Hilary Jackson, the Kosofe Superstar
Words Lekan Lawal, Bukky Omolaja, Onus Obinyan
Every superstar, celebrity or personality of note resides in a particular area of a state in a country. Now, knowing that you live close or not too far away from one and that you can take a walk to his or her residence, or just happen on them on the street and actually talk with them can be a great source of pride while furnishing you with the necessary bragging rights out on the town. You can imagine how we felt when we discovered that one of the Kings of Dance in Nigeria, lives in the hood…our hood! The Dance Machine himself, Hilary Jackson is a bonafide member of the Kosofe Local Government Area, the Ketu community precisely. Passionate about his art, this supreme entertainer and dancer, cuts out time to journey Kosofe Inside-Out through his grass to grace story.
Tell us about yourself
My names are Hilary Jackson Chinonso Uzorka, but my stage name is Hilary Jackson, the Dance Machine. I hail from Ndokwa East Local Government area, Abala-Obodo of Delta state. I have been dancing since the age of 12. I am also a graduate of Lagos State University where I studied Business Administration. I have won multiple awards and performed at different shows and featured in many musical videos with different Artistes in Nigeria.
With your Business Administration Degree, why Dance?
I see dance as a natural gift from God. It all started when I was in primary 5 or 6, in St. Francis Primary school, Maryland. I represented my school in dance competitions and won a lot of these competitions. I was given scholarship as a result of this gift of dance, you know…I didn’t pay school fees for a particular period. Dance is a passion and something I love doing, I did it very well then and now without attending any Dance school. When I was in school there was this Michael Jackson move;the moon walk that I perfected. I would come to the front of the class and entertain my class mates with the back-slide, throwing them all into a frenzy. They would all shout Hey! Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson…some would say No! Let’s call him Hilary Jackson…and the name stuck. As time went on the same thing happened in secondary school, I won competitions for my school and maintained that name.When I got to the Polytechnic, where I got my Diploma in Business Administration, the same thing happened and I got a scholarship from Lagos State Polytechnic. So, I didn’t pay for my ND3, dance did. I found out each time I dance, I last long on the dance floor, I have the energy and I don’t break down easily, because I don’t drink alcohol or smoke. So, people say this guy is a machine, that’s how the name Hilary Jackson the Dance Machine came into existence. I studied Business Administration because I feel life itself is all about business, for instance after acquiring great wealth through your talent and you lack business concepts to boost your relevance and ideas to manage your wealth, most definitely, you’re going to lose them. So I decided to go for Business Administration. I believe everything is business; the entertainment industry, everything around us and the world itself is one big business. I need to be able to maintain and manage my wealth when I acquire it in the nearest future.
Tell us the story of the car you won
The car is cool, it’s a Kia Rio, courtesy, Lucozade Boost Freestyle TV show, Season 2, in 2012 as Best Dancer of the Year. I have been awarded Best dancer for 5 consecutive years from 2012 to 2016 from different award bodies. I have won awards from Crowd-Puller events (CPEE Awards), Face of Leg,and SFK Entertainment as the Best dancer of the year. I have won 2 awards this year.
Now you’re in the limelight, how do you measure the fame?
I would say I am not yet popular…I am a rising star and I believe fame does not have a limit.At the same time, I believe nobody stays up there forever. Michael Jackson is one of my role models and inspiration. When he was alive, He would say keep doing it because in every fame there’s always a pain. I still keep working hard. What you call fame now has cost me a lot inthe sense that people never believed in me, people see me as a bad person because of my hair, and some people just categorize me as an unserious person. Not everybody knows I am a graduate. Fame has also caused me havoc, some people came to rob me recently, because they always believe I have, that I am rich. Even when you don’t have people don’t know you don’t have, they always believe you have that money, but they don’t know what you’re facing currently. I lost my Mom on the 5thof February this year at the age of 49, I lost her to diabetes. I lost my dad in the year 2000. When she was alive people will say we saw your son, he his crazy all because of my hair. I will go to church and people will talk.The truth is that everybody can’t be a Pastor. You can be a Bus Conductor and build houses from it, so we are all legends or stars in our own rights. I believe the fame is yet to come and I pray to God to give me the grace to maintain the fame when it comes in a bigger way internationally because I am only known locally right now.
In the entertainment industry, entertainers are known to be smokers, drinkers or womanizers
I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I like women but I am not a womanizer. It’s not easy with female fans though, they want a taste of you, but I remember the words of my Mom. She always advised me when she was alive,Son, it’s not all food that you eat, so for me, it’s not all women you sleep with. I am not a holy person, but I don’t womanize.Despite this, once in a while you’ll still see people that will admire you, care for you and along the line you’ll still have fun. Right now I don’t have a girlfriend but I don’t see that as a problem, because I have other things to think off. If you become famous today you’ll have countless women around you. I will have to work very hard before I can see the one I can say ok to,but for now there’s no woman loving me.
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
By the special grace of God, I hope to see myself operating fully at the international level and being an Ambassador for Youths, and an Ambassador for Peace. I also want to see myself as a credible role model for the youths and one of the best entertainers in the world, not just a dancer. In making my impact, I want people to know that dancers are not just wack or irresponsible people, I am educated and that’s the first step I took. So anybody that wants to be a great dancer must be educated…education is a great weapon. Seeing myself as an Ambassador for the Youths, I have to be educated, I have to encourage people, support the less-privileged. I remember when I had parents, when we don’t eat three square meals. We ate only in the mornings and evenings, so I know the hardship they went through. I started experiencing three square meals only recently. If God blesses me I want to help people with diabetes, cancer, HIV, the less-privileged and people above 60 years, you know…our senior citizens.
You’ve appeared in a couple of music videos, which videos are you aspiring to feature in?
Recently I was in the video of Bracket featuring Solid Star titled Agogo. I choreographed the dance for the video. I have done videos with Koffi the Comedian, I danced for Davido, Olamide and 2Baba’s stage concerts. I just concluded a movie yesterday titledHit the Street, it’s the first African Dance movie in the world. It’s produced by Bishop Okeke and directed by Okeoku of Nollywood and features foreign artists and musicians. I played the sub-lead role in the movie.
How do you thank your fans out there?
I thank them every day, may God bless them all, because it has not been easy.They have always been there to encourage me. There are times when people say bad things about me, andmy fans wave it away encouraging me, sayingdo your thing, don’t let anybody bring you down. By the special grace of God, when I am in the lime light,I will celebrate with them and also give back to society. Like this, I don’t collect money at all events or shows I perform at. I perform free at Motherless Babies’ concerts, because that’s how I can give back to the society.
How does it feel being a star from Kosofe L.G.A.?

I don’t believe that the Surulere and Ajegunle stars emerged in one day. I was born in Olufunmilayo Hospital, Coker, Apapa. I was one year old when we relocated to Adedoyin, here in Kosofe, so, I have been in Ketu for 30years now and my fame came from Ketu in Kosofe. There is a collaboration video I did recently with Jamaican dance Icon, Moiika. Dem Mad means Dem Making a Difference. I did another video Hilary Jackson A to Z Nigeria, African Dance Videos. These videos trended across the world and foreigners came here to dance with me. Everything I have done and won across the country today, I did from Ketu. Celebrities that know me know I am from Ketu. I am proud to say I am from Ketu. I call it KKM2, which means Ketu, Kosofe, and Mile 12.