Damilola Adekoya popularly known as Princess is an actress, comedian, caterer, motivational speaker and the charter President of Rotary Club, Iwaya, Lagos State. In this interview by TAYO GESINDE, she speaks on her career, how she handles advances from her male admirers and why she believes marriage is the best institution despite the fact that her own marriage crashed two weeks after it was contracted. Excerpts:
What has been happening to you career-wise?
I have been trying to improve on my brand and also try to organise my annual show. I stopped it about three to four years now because we want to do it better and of course, get good sponsors. The show will be back next year and people should expect the family-friendly jokes that they are used to and longer performances. Also, I have been working on my acting career and my catering business.
Most comedians are now into acting. Is it that if you are a comedian, then you must be able to act too?
I started acting on TV at age seven. I veered into comedy and it took all my time. Last couple of years, people who knew me to be an actress started asking why I abandoned my acting career, so, that was why I decided to go back to acting. If you are a good comedian, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be a good actor. But I know that if you are a very fantastic actor and you have that talent to make people laugh, over time, you can develop yourself as a comedian. However, being good in one does not mean you will be good in the other. They are two different things. What is common to the two is that the audience is live; especially stage acting and you can get the training on stage. But the training you get on stage as a stand up comedian is different from the one you will get as a stage actor. Also, the ethics and discipline is quite different. So, they are different but if one is able to do both, it is a plus.
What is your most challenging role as an actress?
I think it was when I played Mama Lucky in Super Story. I was quite young and I had to grow in the TV series from 18 to 50 years, it was challenging and I really loved it.
You have come a long way in comedy. What has been your staying power?
I believe it is originality and the fact that I am very spontaneous. I started out just being myself; I was not competing with anybody. I just wanted to create a niche for myself that people will say that is princess’s style and thank God I have succeeded in doing that. I always see myself as an upcoming comedian at all times. People know Princess, the stand up comedian; they know slapstick and the interview. I want to build on the two and make it better.
A lot of people are going into comedy now. What does it take to succeed as a comedian?
For me, if you rush in to make money, you will rush out. The most important things you need as a stand up comedian are talent, passion and persistence. If you think because you are talented you just want to be on stage and be popular overnight it is not possible. It has to be gradual. You will notice that in life, anything you build gradually will last longer than the one you built in a rush.
You are a comedian, actress, caterer and a motivational speaker. Which one gives you the utmost satisfaction?
I think the one that gives me the utmost satisfaction is the humanitarian side; being a Rotarian. Anytime I am able to give somebody something no matter how little, it gives me a sense of fulfilment. I also feel very happy when I know I can put a smile on someone’s face whether by helping or telling a joke. I started as a Rotaractor when I was in secondary school and when I was in the university. I am used to helping people. I just like the fact that though I am not a billionaire, out of the very little that I have the fact that I can inconvenience myself to make others happy and this in turn makes me happy. The fact that I am not pretending and I don’t even need anybody to know what I am doing makes me happy.
You were installed President of Rotary Club of Iwaya last Sunday, What are your plans for the organisation?
I joined Rotary Club in Secondary school as I said earlier. I left at some point because of my work but I joined again some years ago and last Rotary year (May/June), a new club was formed Rotary Club of Iwaya and I was made the charter president, meaning I am the first president ever. The good thing about Rotary is that the people you are helping don’t know you and they can’t say thank you. So, if you are in it, know you are doing it for God because they will never get to meet you. I hope to touch more lives in Iwaya. We have lots of area of focus in Rotary, they are; Child and maternal health, education, social economy development, disease prevention, peace and conflict resolution and water and sanitation. These are the areas we are going to work on at Iwaya.
What is the most defining moment of your career so far?
I started out in 2002 but in 2005, I became a major sensation that was a defining moment for me. For two, three years it was Princess, Princess. It was overwhelming for me. I came into comedy with the mindset of just affecting people’s lives positively, I didn’t do it because of money but because I loved it, the response I got, the people I met, the people whose lives I was able to touch, everything that came with the fame in those few years, I can never forget them.
How will you assess the industry now?
We have a lot of younger comedians now. There are so many comedians now as well. What I love is that people are exploring other options. Before it was just stand up, now there is mimicry, slapstick, comic act. I am so happy that a lot of people have veered into those areas.
As a caterer what are the challenges that you have been facing?
It is the fact that things are very expensive and Nigerians love good food. So, if you tell someone that this plate is N2, 000, they know it is worth it but they will still want to haggle over the price. People want to keep buying quality food at low price but it is not possible. That is the major challenge that I am facing. They want good food but they want to pay very little for it despite the situation of the country.
How have you been juggling comedy with acting and catering?
It is not easy. That is why some times you may not see me for a month. It is stressful because I have to do different things and I want to make sure I do them very well because I am a very dedicated person. It is very challenging but I love it.
Let’s talk about your crashed marriage?
I have never discussed the reason my marriage crashed with anybody. I know I said it at a show that the marriage ended. People thought the marriage ended in December when I said it but it ended two weeks after. I think it is the shortest celebrity marriage in this country, it ended two weeks after it started.
Do you foresee a situation where you will give marriage another shot?
Everything is in the hands of God. Marriage is a fantastic thing. Love is a good thing. I feel as human being when we get burnt or get into tight corners we are scared but with God everything is possible. But I still believe that love is a beautiful thing and marriage is lovely when you find the perfect partner for you. When you are with the person made for you, marriage is the best institution and that is why God loves that institution and He blessed it. So, I just put everything in God’s hands.
How do you handle advances from your male admirers?
Sometimes I smile but when I am not in the mood to listen to them I just tell them I am concentrating on my work. Even married women get advances from men; you can now imagine when people know that a woman is not married. I get different messages and emails. One said: “When I heard you are married, I was angry but now that you are divorced, I am so happy.” I was like, are you for real! But generally, I handle them politely. I have never been desperate for anything. Even the marriage itself, I got married at a late age. I believe that anytime you want to marry whether at 22, 35 or 40, just take your time and if it happens, good. It is just unfortunate that it happened the way it did because I am somebody that believes in marriage and love. I believe good thing can still happen. I am just looking to God.
How do you handle negative publicity?
I don’t give ear to what people say. I started acting at age seven and I have met lots of people who are like mentors to me, some of them are even late. In this my young age, I have seen a lot of things and I have learnt not to dwell on what people say, if you do, you will just kill yourself. I just face my God, try to build a relationship with him and then try and understand myself. Besides, I don’t really have time so I don’t go online to read too much.
Once I see somebody writing negative things about me or someone else, I see it as a projection of how their life is, simple. Life is too short to focus on issues like that, just free your mind so that good things will come your way. Such negative report cause strife and enmity between people and even divides the nation. All these backbiting, condemning people, negative criticism are not good and they are drawing us back. We need to work on ourselves.
What advice do you have for young people?
I think everybody should just slow down. People rush too much. We need to slow down. Everybody wants to make money at the same time, everybody wants to drive cars. People don’t keep to time, keep to their words, we are so wicked to ourselves. People are killing their cousins, beheading their mothers, poisoning their husbands, beating their wives. We were not like this before. I am not saying we didn’t have bad eggs then but it is now terrible.
We are becoming a shadow of ourselves. Everybody is becoming everybody’s enemy. I don’t understand. Why are we competing with ourselves? I am fed up! Let us remain calm. Everything will fall into place in its time. We can’t all be rich at the same time. The pull me down syndrome is affecting all spheres of life. Don’t compete with anybody, just be yourself.
You May Also Like:
and then