Award-winning Nollywood actress has been in the eye of the storm since her debut production effort with her movie Being Mrs Elliot. With some still questioning her experience as a director and producer, the actress chose to do something no one has ever done before – premiering her film at Aso Rock. Only for the eyes of the President, his vice, senators and other top government officials.
Since she achieved the feat, tongues have been wagging as to the motive of the idea. Here, with Weekend Groove, Omoni bares it all. Excerpts:
By Juliet Ebirim
You recently premiered your movie ‘Being Mrs Elliot’ at Aso Rock, what was it like?
It was very interesting. I honestly didn’t believe it was going to happen. The Film Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria actually wrote to the presidency. We just thought, well, they are too busy, they won’t answer us. But to our greatest surprise, they agreed. Even till after the event, I was still telling my assistant that if I woke up and realise that it’s all a dream, I would be very unhappy. I kept thinking it wasn’t happening, that it wasn’t real. I think it’s a very big achievement for Nollywood as a whole, because when things like this happen, it makes other people believe that they can even do more. For us, it’s a big thing. The president said Nollywood has put Nigeria on the map and has affected the economy of the nation in so many ways, which is why he’s doing all he can to ensure that the industry gets all the support it needs .
How did you feel screening your movie exclusively to the president?
It wasn’t just the president; the Vice-President, PDP Chairman, the Senators, Ministers, Elder Statesmen and some Governors. It was a huge event. I was sitting at the hightable with all these people. Not even in my wildest dream did I think I’d ever get to that point where I would sit on the same hightable with the president and his ministers and it’s about me. I played two roles in the movie and the president was like “How did you do it?”. He commended the movie which had a bit of culture and tourism in it. I shot in Ekiti, Asaba and Lagos. He said the quality of the movie was very good.
What was the inspiration behind the story?
I just wanted to do something that people can sit back, relax and have fun. It’s drama/romantic comedy. Nigerians work hard, that’s the truth and they’re stressed out day in, day out, I just need them to relax and laugh away their troubles. At the same time, it’s a story that you have to concentrate to understand it. But it’s a feel-good movie.
You are one actress that has been able to stay scandal free, how have you been able to achieve that?
The truth is I am who I am. I’m not trying to stay scandal free. I’m just me. Nobody is perfect. It would be unfair for me to portray a squeaky clean image. I’m just like the regular person out there. Everyone has their good and bad side. I’m just being who I am.
What is unique about you?
It’s favour and the truth is favour is not fair. God just decides to smile on a person. I’ve had my bad times of course. Last year, there were times when I was crying everyday for months. Did anybody hear about it?. This things just happen, it’s just God’s favour and grace. I’m not going to let anything pull me down or steal my shine. I don’t read blogs, so all those things they say don’t matter to me. The people who matter to me are those who really know me. My true fans know who I am and my true intentions.
For how long have you been acting?
It’s always a difficult question for me to answer because there was a break in between. It’s dishonest to count the years I was on break. I acted for a while I was in the university for about a year plus. But I left it for over a decade and then I came back.
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