Film Producers From Nigeria

"Yes, I am. I break men’s heart, but it’s not intentional. It’s either you are lying about something or you are not truthful. Different factors could make me break your heart. And once I‘ve gone, I never returned."

"Only a coward will find me intimidating; if you know your worth and you’re confident of your abilities, I see no reason why a hard-working woman like me should make a man feel inferior. Therefore, a man should find these qualities attractive rather than intimidating. I get a lot of advances from men everywhere I go and I think it is typical of any beautiful woman like me."

"He must fear God because when you get married to a man who fears and loves God, every other thing will fall into place. Everything boils down to God and if he loves God, then he can love me. He must be loving, caring, understanding, and patient and hard-working. I can’t marry an actor and I am currently in a relationship."

"The cinema, Comedy does better because everyone wants to laugh. Everyone is going through struggles. Nobody wants to come to the cinema to watch something that will make them cry."

"But on the other hand, we need to reach out to people to let them understand what human beings are going through"

"Suicide rate is on the increase because people don’t tackle these serious issues. We don’t talk about it well enough. I feel that Nigerians need to be open to new genres of movies well enough. Movies that tackle serious issues that need to be talked about in Nigeria"

"The Fashion Industry creates a fantasy world of what women are supposed to wear, and sadly a lot of women struggle to fit into this. This fantasy world always excludes curvy and plus size women, even though the fashion industry continues to laud itself as democratic in the era of Social media and Gender Equality"

"We have to do better. The global Plus-size Fashion Industry is worth a whopping 20billion dollars, with an annual growth rate of about twice the total clothing market. Do the math!"

"That represents $20billion worth of buying power. Inclusion of all women in the fashion industry is the way forward. Only then can we say Fashion is truly democratic. To all the plus size women, you are beautiful, stylish, fabulous and worthy of every Best Dressed List."

"Feminism is about equality of genders, advocating for equal social, economic, political, and cultural rights and opportunities for both sexes. It is not about women bashing men or vice versa. It is about creating a world where women and men can equally live and thrive and be the best. Yes, I am a feminist and I want that noted."

"It’s a free world and people are allowed to make their choices. I do not feel pressured to undergo any surgery because of my size. I love being a voluptuous plus size woman. Being plus size is not shameful. I embrace my curves and stay healthy."

"Nollywood is improving and evolving. The story lines and technical quality are getting better daily with more attention to details and strategic collaborations. There’s a bit more funding now. It’s definitely looking better as a business. However, there are many challenges in Nollywood, and a peculiar one is distribution. It’s a Herculean task to distribute movies the way it should be done and we need to create more structure and channels of distribution so as to maximise profit and create more visibility for our stories and experiences"

"Life has taught me that people have their own agenda for being your friend or business partner. I tend to question people’s intention towards me and do not trust easily. You have to earn my trust and loyalty"

"Acting is not paying my bills yet, but as a resilient young lady, I run other business that augments my income. I currently own a boutique called, Hubs Couture in Lagos."

"I have been passionate about being an actress all my life. So, when the opportunity presented itself, I ran with it immediately. Great actors and actresses such as Nkem Owoh, Ngozi Ezeonu, Angelina Jolie to mention but a few, inspire me a lot."

"Winning Miss Galaxy changed my perspective about life. It helped me to be more coordinated, got a wider view about life. It has impacted on my life positively, I leveraged on the crown to achieve greater heights, which includes being the face of top Nigerian and International brands such as Bacchus Tonic Wine, featuring in Nollywood movies, and running my boutique (Hugs Couture) amongst others"

"Basically, I just hope that the Nigerian movie industry gets bigger and better, because we are still growing. I’ve heard a lot about sexual harassment in Nollywood, though I haven’t witnessed it. In Nollywood, I look up to Rita Dominic, I want to be like her. I also like Uche Jombo."

"Personally, I feel fashion is how you feel and how you want to be addressed. I love fashion and people know that they can’t catch me not getting it right. Fashion is not a display of wealth, it’s just another way to express how you feel and how you want people to see you. One fashion accessory I love so much is shoes."

"When I want to relax, I travel. I love to travel to see the world as much as I can. I love to watch movies too, so I go to see movies at cinemas and most times at home. Though I don’t drink alcohol, I go out with my friends and we just gist"

"Nigerians should be patient. We would get there. Most of the movies out there are shot with personal funds. We can only do so much with such limited resources. However, if you compare the quality of movies now with those of some years ago, you would see that there is a big difference in terms of picture quality and other areas."

"For me, I am already getting used to the process. However, no two sets are the same and there are always peculiar challenges. It’s quite a task because you have to take care of the cast and crew of the movie and make sure everything on set is okay. If anybody tells you that making a movie is easy, the person is a big liar. As a matter of fact, I always fall ill whenever I finish shooting a movie."

"Acting was actually my first love, but for some reason, that part of my life never really took off; so, I went back to film school, London film academy, studied film production/screenwriting and my whole film making career kicked off. What spurred me? I had always wanted to tell and share my story with the world."

"It’s both. I think one of my biggest fears is accepting money to shoot a movie though I do get several offers. In as much as content is king, the demand for it is getting higher but the remuneration is getting lower. Producers, who have made huge box office returns, check out what they have put in and their returns. If you say you make N100 million in cinemas, split that in three ways first before you start considering returns on investment from the one-third that comes to you."

"“I’m a writer, producer, director and sometimes I want to be an actor because my original dream since I was a teenager was to act but life directions didn’t really take that course. I studied Philosophy in OAU and when I graduated I went into radio. I was on Star FM for a while as a newscaster. I then moved to MITV to be a TV presenter and then I went on to Insight Communication Agency to be a copy writer and afterwards went back to radio, Rainbow FM for about 4-years."

"My husband is a young man and very conservative and he had one worry which is quite valid. The trend of people getting married and breaking up was his worry. And also the African perspective to how people will be ‘touching his wife’ and all that but by the time we crossed that bridge, there were lots of rules like ‘ don’t let them hug you’ and the likes. He’s comfortable now that I am the producer and so I’ll know how to write it to soothe our conditions; and by the time he even agreed the flair was gone. So it was more of me just wanting to be a film maker and I found peace."

"You can count on two hands the films I’ve made. That is to tell you that it is not as lucrative as it seems. What makes it lucrative is also spending a lot of money on making the film, promoting the film and making sure everyone hears about it. So, small screen film makers like me (because there are some filmmakers that only come out to make films for cinema) bank on the numbers. As long as you keep working, you’ll be able to balance out. But if you’ll be going to the cinemas, you’ll need money to go in the first place and you’ll also need to wait a long time to be paid and to be licensed. It’s not a return that comes at once, it spreads over time"

"I cannot marry a man who would restrict my success. He knew I was an actress before approaching me, so why would he restrict my success? That means such a person is selfish and doesn’t appreciate what I am doing. Why would I settle down with a man that will restrict my success"

"Some people are frustrated on social media. If they don’t say negative things about you, they won’t get well. I just block such people; I don’t have time to entertain them."

"No matter how long the road, it will lead to your destination"

"For now I am not facing any challenges because I have overcame my problem and fear back then. Today, I am grateful to Almighty God because He is the foundation of everything and He has been faithful to me."

"In five years, I would be everywhere and would be a role model to the world because by then I believe I will be an international icon in the movie industry. And by then, I will also be a wonderful mother."

"I got into Living in Bondage which metaphorsed into what we have today as home-video, I was in the Yoruba movies, the 36mm celluloid."

"Well, I am a traditional person. I believe sex should be reserved for married people but we are all adults, so everybody is entitled to his or her own decision, I am not a judgmental person."

"No amount of money in the world can make me go nude. God, I have my principles and beliefs. I can’t just do that. I don’t think money can buy my nudity."

"It is a normal thing for men to go after an attractive woman. I haven’t had any abnormal experience with them. They show their admiration of me and I show them mine."

"There is always the issue of people wanting to take advantage of you, calling you up to ask you out, promising to get you a role and all that. For me, I had to tell a lot of people ‘no’ and I got so many disappointments."

"It’s not that I don’t wish to be married by now. I’m waiting for the right man. It’s not as if I haven’t dated anyone before, I don’t just want to discuss about my love life. But I believe love is everything. Love is magical to me."

"Men are everywhere, so it’s not a big deal coping with them. It’s the same when you ask how I cope with my father or brothers. So, I cope well with advances from men."

"Life is versatile.I don’t intend to focus all my resources on acting alone.I’m also a presenter and a choreographer/dancer. I cook well too."

"Basically, we all have choices to make in life. So, the issue of whether or not to give in to sexual harassment from producers for movie roles is a matter of choice. I was harassed but didn’t give in because I’m not that kind of person. Because if I had given in, I’d have made a big break by now. But it’s not as if I haven’t been getting roles. It’s just that they don’t come as I would want"

"You don’t do things because someone else has done it. You don’t work with people’s time, talent or passion. You try to carve a niche for yourself with your own time, talent and passion. Like I said earlier, I am into fashion or African fabrics. I also run a foundation which the Africulture is part of. It is what I love doing. I also cook a lot. If you have an event for instance and you need great delicacies of African touch and class of excellence, I am at your service. I can sing too but not to the point of going into music yet. Not for now at least. I am not thinking along that line"

"You must agree with me that most broken relationships or marriages start from the pages of newspapers. That is why I hardly grant interviews. I am doing this just because of the event we are attending, the personality of the person we are here to honour and the environment we are. I dread the media so much for fear of being misquoted or misinterpreted. More so, I am a very shy and private person"

"Family is family, business is business. None should affect the other because you need money from your business to take care of your family. It is always important to workout things to avoid clash of interests."

"Pls darling, you need to put somethings behind you and take the next step… come back to life as our ever smiling Lola Margaret. NOTE…. those who say bullshit about you got nothing to offer, so keep you head upright and move on honey. And if truly you’re around my shoulders are available okay, I love and miss you my darling friend"

"You are as good as your last job, and when you look at your last job, you would notice some minor flaws here and there, that probably others might not take note of."

"But that’s the tide of life for you, it throws you onto a path and if you tread that path, it becomes your path, your chosen profession."

"We are in a world where we must continue to learn everyday."

"I believe in marriage. I was born into a home, I have a father and a mother. But marriage has not come my way, and I don’t think it’s yet a challenge to me. When it comes my way, it comes."

"You are the best critic of yourself, because you should be able to tell yourself the truth. All I do is to sit back and take a critical look at the role I played in that film probably to ascertain where I need to improve on it."

"I’d just want to encourage other young people who want to get into the movie industry that they should not give up hope and that they should continue to be passionate about what they want to do whether it is directing, producing or acting. They could start by reading online about their craft. Buy books and attach themselves to a producer for a while so that they can learn about the business and how things work. I’d just encourage them not to give up because I know how hard it can be because I’ve been there myself."