My children matter more to me than anyone else —Iyabo Ojo

•Speaks on her next epic film

Celebrated Nigerian actress, filmmaker and entrepreneur, Iyabo Ojo, has solidified her place as one of Nollywood’s most versatile and influential figures who has been able to reinvent herself and craft over time. In this interview by ROTIMI IGE, she opens up on controversies, motherhood and maintaining relevance in the entertainment industry. Excerpts.

Nollywood is evolving. Do you think taking a break from producing has affected your brand?

Not at all. When your vision is strong, your presence remains strong. Even if I step away for ten years, my brand will still hold because I built it on a solid foundation.

Also, even while I wasn’t actively featuring in films, I was still producing. I funded several projects for other producers, so my movies have been out there, you just might not have known they were mine.

You just became a mother-in-law. How does that make you feel? Do you still see her as your little girl?

Not just Priscilla, but Festus too, they will always be my babies. A child never stops being a child in a mother’s eyes. I get emotional whenever I talk about it because I feel a deep sense of peace and gratitude.

I believe what my children and I are reaping today is the result of the good I’ve done. I’ve taken care of many children, not for applause but from a place of genuine love. I can’t even count how many kids I’ve sent to school, raised, or housed. It’s something I do effortlessly, even when it strains me financially.

Some friends have told me to stop because they’ve seen people be ungrateful, but I can’t change who I am. When you do God’s work, He blesses you. That’s why I’m confident my children will be fine. This moment is a testament to everything I’ve always believed. And for that, all glory goes to God.

I see that when people try to get at you and they can’t, they try to get at your children. How do you handle that? And then secondly, when you were at the ceremony in Tanzania, some people went on social media and said so many things. What is your reaction to this?

Like you said, some people, those people don’t matter. The decision I make, my children make, in our home, in our house, is what matters. I don’t know them. I don’t take decisions for them. I don’t know what goes on in their lives, but they are allowed their opinion. Everybody is allowed. Sometimes I read things about other people, and I have my opinion about them. But can I project it on them? No, because it’s their life to live. And I don’t need to come out and explain anything about that to anyone because we all own our lives.

My children matter more to me. Their happiness matters more to me than anybody’s decision, thoughts, ideas, or opinions.

One good thing I made sure happened when they were growing up as teenagers, they didn’t have access to the internet. There was not much social media. And even the little media that was available, they had no access to it.

There are not too many actresses of your caliber that have children who are mature, yet can still play the young girl or wife role.

I think that would be because I had my children early. When you have kids at a very early age, you have the strength and energy to pull through and raise them. And as they begin to grow, you find out that the work stress reduces. Having to train them, feed them, run around reduces, so you guys grow together.

Priscilla talked me into using TikTok. She introduced me to TikTok. I didn’t know anything about TikTok. And if I didn’t have her in my life, I probably would not have made so much money from TikTok. But because they are young, and you are young, it’s easy for you to keep being youthful. So you guys will grow old together.

In the last 10 years, there have been so many negative stories about you, which one actually hit you and hurt you the most?

There are so many. Every single issue I’ve had hurt me in certain ways, so I cannot really pinpoint the one that is most significant, both positively and negatively. I think in Nigeria, there aren’t so many good people. I feel like when you try to do things positively, people think there’s a reason behind it. That’s the only thing that baffles me.

Most times, what hurts me is not even the opponent. It’s the people and their mindset. The fact that they feel that for you to come out and speak against something, support something, or create a movement to better society, there has to be something behind it. You fight for a girl child, and they assume somebody must have hurt you. You try to do good, and they think you must have a selfish reason. That’s the only thing that baffles me out of everything that happens.

And for every fight, I have always spent my money. I have always paid my lawyers. In fact, I’m sure my lawyer will wonder, ‘Why is this woman not fighting anymore?’

You were on Mohbad’s case for months. Mohbad has still not been buried. Is it that you got tired of them, or you just decided to walk away?

I said I was not going to talk about Mohbad’s case again because I just want to move past it. But if there is one fight I regret, it’s pushing for him to be exhumed. If we could change the hands of time, I think we would have allowed the boy to rest. Allow him to rest, seek justice if we can, but at least we would know he is resting.

But the video of his neck being broken in the casket was what pushed me out to speak. And the questions that Naira asked weighed so heavily on my chest. As a mother, I had to face it because everyone was emotional at that time. I really wish that we didn’t have to push for him to be exhumed because, like you said, until now, he is not buried. That means he is not resting.

I wish I never had to get involved, but a lot happened. And if I had continued that way, it would have just gotten messier.

But if any harm was going to come to Mohbad’s wife, I would have stood up again. I knew I would always stay in touch with her and her son except the law finds her guilty.

The reason why we asked for him to be exhumed was because we just wanted to be sure whether there was really an injection, and what killed him. We just wanted to know because there were so many narratives put out there. But that is not for me to do, I’m not a doctor. I can’t find that out. I don’t own the law.

It’s left for the government to decide whether they want to carry on.

You have been promoting your soon-to-be-released film,‘Labake Olododo’. What prompted your choice of director? Was it about supporting women, or was there another reason you chose Biodun Stephens?

My decision wasn’t about supporting women because a lot of men were involved in the production and the movie itself. I chose Biodun because I’ve worked with her countless times, and I love her directing style. She is very intentional when it comes to character development.

Many directors focus more on technical aspects than artistic storytelling, but I wanted a balance of both. Since I was bringing a powerhouse of actors, veterans, my peers, and younger talents, I needed a director who wouldn’t just let them do whatever they wanted because of their status. Biodun is strict about delivery and ensures actors give their best. I had worked with her before, so I didn’t need anyone to convince me, I already knew her capabilities.

What inspired your decision to take this film to the cinema?

I’ve been in the cinema space since Arinzo in 2013, which was my first cinema experience.

I took a break for a while, but as a businesswoman, I understand my industry and audience. I wanted to return strategically, so I started with YouTube. My last YouTube project was Inner Mirror. During Inner Mirror, I knew I wanted to fully return as a producer and explore all aspects of production. After working on YouTube, I was ready to dive back into the industry with a cinema project.

What should we look forward to in Labake Olododo? Why should we watch it?

As a producer, every film I make tells a meaningful story with a strong message. I’ve produced about 40 movies, and in each one, storytelling has been my priority.

Another exciting element is action. Back in the day, I gained more fans through my action films, and that fire is still in me. I’ve had this script for over eight years, it started as an idea in my head before I finally put it down. At one point, I planned to produce it for DVD and even had discussions with Corporate Pictures and Adekaz, but it didn’t work out.

After watching The Woman King, I realised I had a similar story about a female warrior, and I knew I had to bring Labake Olododo to life. When deciding on my comeback project, I was torn between this and The Return of Arinzo. Some of my Yoruba industry colleagues felt I had shifted too much to English films, so I wanted to show them that I’m still very much part of Yoruba cinema.

Is this your first epic film?

No, I’ve done epic films before, but this is the first major one for the cinema.

Rotimi Ige