By Rita Okoye
Leggy Nigerian actress, Onyinye Okafor, has within a few years in the industry paid her dues, which made her become one of the most sought-after script interpreters in Nollywood. Okafor has also graduated to become a seasoned filmmaker. No doubt, the mother of four has seen it all but vowed never to throw in the towel.
In this interview, she relives her rough journey to stardom.
Enjoy!
Can you tell us more about yourself and what else you do aside from movies?
I’m an actor, writer and a presenter. Aside from scriptwriting, I anchor events. I do voice over and I’m also a mother. Being is a complete full time job that you do not earn from, rather you invest time, effort and money, to raise souls for the glory of God.
Career wise, how do you feel about the first quarter of this year?
I am very grateful for life and health. My career is booming. God has been so wonderful.
How did your journey to Nollywood start?
I got into Nollywood in 2003. I was so young and Lagos was the hit, from Winnie’s Hotel to the National Theatre. Those were the days Teco Benson was hot in Nollywood, having all those movies. He was the first person that I worked with in 2003. It was off and on because I was having kids and then coming back. But in 2011, I came back fully into Nollywood when Asaba, the Delta State capital became the go-to city for movie production.
After four kids, you still have a fantastic body. What is the secret?
I’m a mother of four sweet, cute boys. A very proud mother. The body thing is in my family because if you see my mum, she’s so sexy, even my dad. It runs in the family and then, hard work. I go to the gym, to work out a lot and I engage in healthy eating. well.
I used to have a flabby tummy due to childbearing. I had my children through caesarean section (CS). I had to do a tummy tuck to make my tummy firm. I don’t know how to lie, that’s the truth. I’m a very blunt person. I had three pregnancies, one was a twin and that’s why I have four sweet boys, blessed kids. God’s gift to me which of course, I have no regret about no matter how it is. I have no regrets about having children. So, I had to do a tummy tuck in Grandville. Doctor Ayo was a Godsend to me. I did not do liposuction, but a tummy tuck to make my tummy firm and sexy. After the surgery, I began to maintain a habit of doing a lot of workouts and eating well, to enable me maintain the way I look.
You have a very lovely voice. Did you do voice training?
About having a lovely voice, people say that a whole lot. Like I said earlier, I’m a voice-over artist and I studied Mass Communication in school. I’m supposed to be a presenter but you know in this country, it’s so crazy. After putting in everything in school, you’d come out and what you get to see is not what you expected to see and that’s by the way.
About my voice, I do not do voice training, I’m just so blessed. That’s the way I talk, God gave that one as a gift.
Which of the movies brought you to limelight and what was special about your role in the movie?
I’ve got a lot of movies but I can point out about five. There’s one we did in Asaba that gave me a very sweet phase. It is called Sabina Makosa. I had this line in the film where I said, “Nwanne cha anya”. That line in that movie actually gave me an edge years back.
After that I was in the Billionaires. I was in Power Tussle, The Wise Wish, My Mother’s Wish, Alobam, The Widows, Face of Betrayal, Money and Blood, My Father’s Wife, Bad Eggs, Neighbors at War, The Queenship and lots more.
During your child bearing years, how did you cope with moving from one movie location to another?
During child bearing, I didn’t film except for my last child which I had in 2016. I actually shot a movie with that pregnancy, The Retaliation, a movie that went so far. People thought it was normal film pregnancy but I was actually carrying my last child with a lot of trials and temptations.
At the end of the day, my baby is a sweet and smart boy now and I’m victorious at last. No matter what I went through, I’m always smiling and shinning. God has been so wonderful. So, I didn’t have the luxury or time to go to work with the other kids but the last one, I shot with that pregnancy until six months before I stopped.
Looking back, do you have any regrets?
I don’t have any regrets because everything that God does is beautiful. He has been the one sponsoring and arranging my life through thick and thin.
As a producer, how do you cope with cast members who give you a tough time on set?
I’m in the field, I’m an actor. Nobody can stress me because I’m in the game, around the game and with the game. ‘That thing wey you sabi, I sabi am, so you sef go know. As you bring am, I go give you back.’ Na give and take we dey for this Nollywood. Nobody can stress me or give me blood pressure.
These days celebrities feel so comfortable bringing relationship issues to the public. How would you react to this?
He who feels that washing his/her dirty linen outside is best, should continue. For me, Onyi Okafor, it’s not my thing. I let you see what I want you to see. You cannot know too much about me because I’m not comfortable with that. It is crazy and it’s not a good idea. I don’t know why people do such stupid and crazy things. It’s not my thing. When I see things like that, I just pass like I don’t want to see it.
Except for death threat, every other thing should be about you. Like what you see on my page is me, I am the public person. Nothing more, nothing less.