Tell us a bit about yourself and early memories of family life.
I am the second child of my parents. My father is a retired colonel in the Nigerian army, while my mom is a retired teacher. I grew up living in different parts of Nigeria due to my father’s occupation and can speak a bit of Hausa and Igbo while Yoruba is my mother tongue. I loved the blend of culture, mannerisms and hospitality various tribes had to offer. I must say although, my Yoruba is quite diluted, it is fair.
I vividly recall watching my father as the lead actor in one of the soap operas in Kaduna, ‘Case Files’, in the 80s which may be how my love for the media started. Although he stopped later due to the requirements of his profession, but it appears the seed had already been sown in me. While I did not understand the NTA News at the time, I really loved watching Eugenia Abu on NTA as I was told we had similar sleepy eyes. I looked forward to being on television from a tender age and the rest as they say, is history.
I got my first degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos, my second degree in Public and International Affairs and I have been before and behind the camera in my journey so far. I have produced and presented my own TV show, broadcast both on cable and terrestrial TV platforms. I have produced and directed documentaries and now I have also produced a fantastic and timely movie, Chatroom. Apart from the media, I have been privileged to work in the non-profit sector and in the financial services industry.
What influences channeled your career path?
I have to bring in the God factor here. I believe my path has been ordered as this was not my plan initially. I wanted to be a lawyer and an economist as a nine-year-old and as a 14-year-old respectively. I am neither of these today although I usually find myself defending people in everyday conversations and some close friends still think I should go back to law. However, my foray into studying Mass Communication engineered by my father is what I will admit was the starting point.
I was a perfect fit as people said I had a good voice and could speak well. This informed my first job, but I got the opportunity to grow in the financial services industry afterwards which I took and have met amazing people and learnt a lot.
Today, I straddle across professions without losing my first love which is the media.
At what point did your love for the arts surface?
I think my love for the arts never left me. In primary school, I was the lead dancer and performer for various social and cultural activities. In Sunday School, I was the actor taking on different roles at various celebrations or the one performing Bible recitals. In secondary school, I was the social prefect, although, there was so much you could do in a Command Secondary School.
During my national youth services, I produced the very first comprehensive documentary of Kebbi State, the Land of Equity and came back home with the state award after my service year. My love for the arts has always been there.
Your movie ‘Chatroom’ is one that seeks to address some societal ills. Tell us what influenced the storyline and what social impact you want for the movie.
Chatroom is an extremely entertaining experience, yet it does not lose sight of relevant messages critically needed at this time. The movie is star studded and has multiple award winning comedian and actor, Akpororo, award winning actors, Odunlade Adekola, Tony Umez, Sambasa Nzeribe, Rykardo Agbor, Vivian Anani and musician Omawumi Megbele, including Israeli actress, Ronya Man, Canadian-trained actress, Nengi Adoki, author, Damilare Kuku, Ibrahim Suleiman and Ghanaian actor, Kobby Archeampong.
The storyline was inspired by true life events. It has various themes and a major one is gender-based violence. Statistics from the World Bank states that one in three women will be abused in their lifetime. This data was as at a few years ago. If the spike of gender-based violence during the pandemic and current issues all over social media are anything to go by, I personally believe that over 50 per cent of Nigerian women have been abused. Someone I spoke to today said she thinks it is 90 per cent. This is a huge number, over 80 million. It is also unfortunate that some perpetrators used to be victims too who did not heal. Chatroom seeks to inspire survivors to find their voice, break their silence and start the process of healing.It is not just a movie but a movement as each one must reach one for us to have healthier society. The implications of not intentionally promoting and accelerating healing are better imagined than experienced. This is why it is important for everyone, both male and female to see the movie as it concerns us all, especially our children.
How did you decide on cast for the movie?
We had an audition for some of the actors as we required actors that could dance due to requirements of some of the roles. We also had a casting team which decide on preferred actors for some specific roles when the script was ready.
Now that it is available for streaming, what other avenues do you wish to explore, such that more people see the movie and embrace/adopt the message in it?
We are looking forward engaging partners for private screenings across the country as we believe the movie is not just a movie but a movement. We need to intentionally get the message far and wide and so we are seeking more partners to make this a reality.
Why is such a message important to the world at this time?
Abuse has life changing impact on survivors and where not properly managed, can lead to mental issues, low self-esteem, low productivity at work, suicide or in Osinachi’s case, murder by the perpetrator. Where children witness these acts, they risk reenacting the horror in their lives too subconsciously. Nobody wants to lose their loved ones to an avoidable challenge. The first step to healing is to break the silence. We should all get into the chatroom and start breaking our silence.
To support this, we have set up a virtual chat room on the movie website, www.chatroomthemovie.com where people can go and break their silence anonymously as a guest if they are ashamed or scared of revealing their identity. The virtual chat room is supported by the Nigerian Institute of Counsellors and Women at Risk International Foundation among other partners.
What is next after this movie?
We have two other impactful and topical movies in pre-production coming from our stables which we cannot wait to shoot and share with our viewers.
You are also a career professional. How do you balance your love for the arts and your day job?
I work at one the greatest places to work in Nigeria and my lead organisation has won this award several years in a row. I am also married to an amazing man. Apart from those two points, I have invested in a support structure to ensure I give expression to my essence.
Tell us a bit about your fashion sense.
My watchword when it comes to fashion is comfort. Also, as a career professional, I have been programmed (smiles) to wear a lot of corporate outfits over the years but I always prioritise comfort.
Your typical day?
Professionally, my day starts at 8am. Before eight a.m, I take time to pray, tend to my children and review my schedule for the day to reconfirm what virtual and offline meetings I have to be a part of. From 8am, it is usually a mix of event appearances, strategy sessions, review of proposals and plans and review of the various projects my team is executing to confirm we are on track to deliver in time and in adherence to pre-defined quality. My day usually ends around eight p.m save for occasional emails.
When actively on a media project, my day starts with prayers as usual and is usually filled with planning the various elements of the production, attending to the administrative components of the job, engaging the cast and crew and confirming their availability and the availability of equipment for the different requirements of the project. The day ends when the project requirements for that day are done which could be anytime.
and then