had delivered a double milestone: guiding D’Tigress to their fourth straight title and becoming the first female head coach to lift the AfroBasket trophy.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Nigerian parents, Wakama’s connection to the game started young. She played college basketball at Western Carolina University, where she was known as a sharp-shooting guard with a stubborn defensive streak. She wasn’t the tallest or the most flamboyant player, but she made her mark by chasing down rebounds, directing traffic on the court, and staying locked in under pressure. Qualities that would later define her coaching style.

Her move into coaching came naturally. After college, Wakama joined the staff at Manhattan College in New York, working in player development and scouting. Those who worked with her recall how she could spend hours dissecting game footage, looking for small openings that others overlooked. She combined patience with high expectations, pushing players to improve without losing sight of the bigger picture.

When the Nigerian Basketball Federation called in 2023, Wakama stepped into a role that carried both opportunity and intense pressure. The team had a reputation to protect, and her appointment brought questions about her experience. She answered them with action, introducing fresh tactical plays, tightening the defense, and making sure each player understood their role. In the final against Senegal, her timely substitutions and in-game adjustments kept Nigeria ahead, sealing an 84–74 victory.

Beyond the title and the record, Wakama’s achievement has a ripple effect. For young girls across Africa watching from stands or screens, her presence on the sideline proves that leadership in sports can look different and still win. She didn’t just take the job; she set a new standard for what’s possible.

If you think you know Toke Makinwa, you might have to think again! Toke Makinwa isn’t just a TV or Radio presenter or a fashionista or entrepreneur, Toke Makinwa is a human and like every other human, she has a story – a story filled with ups and downs, heartbreaks and new beginnings and facts that you might not know.

In this article, we’ll be exploring 4 little-known-facts about Toke Makinwa and how each blow in life has helped her become the woman she is. This will greatly inspire you, so sit tight as we dive into the life of a celebrity who has been through life and facts about her that might leave you teary.

  She Lost Both Her Parents to Fire at Age 8.

Toke Makinwa

The year 1993 marked a tragic point for Toke Makinwa and her entire family. At the tender age of eight, she lost both her parents, Caleb Ifemayowa and Modupe Monica Mayowa in a gas cylinder explosion in their home in Abuja.

Toke Makinwa explained in depth how the death of her parents was a turning point for her. In her book, On Becoming, she wrote:

‘’In the movies, you sometimes see a scene with someone burning from head to toe, screaming and trying to fight the flames. It happened right in front of me. Everyone ran back trying to figure out who it was and how to put out the flames, shouting advice from a safe distance.

It took me a moment to realize that it was my mum. I stood glued to the spot, watching her burn… Even after they were driven to the hospital, I could still smell it.

From being a bubbly, friendly child, I became withdrawn and taciturn. From being the child who always came first in class, I went to the bottom of the class”

After the death of her parents, Toke and her siblings moved into her eldest aunt’s home in Ikoyi, Lagos. While this was a downhill pivot for her, it also fueled her resilience and outlook on life.

  From Literature to A Thriving Career in Media

Toke Makinwa – Radio presenter, TV personality and Entrepreneur

Toke Makinwa wasn’t born the eloquent presenter and glamorous personality, in fact, at it all started at the Federal Government Girls’ College, Oyo State where she had her secondary education. She then enrolled into the University of Lagos (UNILAG) where she studied English Language.

She seemed to know what she wanted because while in school studying English, she sought for hosting gigs, applied for internships and began to build herself slowly but steadily. She later went on to major in Communication and Media Studies. And her big break didn’t come until 2010 as a media host on Rhythm 93.7 FM in a show called ‘’The Morning Drive’’

Later on, Toke opened up about how losing her parents made her crave expression and how media became an outlet by which she could express herself. In her words:

‘’I had so much bottled up inside me, and I needed to speak, to pour out, to be heard. The mic gave me that power.”

   Private Wedding, Public Divorce

Toke Makinwa’s ex-husband, Maje Ayida

While every marriage is expected to be happily-ever-afters, but some don’t turn out that way, behind the glamorous pictures, bags and following, Toke’s love story started like a fairy tale but plummeted, leading to heartbreak, scandal and then, rebirth.

In January 2014, Toke Makinwa got married to Maje Ayida, a fitness expert and founder of HIIT Squad after being in an on-and-off relationship for about 8 years. It was indeed a joyous moment for Toke and her fans not until barely 18 months later, news spread that Maje Ayida had impregnated his ex-girlfriend Anita Solomon even though he was still married to Toke.

Social media went wild, it was the headline on almost every blog, it didn’t just shake her fans, it broke Toke herself. In March 2016, Toke filed for a divorce on grounds of adultery, verbal abuse and emotional neglect and in October 2017, her divorce was finalized by an Igbosere High Court in Lagos.

But while many expected Toke to crumble, she emerged. That same year, she launched TM Luxury, her luxury bag line and six months later released her memoir – ‘’On Becoming.’’

  On Becoming – A Story of Loss, Grief and Rebirth

Toke Makinwa’s memoir – On Becoming

While a lot of people would have collapsed under the weight of it all, Toke refused to. In November 2016, she released a memoir, and this wasn’t your regular book, this became a revolution.

In the book, she talked about everything – the painful memory of losing both parents in a fire when she was just 8 years old, her relationship with Maje Ayida, the cheating, its effects on her self-esteem, how societal expectations made her stay when she desperately wanted to leave. She didn’t just write about heartbreak but also about identity, faith, survival and womanhood.

And within 24 hours of release, On Becoming sold out in the major bookstores in Lagos. Celebrities like Banky W, Tiwa Savage and others were physically present not just to get a copy but to support her and appreciate her for telling her story.

It has since then become a kind of language that many Nigerian women understand, about the myth of a perfect marriage and the power of feminity and resilience.

In conclusion, the next time to hear the name Toke Makinwa, let it not only remind you of a bubbly internet sensation but also remind you of a woman of resilience and strength who had every reason to give up on life but didn’t but instead used her pain as fuel to build a legacy that would last beyond her.

Let her story be a reminder, especially to the female gender that it is possible to rise above the ashes and turn your lemons to lemonades not just for you but for others as well.

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