Artiste cum activist, Stella Monye, is as Amazonian as they come. In this interview with SOLOMON NDA-ISAIAH, she speaks on her passion for helping women, her human rights work, as well her pursuit of a law degree, among other juicy titbits

You’ve been described as a humanist; do you agree?

Let’s put it this way. I have a lot of experience in social service work. Although I sort of fell into it, I had interest in it in the first place. I have a wealth of ten years’ experience in human rights, civil society and social services work.

There was a time I would go to special schools for the visually-impaired, those hard of hearing and others. I used to make it a point of duty to serve these children food. I was working with a faith-based foundation in Apapa. I remember that in that organisation, we had other social service workers who were supposed to be the ones who served the food, but I always took it upon myself to go with them to make sure that the food was properly served.

It made a lot of impact because the children were always coming to see me. There were so many other areas where I participated in social work. I worked with the late Beko Ransome kuti, Gani Fawehinmi, Anthony Enahoro, Wole Soyinka and Gov. Oshiomole. When Pronaco was around, I did all the road shows with them. I used music and it was fun, but it was also hard work.

Do you have any songs that address human rights issues?
I would say Elenuwa though it is not as popular as Oko Mi Ye. The song says “in the days of my father, things were easier, but look at what the world has become. Life has gone haywire”. So, it is a strong song. However, now I am going into gospel. I believe that with God, everything is possible.

I had to come up with songs about societal ills whenever we had events. I would sing songs by Bob Marley, Fela and the like. I remember I used to sing “Mr President’’ by African China. I made sure that the songs were relevant to the event. I made a lot of people do what they never thought they’d be able to do in their wildest imaginations. It was fun. It has made these people become better individuals.
I had Lucky Okri, (Mike Okri’s younger brother) as lead singer. I had Charity, a singer who works in my band and also does other professional singing elsewhere. I was able to gather them together. They are great singers.

Do you have any shows to you credit?

I was on the NTA morning programme, ‘AM Express’ for about two quarters and I gave them a band through the foundation that I was working for. The music was tailored to what they discussed on the programme.

I also came up with a show that showcased only female acts who had been in the night club circle with no opportunity to break into the mainstream. It was called the ‘Hook Up Show’. The first outing was chaired by Senator Oluremi Tinubu. She encouraged me and even provided us with a hall in Alausa-Lagos. Tinubu was one of the people who bankrolled us from the beginning. But at a point, I had to do other things. I was also thinking of screening it on television. I will come back to it.

Tell us about your work with widows and other women?

For sometime, I have had this organisation called ‘Women Health Initiative Nigeria’. It was inspired by a young girl who dumped her baby in front of my house. She was just sixteen, living with her uncle in my area. He was always abusing her verbally and reminding her that she had a baby out of wedlock and that she didn’t have a job. She really didn’t have a job and so couldn’t take care of the baby. So, she dumped the baby and ran away. The policewoman who stayed in the same premises was called. She then called my attention to the baby. We decided to take the baby to Little Saints Orphanage.

Eventually, we found the baby’s mother and reconciled them and gave her some assistance. It inspired me. There are lots of girls out there with similar experiences with no place to go, because we have no social security in Nigeria. I had a baby as a teenager myself, though the circumstances may be different. When I see incidents like that, I pick them up. Another NGO that works with single girls recently invited me to be on their board of directors.

You went into fashion designing at a point, why did you leave the business?

I was into samba wears. I was using African materials to create men’s wear. I started from the men because it is easier to clothe men than to clothe women. I restricted it into African fabrics. I was in love with Ankara, Aso Oke.

But I had my fingers in too many pies;I had distractions. I went to the studio and I was working on my gospel album. I also travelled a lot out of the country. I was looking for more experience and I was also trying to source for things that I could do.

You were closely involved in political campaigns leading to the 2015 elections, are you now a politician?

Yes. For the first time in my state, the governor’s seat was zoned to my constituency. It was all hands on deck for me. To God be the glory, he won. I don’t put my hand in anything that fails.

I brought in some icons for a march and we went to all the 25 local government areas to campaign for the governor. Before his arrival, our duty was to sensitise the audience. It was wow! I took Ras Kimono, Orits Wiliki, and The Righteous Man. Kimono was even more famous than anybody else; he was almost mobbed at every location we went. It was a huge experience and it contributed a lot to the success story. At a point, we would park our cars and ride okadas (commercial motorcycles). We were told that the roads were bad. Our phones were stolen and we were almost mobbed as we didn’t have security. Righteous Man was huge in stature so when people see him coming, they would give way.

There is a raging controversy on artistes’ involvement in political campaigns, what’s your take?

We did that in Delta. We said that everything that the government promised, he would fulfil. If he fails, we would be the same people who would gather people to come and ask him why he has failed to live up to his promises and I think that is how it should be. People should not just focus on their own interests. Musicians should be on the side of the people, not politicians. Those who take sides with politicians are taking the wrong approach.

You are currently studying law, why is that?

There are two things responsible for my studying law. My late father wanted me to read law and I like the excitement of knowing my rights and knowing some things that could protect me. So, it is a combination of two things. I want to please my father wherever he is in heaven. I wanted to widen my own scope as well. I may not practise but at the end of the day, I would have had the knowledge and I would know how to make good use of it.

It is for me to be able to take care of all the pies that I have my fingers in. Now, I can look at things from a wider perspective.

http://ventnaija.com.ng/2015/06/i-had-a-baby-as-a-teenager-stella-monye.html

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