For some time now, popular Yoruba
actress, Omotunde Ogundimu, has
been off the movie scene. But if you
think she has found another passion,
then, you are wrong. At the moment,
the mother of three is battling a
debilitating ailment that has since
removed the shine from her acting
career. In this interview with DUPE
AYINLA-OLASUNKANMI, she
ventilates her pains and hope,
among other issues.
You seldom appear in movies these
days. So, what really is responsible
for this?
I have been ill.
So, how do you feel now?
I am still very weak. I was at the clinic and
the doctor revealed that, even if I have the
money readily available, I can’t undergo
the surgery now because I have lost so
much blood. So, I was given some drugs to
help boost the blood back to the level it
should be.
Which hospital is that?
It is called Beachland Specialist Hospital
in Arepo, Ibafo, Ogun State.
What is the nature of the ailment?
My period comes like 10 to15 days; then,
it will stop and come again. I menstruate
twice in a month. I noticed it last year
before my husband passed away. Anytime
we had intercourse, I would always bleed.
I took it for something else, so I didn’t
really pay attention to it. But when he
became sick and we couldn’t have
intercourse any more, it (the bleeding)
stopped. Then, I didn’t have time to study
it at that period too.
But what I noticed is that my menstrual
circle changed, so I would menstruate
twice in a month with very heavy flow. So,
at that time, I just felt it was one of the
signs of menopause because I am way
above 40. But last year, I had to go to the
hospital to complain and the doctor said I
had fibroid, even before the tests and scan
were conducted. When the scan was done,
it was discovered that the fibroid was fully
grown in my womb.
You said during the period your
husband was sick, you were not
having intercourse. But were you
having the heavy flow at that time?
Then, it was normal. But the only time it
became abnormal was when we had
intercourse, so I thought I was
approaching my period.
What do you think is exactly wrong
with you? Don’t you think it might be
a spiritual problem?
No; I don’t think so. You can only say
something is spiritual when you don’t get
a solution to your problem. But in my own
case, I have been able to find out what the
problem is and the remedy. Every woman
has fibroid, but it is only when it is
overgrown that it becomes a problem that
needs to be attended to. When it started, I
had people who shared their own
experiences with me and I was directed to
the hospital.
So, how have you been coping,
financially?
Well, I am presently in Ibafo, Ogun State,
which is close to my home town. When my
husband passed away, my family asked me
to come back home, so as not to be left
alone in Lagos, where I don’t have
anybody. So, I came home and rented an
apartment. But my children are in one of
the boarding schools in Lagos. I didn’t
want to change their school.
Whenever they are on vacation, they come
here and we spend time together. Sending
them to one of the best schools in Lagos is
part of my huge financial commitments.
But I am glad that I can do that for them
because I want them to have the kind of
education that I didn’t have.
With your state of health, you
definitely need some help. Is anyone
living with you?
Some of my siblings do come over to help.
But most of them are married and I
cannot force them to come and stay with
me. So, whenever they volunteer to come,
I am always glad to have them around. If
not that it went online, nobody knew I was
sick. I am a very quite person.
Why did you have to make the
ailment hidden for this long without
going public with it?
I am just a private person and I just felt I
could raise the money and go for the
surgery before anybody could know that I
was sick.
I don’t go to functions anymore because of
the state of my body now-I am so lean.
Nobody will see me without asking what
is wrong with me. Even the last time I was
on location, many of my colleagues felt I
was dieting and they complained that it
was too serious.
As a crossover actress and one who is
popular in both the Yoruba and English
sectors of Nollywood, one would expect
that you would have a lot of people
coming around you.
As I said, the news just got online some
days ago and I have been receiving calls
from every one of them, promising to do
something in any way they can. Most of
them didn’t know I was sick and the news
going online has drawn their attention to
my plight. I also got a call from the AGN
president, Ibinabo Fiberesima, asking me
to send my details and home address; she
promised that they will visit me.
How much do you need to undergo
the surgery?
N500,000.
Are you sure the N500, 000 you are
requesting for is just for the operation?
I pray the money will be enough. The
actual money for the surgery is N350,
000. But I just feel I’ll need some money
for my upkeep till I am able to stand on
my feet and get back to work. That is the
reason I summed up the whole money to
N500, 000.
But do you think you need as much
as that to undergo a fibroid
operation?
Yes, that is true. But it is a private
hospital and for someone like me to come
out and say I need N350, 000, people will
say I should be able to afford such an
amount of money because I am an actress.
But people do not know what I have been
doing all the while. I have single-handedly
been training my three kids and I have
been struggling to ensure they go to the
higher institution, which I did not attend.
Also, the treatment and drugs that I have
been taking have cost me a lot of money.
Right now, I don’t have any other business
I am doing apart from my acting career. I
was hoping I would be able to save some
money and set up a business. But all that
is on hold now.
Does that mean your in-laws were
not in support of the union?
The circumstances that surrounded my
husband’s death are best known to them.
He was married to five wives and he died
at the age of 41. After his death, they sold
one of his property in Abeokuta and
shared the money among us his wives and
gave a whole building to my children.
After that, no calls to even ask about the
welfare of their children.
What is your position among the
wives?
I am the second wife.
Didn’t you know he was married?
I never intended to go into the marriage.
But sometimes in life, some things take
place that you do not plan. You know
when you are in love with a man, you
believe everything he tells you. When we
were courting, he only told me he had
someone that bore him a child. When I
was pregnant with my first child, he took
me home to meet his father, who asked
me if he had told me about my senior (the
first wife); so, that was when I knew.
I didn’t understand what he was saying
until he told me that the man I wanted to
get married to already had a wife and a
child living with him. I left and told him I
was going for abortion. But he went to my
mum in Ibafo to inform her about my
decision and she came down with him to
Iyana Ipaja that same day to plead with
me. He knew I am the only child of my
mother and that she was already looking
forward to having grandchildren. That was
how I found myself in a polygamous home.
And then, I was working as a clearing and
forward agency at NAHCO, Ikeja, Lagos. I
had my own apartment, so he was always
at my place. But he was a lovely man and a
good man. He took care of me. But you
know, when there are so many women
involved, it is a different story.
Is it that you do not have friends in
the industry because you said none
has paid you a visit?
(Laughs) That was before! You know, it is
said that no matter the multitude, there
will always be a disagreement. But at the
moment, I am not fighting anybody. So, I
have been receiving calls and prayers from
most of them, promising to come and pay
me a visit. Most of them didn’t know I was
sick. As I said, I am a very private person.
We have had cases of stars seeking
help from the public. So, is it that
you people do not save for the rainy
days?
I understand what you are saying. But in
my own case, I have been managing on my
own all the while without asking anybody
for assistance. But the truth of the matter
is that the money we are paid here is
nothing to write home about. It is all
about helping your colleague, when he or
she wants to shoot a movie. So, it is
whatever the person has that you will
collect. All the stories they tell about
some people collecting N600, 000 for a
roles are lies.
But most of you live flamboyantly;
so, where do they get the money
from?
I don’t know o! I only know about myself,
my sister. Yes, some of them earn well
and are into other businesses. As I said
earlier, if I get back on my feet and start
working, I will get something else doing
aside my acting career. Some make
money from the movies they produce,
especially if the movies sell well.
Having been in the industry for over
a decade now, what can you say
about your experience as a
producer?
I have done three movies: Temidun,
Origun Meta and Abiamo Toto. I would
have produced another one, but I don’t
want to produce any movie that will be
below the name and standard that I have
been able to build for myself over the
years. But my first three were hits in the
market. That was when movies still had
values. What we have now are marketers
who always complain about low sales.
And I can proudly say I was able to make
good use of the proceeds from those
movies. I opened a wholesale wine shop,
but that is history now because that was
where I was collecting money when my
husband fell sick. And you know how
business is, once you don’t add more to it,
it will collapse.
I learnt Tope Alabi brought you into
the movie industry. Why have you
not sought her assistance?
We were in the dance group, Sunny
Wonders Performing Group, before she
left. We were into dramas and stage plays.
But after a while, we met again and I
stayed with her at her parents’ home,
which was not far from my uncle’s house
where I was living then. But when we met,
she started telling me about finding my
way into the Yoruba movie industry,
instead of wasting my time with the group
that promised to take us abroad to
perform. That was how she introduced me
to Alade Aromire Group. But I don’t have
her contact and that is the reason I have
not been able to reach her for assistance.
I am someone who does not like to bother
people. Sometimes, when you expect help
from a particular person, you might end
up being disappointed. And at the end of
the day, you will feel bad. That is the
reason I don’t like telling people about
what is happening to me. I am a fighter, if
not for the fact that Mr. Idris Bello of
Shybellmedia got in touch with me and
asked what was wrong. I told him I was
sick and he came visiting the next day.
When he saw me, he told me not to keep
mute on the issue. He said I should let
people know about my state of health,
stressing that those who would come to
my aid will do and those who will talk will
talk. I told him they would say, ‘Is she not
an actress? Why wouldn’t she be able to
afford such an amount? And he told me
that I have my life to live.

Source
www.thenationonlineng.net/new/help-im-dying-nollywood-actress-omotunde-ogundimu/

she is begging for 500k?

Ha. This woman? Eeya

O ma sey o

Poor her. Hopefully, some help would come her way

thank God she didnt die at last

Couldn't read the whole epistle. But I know I have seen her in one or two movies before