How life experiences shaped my world of acting —Fisayo Ajisola

Actress-cum-producer, Fisayo Ajisola is one of the fast-rising actresses in the Nollywood. The graduate of Biochemistry from the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State, in this interview with SEYI SOKOYA, speaks about her career and passion in impacting positively on the younger generations through her Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Jewel Empowerment Foundation (JEF).

 

What prompted your newly released short movie, Road to Ruin and how would it help fight child labour in the society?

My passion to transform the younger generation and join forces with other well-meaning Nigerians to fight child abuse and labour in our society spurred me and my team to speak through the just-released movie. Child labour is on the increase, especially now that the nation’s economy is not friendly. Some parents and guardians have now subjected their children and wards to hawking on the street. They force these kids to contribute to the welfare of the family. These are children for God’s sake and what they need at this stage of their lives is care, love and education, but they are sent out to “hustle”. Some of these kids go to school, but they become hawkers after school hours, when they are supposed to be resting, doing school assignment or preparing for the next school day. This makes these kids vulnerable; they are exposed to kidnapping, highway accident, rape and other vices. It also makes them uninterested in school, they start to believe since they have money to spend, education isn’t important.

So, my NGO team and I came up with Road to Ruin, we understood the impact of using film to pass a message across to the populace. The main objective behind the movie is creating an alternative means of survival for children and youths hawking on the street. Children should be off the street, so that they can focus on education; unemployed youths/ parents should be trained on skills that would help to improve their standard of living. We were happy that we were able to let state governments and the Federal government to see the need not only to shun these things but to provide adequate measures to empower the young Nigerians to have a life for themselves through the acquisition skills. This is an initiative we feel will empower them and make them go off the streets. Our research and what we have achieved with the NGO, the  Jewel Empowerment Foundation (JEF), shows that we can totally eliminate vices among youths by engaging them with what will make their lives meaningful.

 

You also celebrated the 5th anniversary of your NGO recently. Can you tell us how it all started?

I will describe this is as one of my greatest achievements in the outgone year. It is testament that we have been impacting lives positively for five years now. The event tales the journey so far and how many lives we have touched across states. I started my NGO work in my first year in the university; I just had this urge to give back and to help the Nigerian youths get it right, especially children. I have always believed that one of the biggest problems we have in Nigeria is having the wrong orientation, the wrong mindset towards life, which has aided corruption, high crime rate and an increase in unemployment. Our youths have misplacement of priority and most of them are lazy both in reasoning and creativity, they just want to get quick money. Self-discovery is a major key in accomplishing great things in life and through my NGO. We organise seminars, pep talks, career talks, workshops and skill acquisition programmes for youths to help them discover themselves and also help them channel their energy into productive activities. If Nigerian youths can focus on what they can do to contribute to the development of the country, Nigeria will become a better place.

Celebrating the foundation’s five year’s anniversary was very emotional to me, seeing how much impact we have made and the zeal to do more. We have impacted over 2,000 lives and these bring joy to my heart.

I thank God that the success of the 5th anniversary held towards the end of last year, December 8 precisely. It was graced by the wife of the Lagos State governor among other dignitaries within and outside the country. The event also coincided with the premiere of the advocacy, which is my first movie as a producer.

 

How will you describe yourself?

Aside the fact that I am an actress-cum-producer, I will better describe myself as a self-loving person, who is serious minded and committed to the development of children and youths in the nation. I have been giving back through my NGO, and over the past five years, we’ve made tremendous impact in the society. I am a graduate of Biochemistry from the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun state. I have been around for a while, carving a niche for myself in the entertainment industry and at the same time, giving back to the society steadily, since my first year in the university. I model, sing and do quite a number of things aside acting and all I can say is that God has been faithful. I thank Him all these have eventually surmounted to a great success and I am happy.

 

What inspired you into acting?

My life as a whole inspired me into acting. I started stage plays when I was in Secondary School (FGC Odogbolu) at the chapel and then I realised how good I am at it. Some of my classmates, juniors and seniors in school, encouraged me and they all used to look forward to the next show. All of these gave me inspiration to take up acting professionally, after my secondary school. That was the reason I went to PEFTI Film Institute, having been a science student. Though, long before I started stage plays, I had always been part of the cultural and drama group since primary school, but I was too young to decide on what to do.

 

How long have you been acting, and what are the challenges so far?

I started acting professionally in 2011 and so far, it has been fulfilling. I have featured more in television series such as Jenifa’s Diary, Tinsel, Hush, Nectar, This Life, Shadows, Burning Spear, Circle of Interest, to mention a few. You know, I got admission into the university same year I started professional acting, so it was a big challenge travelling in and out of Abeokuta to location. It was very stressful but, I was determined to go school, acting and NGO successfully. I never entertained the thought of dropping school for anything in this world. But now, school is over and I can fully concentrate on my career, NGO and other businesses.

 

It was in the news that you were abused at your tender age. Would you say that this experience led to the establishment of your NGO?

Yes, it somehow inspired it and that is why one of my focuses is the children that have been abused in one way or the other. My life story is a constant inspiration for me, because every day comes with a fresh inspiration to prosper, to make sure I achieve greatness irrespective of my childhood experiences. And sincerely, this is what I advocate most through JEF. Nothing can stop us from achieving greatness.

 

Don’t you still feel traumatised by the abuse?

No, rather than paralyse me, it gave me strength. It gave me reasons to look inward and appreciate my inner being. I learnt to love and accept who I am. And as you can see, I am happy.

 

Would you say such experience has affected your sex life in anyway?

(Laughing…) I don’t know, I don’t think I want to talk about that. But usually, early exposure to sex as a child affects one’s life when matured. Most times, ladies who are abused as a child, tend to stay off men completely or they are often being with men. It’s depends on the personality of the person.

 

Don’t you think dress sense might be a major factor of sexual abuse?

I don’t think so. Do children dress to seduce? So, why are they usually victims of sexual abuse? And when I mean children, I mean both male and female, so it’s not about the ladies. Some insane people just use dressing as an excuse to execute their evil act. You must have been nursing the idea to do something before you eventually do it. So, I would advise we guide our minds diligently and make sure whatever we find ourselves doing should be things we are proud of and things that would promote Nigeria for good.

 

How would you advise the government on how to curb violence against children?

This can be achieved through partnership or collaboration. Government must continually partner with non-governmental organisation, agencies and other relevant organisations to curb violence against children. Our collective effort as a body would yield significant results.

 

As an actress, what are your plans for 2017?

I’ve got a lot lined up for the year, but most importantly is to produce a feature length movie that would be shown in cinemas across the country I will also continue to thrill my fans with other projects I am part of. I promise they will see more of me on your screen this year.

 

What’s your kind of man like?

My kind of man is the type that enjoys togetherness, very hardworking, loving, patient and understanding. I love freedom, especially freedom of expression. My kind of man would give me that liberty to say all and of course, he would trust me.