I can’t wait for any man to take care of my needs —Honey

You are one lady that has her hands in different pies. How hard has it been coping with all that you do and still be on top of your game?

Let me just break it down. I’m an on air personality and apart from that, I’m a brand influencer. I write and I model outfits for people, so I’ll say I’m a model but not the kind that does runways. I am an amazing soul that everyone loves when they hear about or talk with or have an encounter. On the other hand, I’m doing my masters degree program and so will call myself a student but basically, I do brand influencing, PR, modeling and being an OAP. Working from 10 a:m to 3 p:m every day of my life, talking to people have not met me but I always want to listen. So, it’s fun and I am happy.

You grew up in Enugu. How would you describe life in the coal city growing up?

I grew up in Enugu state. I studied mass communication in Godfrey Okoye University and that’s where I started doing broadcasting at the age of 17 in GoUni Radio and my family is basically the Anambranian family. My dad and mom are from Anambra State.  I grew up with four of my siblings, so that makes us five in number and I am the first daughter and first child. So, I’ve always been responsible for people around me; my mom, my dad, my siblings, so much so that whenever there is any problem at home, my parents and siblings will call me up and say ‘Honey, what do you have to say about this?’. I started doing broadcasting in 2014 and continued when I served in 2016 with Hit FM Calabar, and after my service, I got back to Enugu State where I started broadcasting with Urban Radio Enugu and right now, I am with Cool FM because media is crazy, anything can happen, things could be switched.

You are 23 and you are already involved in different jobs at a young age. What are you really up to?

I’m single and I’m an advocate for having multiple sources of income. If you do broadcasting, you should have other means of surviving. So I work with brands to get people to know more about these brands and recognise them. More like having a personal relationship with the brand. That’s what I’ve done and it has worked because it’s also a means of raising funds for myself and building a brand that will live long even when I’m off radio because the entertainment job is something that you leave off and continue living; it’s not something you can do forever but your legacy works for you.

Why broadcasting and not other professions? What caught your fancy in broadcasting?

I actually wanted to study law from the onset but broadcasting has always been a family thing. When I was in school (university), I participated in debates and hosted events. I didn’t really show interest in the profession when I was in secondary school. But then I normally watch my mom go on air on Radio Nigeria while growing, (even though she still works there). Whenever it was time to pick me up from school and I don’t see her come, I ask my dad where she was and he’ll say she’s reading the news, the network news. So I grew up in that environment knowing that my mom is a broadcaster. When it was time to read the news in primary school, they will say ‘where is that Flora Ojukwu’s daughter?’ and I will read the news. So I was already attracted to it, it was already a part of me. I didn’t want to study mass communication because my mom did not study mass communication. So when I finish secondary school and was ready to go to the university, I put in for law but didn’t get it. So I applied to Godfrey Okoye University and I got mass communication because those where my choice courses and I decided to do it. I got into school and there was no radio station there in the school but I started like that. I joined the press corp and we will talk about what’s happening and share information.

You seem to have a tight schedule daily. How do you manage to get along with the job and pay attention to yourself and even unwind?

The life of an OAP is crazy, beautiful and at the same time very challenging. You wake up in the morning and if your work is a daily work like mine, mid-day oasis, amazing! You have to research, you can’t go on air and just say anything, you have to do a show prep, write down what you want to talk about, read about it no matter how little you think it is and you have to prepare yourself that no matter what happens today, you’re still going to do the show like it’s your last; you are as good as your last job! So even if you hear that someone you love so much died, God forbid, you still have to do the job like it’s your last; you’re still going to have that excitement. It’s crazy and very challenging. You have to emotionally build yourself and be ready to conquer. It takes a lot and nobody is waiting for you and no one is irreplaceable, someone else will take your place when you mess up. So you need to be on your feet every minute.

Some people believe that as a female OAP, there is the tendency that you men would find you too expensive to afford or deal with. How expensive are you to maintain?

I take care of myself and it’s not easy. It’s okay but very challenging as well. I live at my level per time and I try to save. So I wouldn’t say I spend all my money on myself.

You mean there is no man in the in the background helping out with those gorgeous dresses that keep you looking desirable?

Frankly, no man takes care of my clothes. Lately, no! I do that myself. The way things are now, it’s hard to wait for a man to take care of your needs. Most men, even the rich ones, don’t want to take care of needs. There are other ways to ask for resources. So for now, I take care of myself. Why do I work for all that money and can’t take care of myself? When people give you gifts, like when they come to the office and say ‘hi I want to give this to Honey’, that is cool but it’s not yet anybody’s job to take care of me.

You have come a long way on the job. What are some of the hard lessons you have learnt on the job as a beautiful young woman?

Firstly, I have learnt that a mistake is not the end of the world because on this job, you make lots of mistakes. When you make a mistake, it’s the beginning of a new era as long as you believe in yourself and you improve on that. So mistakes are roads to improvement. Secondly, people will definitely hate and you are not jollof rice. Even jollof rice is hated by some people, so be ready for hatred, be ready for love at the same time.

There is a cliché that ‘no beautiful woman can stay with one man’. How has your experience been with men and how would you describe Nigerian men?

Wow! Maybe that’s why I’m not married! (Laughs). Don’t mind me. But I have met series of men, so many men that did not believe I could date only them. So it’s something that most people in Nigeria, I think the typical African man believes. Because the foreigners I’ve met are quite different, it’s just that the distance is crazy and that’s why it has not worked. Most of the men here feel there’s no way Honey will have twenty five thousand followers on Instagram, there’s no way 30 men will comment on Honey’s pictures, there is no way Honey will get over a 1000 likes and Honey is going to stick with them. So it has affected my relationships and a lot of men who have come around me. There are different men out there, just that those that have a different view have other women around them. It’s a crazy world we live in but yes most men believe that there’s no way a beautiful woman will stay with one man which is wrong. I am someone that believes in commitment, if I’m with you, I’m with you. So if I’m with you, we are actually together and if not, I’ll state it from the start that we are not here and it’s not working. So it’s a lie, there are beautiful women out there who can stay with one man. I can mention a thousand names but that’s not the point. I feel that mindset has to be changed; it’s when a man is insecure most times that he feels that way. If you know that this woman is yours and she’s beautiful, she can be yours. I’m not here to educate the men, but I think it is wrong; even though some women are messed up, not every beautiful woman sleeps around or stay with different men. Some women are different.

• How I felt after winning Catwalk Queen in the Philipines —Blessing Ebbah

 What kind of woman are you when in love? Possessive, liberal, insecure, romantic, nagging, feisty, emotional or what?

I’m possessive, liberal and romantic. Liberal in the sense that I can tolerate you saying hi to other women but possessive in the sense that it’s going to be stated that you are mine. I wouldn’t want someone to be insecure with me, just like I won’t want someone to be possessive of me. Romantic, great! Nagging, no way! It has never worked for anybody. Maybe when I was teenager, but now, when a man does something, there are other ways to handle him. Talking to him about it will just kill everything. Feisty? No! I’m too calm for that. I am quite emotional but I’m working on that. I guess it’s because I’m quite dramatic. No woman is perfect, nobody is perfect. So in love, you should expect things that you won’t naturally tolerate but you and your partner could work on it. So, I’m not the perfect woman in love; when I’m in love I give the best I can, that is one thing I’m sure of. I am too good when I’m in a relationship, I give my all but it’s so sad that sometimes it doesn’t work out like that.

What has been the worst DM you have ever received since you have been in Instagram?

The worst DM I got is a man sending me his nudes.

What does feminism mean to you? Should a woman claim equality with a man?

To me, feminism means a woman using her powers to do what she can do for herself. We cannot keep claiming equality with men; it’s just like me claiming equality with an elder brother who has come up before me. The same thing applies to life; where your rights stops, mine starts. It’s easier for a man to go out, hustle to bring money to the house and a woman takes the money he brings to cook food and her powers to make things happen. So, I think women should use their powers and not try to fight to be equal with men. Use your weakness, use your sexiness, use your beauty! You can use you to do a lot and the men are going to be wowed. So, women should use what they’ve got to make a point.

What’s your take on women using nudity as a tool to promote visibility in the entertainment world? Should a woman flaunt it simply because she’s got it?

I don’t think people actually come out to use their nudity to sell products but a lot of people feel that sex sells. I think beauty and being pretty is more than just the tool a woman should use to be anything in life because it fades. So, if that’s the only thing you’ve got, I feel you’ve failed because someday someone with a bigger boobs and bum is going to emerge and people are going to forget you if that’s your style. I understand that people use sexual innuendos to drive a crowd and then keep them focused on what they talk about. Like sometimes I do that; I just use some witty words, grab an audience and they stay there and then I say what I want to say. I understand that part, it’s okay. But when that is all you’ve got, the individual has failed. People should have more sense, research more and have more to offer the society than just sex, beauty and vanity.

Who is your celebrity crush in Nigeria and why?

Male is Falz. I love how he uses music to make valid points. And female is Genevieve. She is the rare example to the statement “be more than pretty”. She has sense.

What does being sexy mean to you and how should women express it?

Being sexy means being feminine or being that person you are. If you are a girl who is feminine, be feminine and be attractive in that light.

If you are girl who is a Tom-girl, be attractive in that light if that’s what you want. Like Teni is sexy in her own light and someone like Genevieve Nnaji is sexy in her own light, it’s her style and it’s working for her. Women should express it in the way they carry themselves, in the way they speak, in the aura they carry as the walk by, as they drop posts on social media; you should just be you, express it, feel it, feel you. If people get to feel themselves more often, it will be easier to know more about them and recognize their brand.

How has the social media been to you? A blessing or a bug?

It has been the admixture of both. It has brought a lot of goodness to me. I’m watchful of my ways even in all my freedom and sense of reality. I can’t freely post about family or my relationship.