INTERVIEW: I Left With The Nigerian Movie Industry And I’m Back With It – Shola Shobowale

In this interview with NAIJ’s Michael Abimboye, super star actress, Shola Sobowale, talks about why she left Nigeria for the UK and clears air on the various rumours around town. She boast that upon her return, the movie industry will be better than it was.

Nollywood actress, Shola Sobowale

NAIJ: You’ve been off the Nigerian movie scene for a while what kept you away?

Shola shobowale: You know there is something that people say, when you are in a place, you don’t see beyond your nose. When you think you know it all, like am that big I know it all. Not until I got to London which opened my eyes to a lot of good things and made me understand life better and at the same time I was gaining. I also want to take care of my future, because it will come to a time when that strength won’t be there anymore, so what do you do? You have to now sit back and watch to guard against suffering. That’s why I left for abroad.

Naij: Why are you now coming back to Nigeria after so long, is there any specific reason?

Shola shobowale: I love Nigeria to a fault. There is no country like Nigeria; home is Home. I am still in England and I’m in Nigeria but I’m more in Nigeria than in England. Why I left for England the last time is to take care of my Children. God first, family follows, when they are all settled, work done, and i can now do what I want 2 do, and acting is what I know how to do best.

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Naij: When you were away, there were rumours that you were pushing cocaine; some said you were sweeping the streets of London, what exactly were you doing?

Shola shobowale: That’s why you have to keep your fingers crossed; because when we get to that bridged we will have to cross it, and very soon, you will all know what Shola Shobowale was actually doing in England. Whether she was carrying cocaine, or after cutting of her head, she used magic to put the head back, very soon the whole world will know. Don’t let us jump d gun now.

Naij: Do you think you will catch up looking at the way the industry has moved up?

Shola Shobowale: When I left Nigeria, I took the industry along with me because, when I left it was fantastic, but now it’s nothing to write home about. And I am back to make it better.

Naij: Why would you say the industry is nothing to write home about when during ur time…cuts in

Shola Shobowale- During my time I was earning 1million,800,

Naij.com – But now, the industry is somewhere corporate organization’s smiled upon by endorsing actors and the likes

Shola Shobowale- How many actors do we have in Nigeria?

Naij.com – You seem to use that as a yard stick to measure the success of d industry…

Shola Shobowale- God bless them because without them people will be crying, because who wants to know how many actors and actresses are living solely on acting. You’ll see that one has either a bead making salon, and another can be into buying and selling and so on… but when you see a doctor, the doctor goes to her place of work, does her things, but we’re still struggling.

Naij: How do you intend to change it, if you feel it’s that worse?

Shola Shobowale- It is worse, it’s very very bad….

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Naij.com – Can you picture a scenario for us, maybe it’s production or the acting?

Shola Shobowale- The acting is fantastic, there are so many people into production, if they’re not making their money they wouldn’t do it. When I was in UK I still came home to produce, in UK I came to produce Ohun Oko Somida’ , ‘Boseyekori’, fantastic movies, i made my money fine, but a particular one which I didn’t was when I spent over 5million in production and I made 2million. Our distribution is zero, all d marketers zero, the Nigerian government isn’t helping.

We re- branded Nigeria, we changed Nigeria’s name from cocaine pushing, we changed Nigeria’s name from 419, we changed Nigeria’s name to Nollywood, people know Nigeria for show, people now know Nigeria for movies and the government is doing nothing about it, which isn’t fair, we are all thinking about oil, now there’s no oil in Nigeria and that was where everybody were running to oil n gas. No oil anymore, we have factories, we have cocoa plantations, we have palm oil in Nigeria nobody is tapping it, movie industry nobody is tapping it, who want to put money down and say, omo, I want to shoot a movie can you please give me that money? Because you said that can I sight examples and now am throwing it back at you.

Naij: You currently have a soap opera that’s airing, Nectar, it revolves round family values. What prompted you to do something about family values?

Shola Shobowale – Because we don’t have it anymore, mothers don’t know their onions, fathers don’t know what they are doing, children have all gone astray. Years ago when I was been brought up, if I did something wrong I was being scolded by my mother or daddy will call you ,even the neighbours… will say ‘in Yoruba- Omo lagbaja, what are u doing, but there’s nothing like that anymore, people don’t want to speak Yoruba or their language ,they want 2 speak english,and you begin to hear excuses like mabinu kole so yoruba ni,ko gbede ni and so on (meaning, don’t be angry o,he/she doesn’t understand the language.

 

What is that? Really, are you serious, my children won’t speak my language? What about the morals, no morals anymore. We don’ know about it, what they worship is money, we all love money, i am not a worshipper of money, money isn’t my God, yes i love money because it’s a necessity of life. We need to put food on the table, we need to live comfortable, but, it isn’t my God its not worth worshipping.

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Charity begins at home, the president has only one head like you, so what stops you from being a governor, president, a commissioner or anything that you want to be. The bottom line is how will you do it? will you do it well? That’s why nectar is here.

Nectar airs on Ag 7:00 on mondays it repeats @ 9:30 on Sundays .Nectar is what everybody needs, its not make believe, I don’t just sit down to write stories, we treat what happens in people’s life, so when you see my movies it’s true life stories, because nectar affects me because you’re going to get your own from nectar, same here, everybody, i want people to know, mothers, fathers, children, corporate bodies.

Though, nobody wants to watch television anymore but when you watch nectar you cannot say no to nectar again, its going to your Monday Monday tablet and even Sunday Sunday tablet, so I want people to go, watch it and know what am talking about.

 

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