She said they were comfortable till her father lost his job at Savannah Bank and all his money after serving the bank for 26 years.
She however noted that Nollywood helped her get them out of poverty and she is forever grateful. The actress also spoke on marriage and her kind of man. Enjoy…
Though
young, you have been noted for humanitarian deeds, what drives this passion in
you?
Yes,
that is the area that appeals to me and that is the area I want to be known
for. I just found myself doing it. It came naturally to me to do because I had
begged for food and clothes in the past; so I know what it feels like to be
deprived in those areas. So giving comes natural to me. We actually need to
share so that God will be happy with us.
I
grew up in the north. You know in the north, while I was growing up, you just
bring out a large plate of food and people sit around it, eat and share from
it. People put their hands and eat. That was how I grew up, and it was okay.
Lagos is different though. So I have learnt to give. If I do not have this to
give, then I have that to give. If I do not have money to give, I have clothes
to give and if I do not have clothes to give, then I have food to give. The
important thing is that you have shared something with someone in need. You
need to share whatever you have except sharing your body (laughs).
You
seem to be giving us a different picture about your background here. At least
some people had the impression that you come from a privileged background.
Yes,
it’s true; I had a privileged background until Savannah bank where my father
worked for 26 years was closed down. His money, everything was taken away; without
a conscience, they took away our food. Well I thank the bank because they made
me a star today.
How
did that happen?
I
had to find my way into Nollywood and then came down to Lagos to look for job
and help my family out of poverty. But if Savannah bank ever comes back, they
should be ready to pay back my daddy’s money. He was a manager in the bank for
all of 26 years in Kaduna, Katsina, we were going all over the place as he was
moved from place to place for his work. Suddenly, Savannah bank was locked up.
I was much younger then. I was still in school. I had to leave Katsina with my
family. My dad worked at other places after then, but it was in Savannah bank
that he had his locked up investment. Now I do not advise people to save money
in the bank where they work because anything can happen. Better to spread your
money in other banks apart from where you work so that people do not suddenly
make your family’s life miserable.
But
if your dad was a bank manager for that long, he was really comfortable and
would have had some properties…
You
mean the house and all such? We had to sell those off to get money. Thank God
that we didn’t have to go into prostitution. Again, we were even too young then
to know what prostitution was. This kind of thing is what makes good people turn wicked. That’s because
we were really affected and I have pains to show for it.
But
did your dad ever recover?
Well,
he eventually did. And I had to help out too. Now he has a beautiful farm in
Lokoja, where he is doing well. That has always been his dream. And my mom is
retired. Mom left Kano when my dad left. You know wherever the man goes, his
woman has to follow. Right now they are in Lokoja where we have our family
home.
You
have indeed moved around the north, but where are you from?
I
am from Kogi state. And Lokoja is close to our village. I spent the first
twenty years of my life in the far north before coming to Lagos.
Tell
us about life in the north and in southern part of Nigeria.
The
truth is that Kano was where I lived for most of our childhood. My elder sister
and her family lives there now. Somehow I will always be connected to Kano.
Lagos is where I work, it is where I also have some form of investment and my little
ones live here. We do not stay together anymore because I know that at some
point, I will have to start my own family. So I am proud to say that I have
invested in my family, instead of gallivanting around the whole world, cruising
in yachts, and jets and taking fake pictures up and down. I’m actually proud of
myself now.
So
how do you describe yourself?
I
am a producer and a writer; I am a farmer, which is a huge investment. My dad
is the one handling that aspect because he knows about it, but I am the chief
executive officer there. We have restaurants and bakery, these are all a big
blessing. And I have urged my younger sister to go into the make-up profession
so that I can invest in that too. I am actually proud of the beauty industry
and I will like to invest in it, another way of supporting the family.
What
does beauty mean to you?
It
means being you, it also means being mature.
Was
it easy for you to come all the way from the north of the country to Lagos to
break into Nollywood?
Never!
It was not easy to do. It took me almost 10 years of my life. I have been
acting for probably 15 years now. I was a child, I was very young, I was in JSS
3. For the first three years of life in Nollywood, I shot only two movies and
there was no line. That is what is called ‘waka pass’. That is the testimony
that I have. So when people keep talking trash about me, I just say they do not
know what they are talking about. Most often they don’t know me; they are
talking based on gossip on social media, or what they are reading online. But
that is not me. People should just live their lives and stop being a fake. Must
I paint my face, pose and take pictures and paste on social media? Before the
arrival of social media, weren’t we living? The funny part is that men don’t
even care if you have a particular brand of lipstick on.
We
keep spending N6,000 on a particular brand of lipstick, yet men don’t even
notice it. But your fellow woman will sit down somewhere and start saying, ‘Oh
my God, is that this or that?’ I keep saying that some women dress for their
fellow women not for men. That’s because men just look at probably your shoes,
wrist watch or your handbag or hair style. Though every man has what he looks
at, but most often it is the way you talk, your intelligence. Most often, not
even your shoes, unless he owns a boutique and he is thinking of selling his
shoes or your hair, if he sells weave-on. That’s because men just look probably
at your shoes.
Don’t
you feel that you may be intimidating to a man?
Well,
that will be the man’s business because I didn’t tell such a man not to go to
school, or have a library; I cannot afford not to be myself because of a man
who feels intimidated by me. A man should even be happy to encourage me. Any
man that is intimidated by a lady is not a man. I have, however, learnt to be
tolerant of people. I have learnt to ignore a lot of side talks; I have learnt
to be patient with a lot of people, because I have a temper which I have learnt
to control. I am working on myself. Also because of the way that I have been
treated in the past by people, I really do not value friendship. I am trying
hard to know people and that’s where patience comes in. I am still trying to
open up; I hope I will be able to do that with a man that I hope to spend the
rest of my life with. I do not want a man that I will spend just one year with
and he’s gone. I don’t want a man that will make me pop out babies, then he
will go clubbing. I will drag his hair to the house! I’ve had anger in the
past, so it’s easy to piss me off and it’s easy for me to forgive. I don’t
react; at the same time I’m not a robot, so I am bound to react once in a
while.
How
about marriage?
Marriage
will come when it will come. You don’t rush it. It is one of the few things
that one does not need to rush. Marriage is not a movie that one has to
rush. You do not marry because the
public wants you to get married. You do not marry because you are getting old,
you do not marry because you are too young. You get married when it’s the right
time. You get married when you meet the right man, when you know that it is
okay and the man too is okay. And you are sure that you are going to have a
fine, peaceful marriage.
But
there are guys in the movie industry, haven’t they been approaching you with
subtle marital proposals?
Well,
you do not get married because you are in Nollywood or because people there are
proposing. Moreover I do not encourage people to date where they work.
Does
that also mean that you are not likely to marry an actor?
I
will definitely not marry an actor.
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