Omotola shares her success story, talks about being scandal-free
In this exclusive interview with Sunday Sun, award
winning actress, singer & Amnesty International
activist Omotola Jalade Ekeinde talks about her
fears, being scandal-free and also shares her
success story. Find excerpts from the interview
below...
Can you give us tips on how to be a success
ful woman?
It actually starts with character, personality and
what beliefs. Everything wrong today actually
started from the content of a character. Are you
immoral or are you straight forward enough to
actually say something and carry through with it.
Is the content of your character strong enough? I
believe that for you to be great in anything, you
have to be someone anyone can trust.you believe
in. It stems from your moral. Continue...
Can you define what success means to you?
I think success is when God is happy with you. When
the closest people around you are happy with you
and when your soul is at peace with you.
Looking back, what has been your greatest
achievement?
I have so many great achievements and I am very
grateful to God. I can talk about great achievements
today because God has empowered me to build my
character. At no point did I see all these coming. I
never said, 'let me start being a good girl so that in
the future, they will call me to speak, not only on
Nollywood but also in mentorship capacity outside
Nollywood'. I never said 'okay, let me be a good girl
so that Time magazine will make me a Time 100
woman'; I never thought about all these things. But
by God`s grace, I am here today. He taught me to
follow a particular life pattern when I was young.
And I am grateful that pattern has brought me this
far. My greatest achievement is that I got to know
God on time; it was a great privilege.
Do you ever cry?
Yes, I am an actress and I cry all the time.
Could you share with us your fears and
something that has made you cry lately?
Don't believe me when I cry because I might
actually be trying to get something out of you
(Laughter). My husband says he doesn't know when
to take me serious, whether it's when I am crying or
sober. But I am naturally a very emotional person,
quite frankly. I hate injustice; I can't stand it. When I
see somebody who is helpless, I feel like that
person's humanity has been taken away from him
and that makes me cry.
Can you tell us about the movies you have
featured lately?
It's Blood in The Lagoon, a movie about social
inequality. On the one side you have Makoko, a
cesspool of poverty, deprivation and crime, and on
the other side, just across the lagoon you have Ikoyi
and Victoria Island's dwellers living in splendor and
enjoying exotic lifestyles.
Where did you belong growing up, Makoko or
Victoria Island?
Not practically but theoretically. Yeah, we have all
gone through that sort of situation at one point or
the other in our lives. Somebody has looked down on
you somewhere along the way no matter who you
are, and that's why I can relate with my character.
Tell us your own story?
At a stage, people looked down on me. They tried to
deny me my credit and make me feel insecure. But
you know you deserve what you get as long as you
have worked hard enough. So, no matter what you
are going through, you're not the only person facing
tragedy in life; it happens to everyone.
When you look back, is there any role you
played that you feel uncomfortable watching
today?
There is always the need to improve. I mean… I
hardly watch my own movies. I really can't; it will kill
me. I can't watch my movies with people, especially
my husband because I get on his nerves all the time.
We'd be watching this movie and before you know it,
I'd be chattering and he would be like 'hey, can you
just shut up and let us watch the movie!' You know,
I would keep saying to myself, 'oh my God! I would
have turned that way; I shouldn't have said it that
way. Oh my God why should I keep repeating that?
Why should I keep blinking my eyes?'
What is the craziest thing a fan has done to
you?
There are so many, as many as you can imagine. But
my fans are very respectful and lovely and they
could be very crazy too. But they have not done
anything to harm me.
Would you allow your daughters to follow in
your footsteps?
Why not, if they want to? I actually encourage them
to be whatever they desire to be in life as long as it is
not something wrong and negative. Currently, none
of them is interested in acting, but if they do, I will
support and equip them with whatever tools they
need to excel. Unfortunately, none has for now.
What advice do you have for young people
looking up to you?
Put in everything you have and believe in something.
My point is that you should be passionate about
something. Don't sit on the fence; we have so many
people sitting on the fence. Most importantly, set
high standards and connect to high self-esteem. We
all need each other. We all need someone to help us
up when we are down.
How do you stay scandal free?
People will always speculate about you and it could
be very disheartening, especially when you have
chosen to live right. I don't want to sound like some
holier-than-though whatever, but I work very hard to
keep my brand away from scandals. I have fought. I
have had to and I will not accept for you to humiliate
me before everybody'. Often they try to be
mischievous but I stick to my guns. Oftenstand and
say, 'hey! This is what I stand for times they have
also turned around to say sorry. For heaven's sake, I
am responsible for the actions and decisions that I
take.
If not acting, what would you be doing?
Since I am not God, I don't know. But a lot of people
say I should have been a lawyer. And maybe I could
have been one because I love to advocate. Or maybe,
I could have gone into real estate business because I
studied estate management; estate management
would have come naturally.
What has fame denied you?
Fame has denied me a lot. I can't stop on the way
and buy anything I want. I'm like, 'hey, give it to me'
and they will rush over, give it to me and I will zoom
off. Every celebrity has this challenge. It depends on
who you are and how you want to handle it. I would
like to go to the market and buy whatever I want but
I can't. And I can't go around with bodyguards.
What is your favourite food?
No, I don't have favourite food. I eat anything I want
to eat.
What determines your fashion style?
Comfort and how I feel.
What project are you working on currently?
Right now, I am working on building my film village.
It's an awesome project.
winning actress, singer & Amnesty International
activist Omotola Jalade Ekeinde talks about her
fears, being scandal-free and also shares her
success story. Find excerpts from the interview
below...
Can you give us tips on how to be a success
ful woman?
It actually starts with character, personality and
what beliefs. Everything wrong today actually
started from the content of a character. Are you
immoral or are you straight forward enough to
actually say something and carry through with it.
Is the content of your character strong enough? I
believe that for you to be great in anything, you
have to be someone anyone can trust.you believe
in. It stems from your moral. Continue...
Can you define what success means to you?
I think success is when God is happy with you. When
the closest people around you are happy with you
and when your soul is at peace with you.
Looking back, what has been your greatest
achievement?
I have so many great achievements and I am very
grateful to God. I can talk about great achievements
today because God has empowered me to build my
character. At no point did I see all these coming. I
never said, 'let me start being a good girl so that in
the future, they will call me to speak, not only on
Nollywood but also in mentorship capacity outside
Nollywood'. I never said 'okay, let me be a good girl
so that Time magazine will make me a Time 100
woman'; I never thought about all these things. But
by God`s grace, I am here today. He taught me to
follow a particular life pattern when I was young.
And I am grateful that pattern has brought me this
far. My greatest achievement is that I got to know
God on time; it was a great privilege.
Do you ever cry?
Yes, I am an actress and I cry all the time.
Could you share with us your fears and
something that has made you cry lately?
Don't believe me when I cry because I might
actually be trying to get something out of you
(Laughter). My husband says he doesn't know when
to take me serious, whether it's when I am crying or
sober. But I am naturally a very emotional person,
quite frankly. I hate injustice; I can't stand it. When I
see somebody who is helpless, I feel like that
person's humanity has been taken away from him
and that makes me cry.
Can you tell us about the movies you have
featured lately?
It's Blood in The Lagoon, a movie about social
inequality. On the one side you have Makoko, a
cesspool of poverty, deprivation and crime, and on
the other side, just across the lagoon you have Ikoyi
and Victoria Island's dwellers living in splendor and
enjoying exotic lifestyles.
Where did you belong growing up, Makoko or
Victoria Island?
Not practically but theoretically. Yeah, we have all
gone through that sort of situation at one point or
the other in our lives. Somebody has looked down on
you somewhere along the way no matter who you
are, and that's why I can relate with my character.
Tell us your own story?
At a stage, people looked down on me. They tried to
deny me my credit and make me feel insecure. But
you know you deserve what you get as long as you
have worked hard enough. So, no matter what you
are going through, you're not the only person facing
tragedy in life; it happens to everyone.
When you look back, is there any role you
played that you feel uncomfortable watching
today?
There is always the need to improve. I mean… I
hardly watch my own movies. I really can't; it will kill
me. I can't watch my movies with people, especially
my husband because I get on his nerves all the time.
We'd be watching this movie and before you know it,
I'd be chattering and he would be like 'hey, can you
just shut up and let us watch the movie!' You know,
I would keep saying to myself, 'oh my God! I would
have turned that way; I shouldn't have said it that
way. Oh my God why should I keep repeating that?
Why should I keep blinking my eyes?'
What is the craziest thing a fan has done to
you?
There are so many, as many as you can imagine. But
my fans are very respectful and lovely and they
could be very crazy too. But they have not done
anything to harm me.
Would you allow your daughters to follow in
your footsteps?
Why not, if they want to? I actually encourage them
to be whatever they desire to be in life as long as it is
not something wrong and negative. Currently, none
of them is interested in acting, but if they do, I will
support and equip them with whatever tools they
need to excel. Unfortunately, none has for now.
What advice do you have for young people
looking up to you?
Put in everything you have and believe in something.
My point is that you should be passionate about
something. Don't sit on the fence; we have so many
people sitting on the fence. Most importantly, set
high standards and connect to high self-esteem. We
all need each other. We all need someone to help us
up when we are down.
How do you stay scandal free?
People will always speculate about you and it could
be very disheartening, especially when you have
chosen to live right. I don't want to sound like some
holier-than-though whatever, but I work very hard to
keep my brand away from scandals. I have fought. I
have had to and I will not accept for you to humiliate
me before everybody'. Often they try to be
mischievous but I stick to my guns. Oftenstand and
say, 'hey! This is what I stand for times they have
also turned around to say sorry. For heaven's sake, I
am responsible for the actions and decisions that I
take.
If not acting, what would you be doing?
Since I am not God, I don't know. But a lot of people
say I should have been a lawyer. And maybe I could
have been one because I love to advocate. Or maybe,
I could have gone into real estate business because I
studied estate management; estate management
would have come naturally.
What has fame denied you?
Fame has denied me a lot. I can't stop on the way
and buy anything I want. I'm like, 'hey, give it to me'
and they will rush over, give it to me and I will zoom
off. Every celebrity has this challenge. It depends on
who you are and how you want to handle it. I would
like to go to the market and buy whatever I want but
I can't. And I can't go around with bodyguards.
What is your favourite food?
No, I don't have favourite food. I eat anything I want
to eat.
What determines your fashion style?
Comfort and how I feel.
What project are you working on currently?
Right now, I am working on building my film village.
It's an awesome project.
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