Nothing worth having comes without a fight, that is why we didn’t back down when requesting an interview with Omotola! It was a battle; it took us six-months to have her seat down to speak with us candidly like she has never done before. From her days as the delicate-looking lead actress in Mortal Inheritance—the home video which brought her to limelight—to the multi-talented, multifaceted artiste, activist and humanitarian she has become.Omotola Jalade Ekeinde (fondly known as simply OmoT or Omosexy) is truly a delight to be with. Smart, insightful, and bubbly—with a childlike demeanour and a youthfulness that seems to defy age and time, Omotola paid tribute to the pioneers of the Nigerian film industry and spoke with us about movies, music, family, purpose, and the price of a dream. This is the delectable Omotola as you have never ever seen or heard her before.CN: Welcome from Connect Nigeria to you.
Omotola: Thank you very much, Oscar.
CN: It’s been a long time since I’ve actually sat across a veteran (if I can use that word) like you. You started acting around 1994, 1995…?
Omotola: 1995 actually.
CN: That’s about sixteen years, which means if you had a child then he or she would be a teenager now.
Omotola: (Laughs)
CN: In 1995? That must have been when you starred in the movie that put you on the map—I think it was ‘Mortal Inheritance’.
Omotola: (Nodding) ‘Mortal Inheritance’.
CN: If you hadn’t featured in that particular movie, if you hadn’t worked with that cast, you know, if all the elements weren’t as it were, do you think you would be where you are today? Can you say ‘Mortal Inheritance’ transformed your career?
Omotola: Definitely; like they say, all the spices make the soup sweet. Everything came together to create a good production. The producers were great—we had Zeb Ejiro, the Director, Andy Amenechi, and his assistant, Bond Emeruwa. They were great movie makers who loved filmmaking. The script was wonderful—I was given enough time to research my character, and it had to have a nice co-actor, Fred Amata. We also had Kunle Bamtefa, Ted Mukoro, and Madam Koto… wonderful veterans on set. It was a wonderfully put together movie and we made the best we could of it.
CN: How much did you get paid? Would it be equivalent to, say, ten- or twenty million naira now?
Omotola: Uhmm…not quite…but from my first movie I actually got paid well. A lot of people think ‘Mortal Inheritance’ is my first movie—actually it’s my fourth.
CN: Really?
Omotola: Yes, it was the fourth movie I shot but it came out the third. I had done ‘Venom of Justice’ in 1995, ‘Flaming Passion’, and ‘Thorns of Rose’. Then I starred in ‘Mortal inheritance’.
CN: Wow!
Omotola: Yes, but ‘Mortal inheritance’ came out in late 1996 or thereabout. I was coached and mentored by the best and the biggest then in the industry, and who probably still is—the Sheikh himself, Zeb Ejiro. (Laughs and blows out a kiss) Papa, you know I love you, right? He marketed me as the biggest, freshest, and the best thing to happen to Nollywood. I came in with confidence already. He coached me on the kind of movies to take, the kind of characters to look out for, how to comport myself, and how to even negotiate. So, from my first movie as at then, I was actually well paid.
CN: The reason I actually brought up the issue of how much you were paid is because the success of the film doesn’t always translate to a fat pay check. You could have a film that is so huge but at the end of the day you are going home with a tea cup.
Omotola: It’s possible. That happens everywhere, not necessarily in Nigeria alone. It happens worldwide, and that’s because, most times, you are already paid before the movie comes out, so it’s a gamble. When a filmmaker is doing a movie he hopes that movie is going to be a hit. There are some big-budget movies that have not even hit their mark, maybe the actors were paid some megabucks, and there was a lot of money put into the production of the movie and it wasn’t a box-office hit, so they lost money. Like every other business it could be a sell-out or just a total failure. The good thing is that as an actor, you are supposed to have royalties.
CN: The royalty question.
Omotola: (Smiles) Yes—that’s supposed to be your share of the hope for the success of the movie. If the movie does well, if you have some particular percentage or cut from the movie, as time goes on you’ll get paid that percentage. At least, for life, you are getting paid a percentage of that success.
CN: I wish royalty was in place…when you did your earlier movies?
Omotola: Like when I did ‘Mortal inheritance’ right? (Smiling and shaking head)
CN: When you started your acting career, was the industry called Nollywood?
Omotola: No, it wasn’t called Nollywood then.
CN: What was it called? Or would someone just say, “I wan go do film.”
Omotola: That’s it! “I wan go do film.” (Laughs) Actually, we said, “I’m going to go and shoot a movie”.
CN: Wasn’t that deemed an unserious profession then?
Omotola: Yes. You have to remember that when we started acting, back in 1995, no parent wanted their child to act. I got beaten severally by my mum. It was that bad. My mum would 7say, “I would even let you model very well, because I know that’s temporary. So you’ll get into school later”. Initially, I had started out as a model and she felt models were better than actors because actors were thought to be drop-outs, never-do-wells, or just layabouts. No parent was looking at an actor as someone who could hold their own in the society; therefore, it was challenging.CN: At the time you began you career, in 1995, veterans like Liz Benson, Olu Jacobs, and Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD) were still in their prime. Who were the actresses that inspired you, the ones you had loved, or would have loved, to work with?
Omotola: There were not too many people in my age group. But we still had Ann Njemanze, Kate Henshaw, Sandra Achums, and then Regina Askia. And not forgetting Uche Osotule. Those were, I think the five people, who were doing those sorts of roles. Then there were people that you definitely wanted to work with, people who had made some name, not from movies, from television. They were the ‘stars’ at that time. There was Barbara Soki, RMD, Liz Benson and the rest of them. So, if you wanted to really work with anybody, or you had dreams, you didn’t just think, ‘oh I just want to be in a movie with Liz’. It wasn’t a big deal to us then, really, because they probably wouldn’t even pay you …
CN: Waka pass or something…
Omotola: No, (shaking head) even lead actors sometimes were not paid. There was no money in the industry then per se. It’s not like now when everybody wants to act. Then, there was no motivation, so anybody who did movies did it because they loved it, not because a lot of money came out of it. They were doing other things as well because you couldn’t survive with just doing movies. CN: How do see then and now? Would you say you had more fun shooting movies then or shooting movies now? There are a lot of thespians now but, then, you went into it because you loved it. There was no money, there was no motivation—but, now you’ve paved the way for newcomers in the industry.
CN: Do you think we are getting better? Are the scripts getting better or worse?
Omotola: It’s relative really. I’ll answer the first one you asked me, if I enjoyed working then compared to now? Yes, absolutely, without blinking. Working then, despite the fact that we didn’t have all the money, was sheer joy. We were doing it because we really wanted to be there, and if you got a role then, you got it because you were good, very good. You go through a lot of auditions—I went through a lot of auditions before I got the role of Kemi Johnson in ‘Mortal Inheritance’. By the time you get the role, you actually feel fulfilled knowing full well that you worked hard to get it and you are worth it and you give your best and go your way. Things were done professionally; time was given to you to get into your character, people were more respected…things where just way better. Now it’s not quite the same. Then when you signed up for a project, you knew the name of the project; now you can get a script and you don’t even know the name of the movie. Sometimes your fans walk up to you and say, “Oh, I liked you in that movie…”
CN: So the movie is named afterwards?
Omotola: After the movie is edited and, probably, when it’s about to be released. Irrespective of what you say, when you ask for the name of the project, they’ll just give you a name. When the movie comes out you see another title. It’s just ridiculous. There’s nobody regulating these things and so it’s a free for all. People do whatever they want to do. Now, people see that there’s money, fame, and all of that, so they are milking it. A lot of professionals are not getting work these days; because it’s not about how good you are anymore it’s about so many factors that are probably not professional. It was way better then.
CN: Omosexy—how did that name come about?
Omotola: My husband gave me the name then it was on my car plate.
CN: How long have you had it, the name?
Omotola: Well…privately I’ve had it for…
CN: (Exclaims and laughs)
Omotola: (Laughs) But everybody has got to know! I’ve been called that name privately for about thirteen years and publicly for about five years.
CN: It should be registered.
Omotola: Yeah! It’s registered, it’s a brand name. Copyright protected—if you use the name Omosexy I could sue you (laughs).
CN: Moving over to twitter, at the @connectnigeria twitter page, we have a question for you. This is from @bononline2011. The question is: how did you manage to look sixteen in the movie ‘Private Storm’?
Omotola: Oh! ‘Private Storm’ was shot last year. I featured in the movie with Ramsey Noah. It was produced by Vivian Ejike. So, how did I manage to look sixteen? Let me say, first of all, thank you! That’s supposed to be a compliment. I try my best; I don’t know what else to say… (laughs)
CN: Okay, let me help you. Do you practice yoga, do you take pills, do you have a fitness trainer…what do you do to stay and look fit? And please don’t say ‘nothing’ because a lot of women would be very angry with you.
Omotola: (Laughs) Yes I know. I should be angry with myself too because I really should be exercising. Unfortunately, I don’t do anything.
CN: You don’t do anything!
Omotola: I’m so serious, but I think the older you get you really need to start taking that seriously. So, now, I want to start exercising—even if it’s just to tone and keep my heart healthy. But, otherwise, prior to this time, I have not been doing anything. Though I’ve been very happy; I’ve been very active as well (smiling).
CN: So when you see Omosexy, don’t assume you’ve been doing the same things; do whatever you want to do.
Omotola: (Smiling) what are you trying to imply?
CN: You don’t do anything, and you still look fabulous!
Omotola: No! I really recommend going to the gym.
CN: You do?
Omotola: Yes! Don’t do as I do, do as I say! (Laughs). Go to the gym. I know I have to, as well, I’ve just been lazy.
CN: This segment is all about game changing. You’ve been acting for sixteen years plus you’re also a musician—you just released your second album—you’re a humanitarian, you’re an activist, an entrepreneur, a mother and a wife. You are a very busy woman. Let’s start with the music. How did you get into the music industry?
Omotola: I’ve always loved music; I grew up with music. I was in my church choir when I was younger and I belonged to a group—we called ourselves Dekoaj. We actually merged our names and we came up with the name. We used to sing at bus stops and that was how we got lifts when we were broke or when we had spent the money we were supposed to use for transport.
CN: Omosexy at a bus stop singing!
Omotola: Seriously! When we started out we were younger. That was very unsafe. It was back in the days and we grew up thinking that if we were ever going to be in entertainment, it would be music. But destiny had its own plans. (Smiles)
CN: You blew us away with the launch of your first album ‘Gba’, with a press conference at O’Jez in the National Stadium, Boat Ride e.t.c. How would you rate the success of ‘Gba’, and your music career?
Omotola: ‘Gba’ was extremely successful. They won’t want to give it that credit, because I’m an actor coming into music. I know the whole drill, I’m ready to pay my dues, and I’m ready to work hard. I’d dare anybody to say, they don’t know ‘Naija Lo Wa, Gba’. Even people in the far north know that song (Laughs). But they still won’t want to accept that it was one of the biggest hits of 2005. It was one of the most popular songs in 2005. There were so many other songs from that album that were popular; people liked songs like ‘Honey Boy’. I did a song with Sound Sultan called ‘Show Me Love’. People were still talking about it on twitter recently. I also had collaboration with Ruggedman, ‘Dance’, and with OJB, things u do to me… They were very nice songs but obviously I was just coming out and I was the actress everybody knew, so people didn’t want to give me a chance.
CN: Also in 2005, there was a ban on a group of actors called the G8. All The hottest actors then… How did you feel, how did you handle that period? Or was the music a way of saying, “you know what, you guys do what you want to do; I’m going to focus my talent somewhere else.”
Omotola: I actually started my album late 2003 in London, not even in Nigeria, and then I was extremely busy. I started it out with Johnson and Paul Play. So it was ridiculous when people thought the ban was the reason I released an album. I had been working on that album for two years; I always work on my album for about two years and I don’t bring out another one for another three years. I always lay out plans like this because my music is a second career; I have to space things out so I can grow, understand, and combine the two careers. The ban, it is old news now.
CN: Its old news. That’s why I want to know what you feel about it.
Omotola: The movie industry was going through a lot of changes. It was about that same time we got the name Nollywood so a lot of things were being shaken up, rightly or wrongly. But because we were not mature, we didn’t really understand this new industry which had suddenly become big. Some People thought these actors (that were banned) are too powerful. Most of the people we had worked with were not professionals—they were business persons who wanted to invest in the industry when nobody else gave us the chance. They didn’t understand the art of movie making. They didn’t understand that in the chain of movie making, actors are the ambassadors. They have to look good; they have to live well, because if you see an actor living well then you’d want to buy their movie. They didn’t understand these things. They thought, “Why would you be asking me for that kind of money? Who are you?” We fought it, and today actors are well paid. Thank God we are over that.
CN: Okay. You’re also a humanitarian and an activist. When and why did you start?
Omotola: My humanitarian side is connected to my music. I always tell people the most of my inspiration for singing is as a result of my becoming a UN ambassador in 2004. When I started my works with the UN, I saw the kind of things I wanted to talk about. So when I started singing, I didn’t want to sing about regular things, I wanted to use my music as a voice. I could have written or made speeches but, for me, it wouldn’t be fast enough. Music is a faster medium, you can put your heart into it and, what’s more, I could sing! I figured that I could spread my messages and also raise money for the causes that I support. I work with the WFP——which is at the World Food Programme—and ‘Save the Children’, which is in the UK. I work with so many organizations and music was my relief—my way of expressing myself and raising money for charity. Like my second album, “Me, Myself & I”, which was released late last year, 10% of the sales go to the charities I support. I’ve always said that I’m not producing music to make money! We all do business because we want to profit and, hopefully, I want to profit from it, but my main motivation is to raise awareness for the causes I support. Also, I have my NGO called OYEP (Omotola Youth Empowerment Programme) and we have a new initiative right now called ‘Give and Let Give’. We don’t collect cash from donors and our goal is to get things to people who need them. Our watch word is: there’s something in your hand that somebody else needs.
CN: That’s the principle.
Omotola: Yes, I support this with my money, I fund it myself. The only things we need from people are items—perishable or non-perishable items and we say nothing is too small, there’s definitely something in your hands that someone else desperately needs. Whatever you have, if it is money convert it into items and give to us. If somebody got money they’d use it to buy something immediately anyway. Even if it’s a scholarship, give it to us and then we’ll extend it to somebody who needs it. That’s what we do with ‘Give and Let Give’ and that’s some inspiration for my music.
CN: You’re still a UN Ambassador? Is it a tenure or lifetime thing?
Omotola: For the WFP, it’s for a lifetime. We can be called to pursue certain causes in different parts of the world. I have worked in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and some other countries. We focus mainly on women and children in areas with food crises. I’m also a spokesperson for Amnesty International.
CN: Talking about being an activist, what made you go all the way to Abuja to join the ‘Enough is Enough’ rally?
Omotola: The fact that it was young people organizing it, my NGO (OYEP) supported it. For the very first time youths—professionals, respect in their individual careers—came together saying, “I will leave everything I’m doing, I will fly to Abuja, I will walk under the sun and I will demand for these things instead of just going on Twitter or Facebook, facelessly, to grumble” I thought that was brave. This is something I’ve always wanted to do, and at that time we had a crisis with the women in Jos—this was the part I wanted to present. When they approached me with the idea, I told them that if they were not going to add the plight of the Jos women that I wasn’t going to be a part of it personally, even though OYEP would. They were fighting for so many things but I felt that the Jos crisis was critical. So they added that to the plan and I became involved. We flew to Abuja and we did what we had to do.
CN: You’ve been silent for about six or seven months, busy doing some fantastic films. You starred in a wonderful, one-of-a-kind movie filmed in Los Angeles, ‘Ije’. You just also starred in ‘Ties That Bind’ with the American actress Kimberly Elise (‘‘Diary of A Mad Black Woman, For coloured girls’)
Omotola: ‘Ties That Bind’ (nodding)…
CN: That’s like next-door to the Oscars. You might as well be carrying one very soon (laughs)!
Omotola: Amen! (laughing).
CN: How was that experience?
Omotola: It was a great experience. It was a wonderful cast. Kimberly Elise, Amah k, Ebbe Bassey… The film maker, Leila—I met, when I went for the Pan African Film Festival. She said she had this wonderful script that she wanted me to be part of, and this particular character called ‘Adobea”.
CN: Adobea?
Omotola: Adobea was my character. She is a Ghanaian. She said, “this is a special character to my heart I’m en trusting it with you! The first question I asked her was: please tell me I’m not going to be speaking in ‘Twi’? She said, actually, you will…and I thought, “oh my Lord”!
CN: So you had to learn the language?
Omotola: yes! I had to learn some words in ‘Twi’ and ‘GA’ and the minute I got on set, with all the energy, it was wonderful. Very nice set, good hospitality and I’m looking forward to the movie.
CN: When is it coming out?
Omotola: I know the trailer is out now, but I don’t know when the movie would be coming out. It should be, before the end of this year.
CN: You flew back and jetted out immediately, to work with Wil Johnson in London, the movie ‘Amina’.
Omotola: Yes, ‘Amina’ is about the triumph of a young lady who went through terrible situations in life, the most inhuman situations you won’t even believe. You need to watch this movie to understand what humans can take. Things happened to her from childhood, yet she kept fighting. It’s a psychological thriller.
CN: Okay. Tell us about the cast and crew…
Omotola: We had Wil Johnson (Waking the Dead), Vincent Reagan (Troy and 300) Alison Carroll (Lara croft), Van Vicker and it was directed by the wonderful ‘Christian Asaku’
CN: If you look at ‘Ije’, ‘Ties That Bind’, and ‘Amina’, one can see that it’s getting better and better. What other projects do you have in line?
Omotola: (smiles) I ain’t gonna tell.
CN: Oh, come on! Give us some exclusives. This is ConnectNigeria. If you do not connect with us you can’t connect with your fans.
Omotola: I’ll connect with you when we are done.
CN: All right. Now to the Grammies, I recall there was so much buzz on the internet, everywhere….that Omotola was at the Grammy! I thought, “Did Omotola win a Grammy?” How was that for you, the experience, being there?
Omotola: It was a lovely experience, really. I’m signed on to Bungalow Universal, Los-Angeles and my management company is BEC Management. They got in touch the Grammy Board and introduced me and my first song being promoted in the states called ‘Stop the War’.
CN: ‘Stop the War’.
Omotola: That’s from my second album. My agents sent the song to them and they listened to it— it talks about war and its effects on humanity
.CN: That’s a big one! Do you recall meeting any Hollywood celebrities? How was the environment?
Omotola: Everybody was on the red carpet, because there are actually two red carpets. The Grammy Awards don’t really start when it’s showing on TV; it actually starts in the morning. There’s a normal red carpet where everybody passes through, then there’s the press red carpet where all the major press are and you can only go on, if you are an A-list or have a nomination. Everybody who was anybody was there; though I met most of them in my hotel prior, like BOB, and we introduced ourselves.
CN: Was there any particular person who stood out and left you star struck?
Omotola: You don’t expect me to be star struck now, do you?
CN: How was it with BOB?
Omotola: Oh! He’s a cool guy. Very funny and down to earth. My greatest gain from the experience was to understand how some songs are being nominated. That your song is popular doesn’t mean it’s going to be nominated for a Grammy. The Grammy Awards is given by an academy. It’s literarily an institution. So your song has to have some kind of value to it. They have about six zones where they screen your song at each zone before they send it to the Head. That’s why sometimes you see very popular artistes with very popular songs but they’ve not won a Grammy.
CN: They’ve not gone through the process.
Omotola: Yes, they’ve not gone through the process. You have to be able to do charity; you have to do some work. There is so much underground work you may have to do to benefit humanity before you are celebrated— it’s not like the MTV awards where it’s just based on the success of the song. The Grammy is more about the substance of the artistes or the songs.
CN: Well, watch this space because there’s a Grammy coming very soon. And you can do a Grammy and an Oscar.
Omotola: By His grace.
CN: I wouldn’t put that beyond you.
Omotola: There’s is nothing you can’t achieve. Work at it, that’s all it takes. Work.
CN: We’re looking forward to that. Now, most screenplays are adapted from books and some are original. The reading culture is dying in Nigeria and I want to flash back to your early days. What do you remember most about reading before the internet came up?
Omotola: I’ve read quite a number of books, from the ones that add nothing to your life other than bloated dreams, like the Mills and Boon series.
CN: Mills and Boon!
Omotola: We did all that in school. Those books just inflate your dreams unnecessarily and you start to think there is a paradise somewhere and that there’s a tall, handsome prince coming to whisk you there (laughs).
CN: Talk, dark, six foot…I’m sure it broke a lot of hearts.
Omotola: Oh, a lot of hearts. Those guys should be sued for life. Having said that, the book that has been most meaningful to me and has impacted my life, spiritually, is ‘The Spirit Controlled Woman’ by Beverly Haye. That was a very strong book in my life! At a point I kept going back to it as though it was my Bible. It talks about your temperament, about how you as a Christian can understand your weaknesses and turn them into strengths. I recommend that book for every woman. Another book that has made an impact in my career is ‘Talent is Never Enough’ by “John C Maxwell” If you are in the entertainment industry and you’re a woman you would probably benefit more from these…
CN: About talent, there are a lot of talented Nigerians and individuals but specifically there are a lot of game changers, people who in another five to fifteen years would shake the entertainment, banking, engineering industries. What would you advice or tell them to watch out for?
Omotola: I like that word game changer; I think it’s a very apt word. My advice to them would be this: it’s easy to be one of A lot but it’s very hard to be ONE of the lot. For you to be one of those people who change things, when the whole crowd goes left (knowing fully that that’s not the right direction) you must be brave, choose to go right. That is very hard. People don’t like change whether it’s good or bad, people like to keep things the way they are used to it. When you want to change something or you want to do something different, or bigger, it’s a very hard thing. But you must be strong. My advice is to stay motivated, in whatever thing you want to do to make a difference. One of my very wonderful mentors used to tell me that nobody throws a stone at a mango fruit that is not yet ripe; they would only throw stones and sticks at a mango that is ripe to get it down. At the point you want to change things, when you are ripe, when the whole world is about to see you, there will be temptations, troubles, trials, problems, and criticisms. Different challenges would come. The minute you get discouraged and you think, “Ah, I can’t handle this,” then you’ll become a rotten mango and drop off anyway. There is no game changer in the world who would tell you they had it easy. At some point they had to go through the fire, practically go through the furnace and come out on the other side a better product. When you are going through any kind of trouble or difficulty, it’s actually an indication that your life is about to burst forth so press on. PUSH: pray until something happens.
CN: We’ve had a lot of game changing phases, from acting to the music. But we’ve not talked about your family. You have four kids; your husband is a pilot. How have you managed that? If your family wasn’t there, do you think you’ll have moved this far?
Omotola: No, I don’t think I would have come this far because the resilience that you learn in family life also adds to the energy you have in real life, especially with the kids. When you start having kids you’ll know that there’s just this joy and this energy that you never knew you had. Combining everything almost looks like a handful and a lot of work (smiling).
CN: Almost? It’s a handful!
Omotola: But, then, you will not want to live without it. They become a part of your life; and make you a better person. I won’t say it’s easy, But it’s interesting and worth it. Learn how to accommodate everything in its own space and time. What you learnt in Economics in school comes to play. You learnt about a Scale of Preference, so you know what you have to achieve each day. You ask yourself: what are the most paramount things and what are the things that can fall off my list anytime? You list them and you try to keep to them…you have to be disciplined.
CN: What did you study in the University? Because you mentioned ‘school’ and I’m wondering what Omosexy would be doing if she were not acting.
Omotola: I read Estate Management.
CN: Is that the entrepreneur side of you? Do you also dabble into that or you’ve completely left it?
Omotola: I do, I love Estate Management. I was initially studying Economics in OAU Ife, and then I switched to YabaTech (Yaba College of Technology) to study Estate Management. That was because I fell in love with properties. If I wasn’t in entertainment, that’s totally what I’ll be doing. I love to pimp homes.
CN: Something like ‘Omosexy Estates’. What would you have called your company?
Omotola: Oh! That would be great (laughs) I love to get into a rundown building and just revamp it and bring the magic in.
CN: It’s been fantastic talking to you.
Omotola: I had a great time too.
CN: You are indeed a game changer. Going by what we’ve seen and heard they’re a lot more things in the works. Maybe you might be running for president soon.
Omotola: (Chuckles)
CN: If Arnold Schwarzenegger could do it, then I think it’s very possible. I’ll vote for you
Omotola: All right, thank you. (Laughs)
CN: Thank you Omosexy, we wish you all the best from ConnectNigeria. You can follow Omotola on Twitter at @realomosexy and ConnectNigeria at @connectnigeria.
Omotola: Thank you so much. And if they wanted to know more about me they can actually go to www.omotola.tv. Here on ConnectNigeria we will keep you abreast of our Game Changers, people who have changed their world and made a mark in their profession.
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