Real reason Nollywood stars’ marriages collapse

For star actress, Jennifer Eliogu, music is a mission to be accomplished. But unlike most of her colleagues who dabbled into music without making headway, she has made success of her musical career with fans massively accepting her kind of music.In an exclusive interview with The Entertainer, the mother of two maintained that her marriage is still intact. She also revealed why it took her so long to embrace the microphone. Excerpts:Why did you refuse to honour the invitation to perform at NAFCA Awards in America?It’s due to logistic problem. I had a lot of things to do then and I had to do a scale of preference. The first edition of NAFCA Awards was in 2011, which I attended and it was beautiful. But this year, I had some other things to do, which are more important. NAFCA would have been great to attend and perform, but then I had this performance and I had picked a date that I wouldn’t want to miss.That’s just the truth; I couldn’t be in two places at the same time.What motivated you into acting, MC, and now music?
I have been around for quite sometime. I started acting a couple of years after my secondary school, 17 years along the line it’s not been easy but I can tell you that because I enjoy what I am doing, it’s not too much of a trouble. When you have passion for what you are doing, it just drives you to be excellent.I love entertainment, I love singing and dancing. When you love what you are doing, you wouldn’t notice how much time has gone.What is the secret behind all these achievements?
I cannot say I made it on my own, that’s the truth. It’s not me but God. Truthfully, the songsI am singing now are songs that I wrote as far back as 1995,1998 and 2000. It’s not that I just started singing; a lot of my colleagues knew that I had this music in me. I just don’t know how it took me so long to bring it out. So, all this noise about me is mere distraction, I wouldn’t say it doesn’t rock me because I am human. But you see, this is the life I have chosen to live and with the help of God and myfamily, I’ll get through it.What is your greatest achievement?
I don’t have greatest achievement yet, but I have great accomplishment. Going into movies was one of them because I went into movies the time it wasn’t considered a profession. I just developed love for acting and I had things inside me saying ‘yes, you can do it’. I can tell you that I am one of the actresses in Nollywood that can beat their chests and say they have not slept with anyone to get roles. Yes, I can beat my chest and say that because I audition in front of 1000, 2000 people and I get roles by merit not with preference. So, that’s an accomplishmentfor me.How do you define success?
To me, success is when you are able to put in your best in whatever you do; and you know that whosoever is at the receiving end is pleased with your service, and you can put a smile on the face of the end user, then you are doing a great job because it is not for you to speak for yourself, but for people to speak of you.Did your parents discourage you when you wanted to go into movies?
Yes, my father precisely. I have a strict father. Iwas born and bred in Lagos. I was the fourth child of a family of seven, my father is a typicalIgbo man, a titled chief and my mum is on the soft side, and she kept saying, ‘are you sure this is what you want, have you prayed over it?
I don’t want to discourage you but I am scared’. And I kept telling her that she shouldn’t worry, that I wouldn’t disappoint herand thank God for today. I don’t seek advice from outsiders, I only listen to my family members because they are the ones who haveadded value to my life; outsiders either confuse or discourage you.
What was your childhood experience, were you born with a silver spoon?
Silver spoon, I think is a relative word. We might not be all those names you read in the papers, but I grew up comfortably. I had everything I needed as a child. I was in the choir in the Anglican church, and we used to sing at home together – my sister, my mum and me. I grew up loving music, my dad loved highlife; my mum loved music too, so I grew up in the choir.What was your early dream?
I love lawyers the fact that they speak big grammar. I told my father I was going to be a lawyer, but along the line destiny called and I answered.What were the challenges you faced when youwere coming into Nollywood?
I didn’t face any challenges because I didn’t plan to go into Nollywood. I went to visit a friend of mine who got a role in a movie and she said I should accompany her to an audition. I went and I saw people being auditioned and later when they finished, I wentto the producer and told him: ‘I know the audition is finished, but can you please just audition me?
I want to know what it feels like’ and he said ‘okay, come tomorrow’. I went the following day; he auditioned me and was impressed. He then told me to come again the next day and I got a role.Which of your movies was very challenging?
Believe me, I am yet to see the most challenging of them all.How do you balance work and home?Like I said, it’s challenging but you trust God and do your best. l simply let God take control.A lot of people believe Nollywood marriages don’t last, what do you think are the causes of most crashed marriages in the industry?
It is not about Nollywood, but the devil working in and breaking homes. There is something about Nollywood women and challenges. Most challenges we face in Nollywood, most people outside the industry don’t see them, why?
Because most men marry actresses not out of love but infatuation. I believe most actresses get married believing that they have found true love.Who exactly is Jennifer Eliogu?I am easy going. I might not be very religious, but I am spiritual. I love things of God and I have a personal relationship with my God.What has fame denied you?A lot, fame doesn’t allow you to do what normal people do. People expect you to do something different, you don’t eat just in any place, you don’t laugh anyhow, but I do anyway and it is frustrating.What is the craziest thing a fan has done to you?
I had this crazy fan, he would call me with an unknown number and say ‘Jennifer, I love the top you put on today’ and I didn’t know who hewas. He would say ‘Jennifer, you look like a take-away’. He was scary because sometimesat night he would call and text me. So, I had to talk about it in the newspapers that someone was doing this to me. There was also this woman I met at a children’s birthday party thatI attended with my kids. She saw me and then jumped at me and she was bigger than me. You need to see the way both of us landed on the ground. My phone broke and I was upset, but you know, I can only express that anger to myself. These are some of the things we face for being movie stars.How do you handle your male fan?
It’s okay to be admired, if you are a woman and you are not admired then there is a problem with you. When men admire you it makes you believe in yourself, and it’s always good to know that they admire you, not just foryour physical attributes but the total package.What is your advice for those that look up to you as a role model?
I keep telling people, find out about yourself before you want to be like someone. It’s okay if you want to be like me but I don’t know what God has for you, and that is for you to find out. I can tell you that 90% of young girls coming into the movies today are coming in for the show, they are not coming for the love of the profession, they just want exposure.What is your dislike about Nollywood?
First, there is something going on which I don’t like. We need to build Nollywood as a family, there are a lot of people fighting to be recognized, and I don’t think it’s proper. We started as a family; we would be greater if we continue as a family.How do you compensate your family for the time you’re not there for them?
You know, you don’t shoot movies all the time;it is a profession that comes every now and then. So, when I am on location, I am on location and I am not on location forever. I have a lot of time for my family.If your daughter comes home and says she is pregnant by an unknown man, how would you feel?
I refuse to even think of it, because my little girl is just going to be 8-years-old, so I won’t think about that.Let’s talk about your songs, Rescue and Ifunanya; did you compose them by yourself?
Rescue is a gospel song, have you listened to it? I believe in love, and most of my songs are about love. I sing the way I feel. Someone called me from the US and said she just called to say thank you; that there is a particular song of mine she heard and it was as if I was talking to her. So, when I sing, I sing the way it comes, I write my songs myself, once I get the inspiration to write the songs, I just write.Right now, are you facing any challenges in music?
I am not facing any challenges for now. I don’t see music as a competition, for me it is a mission and I have come to accomplish this mission, to accomplish this dream. I have been relegated to the background for so long, I have come to live my dream, and there is no going back.How can you describe your type of songs?I sing my kind of song, it’s not easy for one to have a talent to write, compose and then sing. I appreciate all kinds of music, but I am on the slow side, I am doing songs that fit my personality, songs that are mature. I sing whatpeople will hear. My songs are groovy, you groove with my song, you sing along with my lyrics and you can relate with my song.Who is your role model?I have a whole lot of them. I like Onyeka Onwenu, I grew up knowing how to sing her songs, I have a lot of respect for her, and lots of them who do mature songs, songs that have strong lyrical content.Comparing music and acting, which is more challenging for you?They both have their different challenges. For movies, someone might just write a script and invite some people to interpret it. I write my songs myself but someone else can as well write for me knowing the kind of music I am into, so both have their challenges.What has life taught you?Life has taught me to work hard to get whatever I want, because what you give is what you get, there are certain things you expect that don’t come through. I take my life one step at a time, I don’t compete, I move at my pace. I have a mother that has taught me so much, a loving father, through them I have learnt a lot.What’s the response of music fans to your kind of music?It has been amazing, the acceptance is beautiful, it has made me understand that there are people out there who are hungry for good music, for love songs, for inspirational songs, they want to hear what you are saying, they want to connect with your music and I amloving it. I just ask for the wisdom to keep being creative.Who do you want to collaborate with in the music industry?I desire to work with Tuface, M.I, and Flavor. And for the females, Sasha and Weird MC, I have even told some of them jokingly.Who gave you the greatest advice?My mother. On my wedding day, she gave me an envelope with a letter. I was shocked when I got home and read it. I was touched and cried. There were a pencil, a paper and an eraser, and she said whenever I got angry I should write it down, and when I calm down I should erase it with the eraser and this way I can never see it again.