Nollywood legend Patience Ozokwo, known to fans as Mama G, says she took on “wicked” roles in movies to teach society a lesson.

For years, she was the face of fear in 90s and 2000s Nollywood. She played the harsh mother-in-law, the cruel stepmother, the aunt everyone feared. Those roles gave many Nigerians childhood nightmares. But in real life, Ozokwo says she’s the opposite.

“I’m soft-hearted. I cry easily. I can’t hurt a fly,” she once said. The characters weren’t her. They were a message.

She explained that the roles showed the evil people do in real life. By acting them out, she wanted viewers to see how wrong those actions are. “When I play a bad woman, I’m a mirror,” she said. “I want society to look and see that it is not good to be bad.”

Some scenes still haunt her. In one movie, she snatched a baby’s feeding bottle and threw it away. She cried so hard on set that filming stopped. In another, she beat a child until the girl died. “If someone did that in real life, I would expose them to the world,” she said.

Ozokwo said she didn’t just take the roles for money. She took them to create awareness. “These are things people do. I wanted to expose evil doers so people can be careful,” she explained.

Now in her 60s, Mama G has been in Nollywood for over 20 years. She’s won many awards, including the Nigerian Centenary Award in 2014. Off screen, she’s known as kind, gentle, and deeply religious.

For fans who grew up watching her, Mama G’s roles were scary, but the lesson was simple: don’t be like that.