How I met my hubby, Lekan Olatunji —Wunmi Olatunji

Wunmi Olatunji is a Nollywood actress and movie producer. She is the wife of popular actor, Lekan Olatunji and their union is blessed with three boys. The Ogun state-based actress, who just released a debut movie ‘Ilu Gangan’ in this interview by FEMI OGUNTAYO, talks about her new movie, how he met her hubby and other issues. Excerpts:

After years of being an actress and wife of an actor and movie producer, you produced your first movie titled ‘Ilu Gangan’, why have you decided to produce this movie and what do you intend to achieve with it?

My intention is to really work closely with marriages, I am trying to bring out some challenges in marriages, things that can destroy homes. I am looking at bringing out those challenges and ways to correct them. For those that have watched that movie, they will see that it is really about a wife who doesn’t want to support her husband in the finances of the home and later shares that she had some horrible experiences with men who she supported in the past. So she decided that when she gets married, she won’t support her man in the area of finances. That didn’t come out well for her but luckily for her, she had a very good mother in law, who helped her to change and correct her mentality about not supporting her husband. The same issue was also seen in another home in that movie where the husband was not playing his role as the provider for the home leaving it to his wife. So, I am just trying to pass the message that what you have passed through in the past shouldn’t necessarily affect your future.

So, how do you feel about the acceptance the movie has gotten so far since its release?

I am really speechless over the way the viewers have been showering accolades on the movie and the acceptance so far. I can only pray that God gives me the grace to be able to do another movie which will surpass the successes of this current one.  People really love it, even in my church, they have decided to show it to families.

For the purpose of those who would like to know more about who Wunmi Olatunji is, can you tell us about you, your growing up and your educational background?

I am Omowunmi Ifedolapo Olatunji, I am married and I have three children – all boys. I had my secondary education at African Church Grammar School, Abeokuta, I went to Government Technical College, for a course – Hotel Management, from there I moved on to Moshood Abiola Polytechnic where I had my HND in Business Administration, from there to Chrisland University where I had my Bsc in Business Administration. I had my MBA too at LAUTECH and currently, I am having another BSc course in Estate Management at Chrisland University. I am a civil servant, I work with the Bureau of Lands and Survey.

You are more of an administrative person, how then did you join the movie industry?

Acting has always been a passion for me since my childhood day, I never knew I was going to get married to an actor too. In fact, he didn’t even tell me he had a passion for that too, probably he thought I wasn’t going to say yes. It was one day after we were married that he just told me that he had even obtained a form to join an acting group. So, I had no choice, I just said no problem. Since he has joined, and our children were also just growing up, I had to give him time before also joining him. So, later on, I eventually told him about my interest in joining the industry, because he knows that has always been my passion.

When was your first acting experience?

That was in 2014 when my husband was having his second production entitled: ‘Agbordun’. Since then I have featured in about 20 movies and I have a production to my name.

Let us talk about how you met Lekan Olatunji. How did you both meet?

(Laughs) That’s a long story but let me share it with you briefly. Then, he was like a big brother to us, we used to call him ‘brother Lekan’. So, there was a time I had to move away from home to stay around the school for my HND, though it was really tough for me, I just told them I needed to move so I would have time for myself, I didn’t know I was planning for my future. So, I rented an apartment beside Brother Lekan, he happened to be one of my sisters’ course mates and he was running a part-time programme at OSU. So that sister of mine would be telling me about a brother who was disturbing her about meeting with me and I told her to let him come and see me himself now. I know the kind of life he was living then, and I am this devoted Christian. So, when he eventually came, I was like, you are not even serious, me? How do you even think I can even date you not even talk of marrying you? But eventually, as God will have it because sometimes we don’t know God’s plan for our lives, I went for my service year and surprisingly, after my service year, this brother said he was actually still single and still wanted me. I just told him to go and see my pastor, whatever they say and that of my parents was final. And knowing the kind of pastor that I have and still willing to go and see him, showed how serious he was about getting married. So, he met with my pastor and my pastor said he liked him and what about me? I said I already prayed about it too and I just wanted to hear from him too. So that was how we got started, we started dating and eventually got married. We got married on December 22, 2006.

When you knew your husband was going fully into joining the movie industry as an actor, were there like some laid-down rules you gave him on dos and don’ts or the kind of roles he ought or ought not to play?  

No, I just told him, have you thought well about it? I told him, we have had several actors whose marriages have been affected because they joined the industry and I told him I don’t want my case to be like that. And because I had prior knowledge about the industry, it wasn’t really an issue for me. The only time I had issues with his acting career was when he just joined and was investing much and was not bringing in money. It was a thug of war, but there was something he told me then that calmed me down, he said: “I need to have the name first before the money starts coming in”. Then, he could go like a week and still come back home without money. I was so frustrated and I was like, why are those people you are working with this wicked? Don’t they know you have a wife and children to cater for? But I had to support him and stand by him, and we thank God for where we are today.

Now that you have your own production, what are the challenges you faced while putting all that together from the post-production to the release?

Like I told you, I wasn’t expecting to face any challenges. I had my husband join the industry before me to set the ground running for me. So, my husband took care of everything, from the casting to the production management, to the shooting and even the release. Even during the shooting, we had a-list actors on set, Peju Ogunmola, Femi Adebayo, Opeyemi Aiyeola etc, so they all made it very easy for me on set because I was able to draw from their wealth of experience. And, you know when you are acting with people of these calibers, being my first production, one needs to just calm down and be humble so as to get the best of them. So that was what I did.

What would you have to say about the narrative being sold in Nigerian movies these days, especially the story being told? What do you think should be the intention of movie producers when planning to produce a movie?

When you want to produce a movie, it should be to correct some abnormalities. To me, that should be the main purpose of producing a movie. Maybe because I am coming from the church setting and I am the Drama coordinator there, but I think it still depends on the personality of the producer. The moment when you produce a movie and all that the viewers see is nudity, what are you trying to sell to them? What would they learn from your production? There are some things I can’t do, not just because I am married, I just won’t. So, it depends on the motive of the producer. Some are just there to sell themselves to the viewers, while some of us are here to make a difference and have a positive impact on the viewers positively.

Where do you see your acting career in the next three years?

I pray and hope for a better ground. I wouldn’t want to say I see myself at this or that level because I don’t want to be quoted wrongly. I hope for a better ground, a ground that wouldn’t break my home. I want to get deeper in this industry and I know God is taking me to places. Places that wouldn’t break my home or marriage.